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JR-Central Transport Service Jōhoku Line
Railway line in Aichi Prefecture, Japan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Jōhoku Line (城北線, Jōhoku-sen) is a Japanese commuter rail line between Kachigawa Station in Kasugai and Biwajima Station in Kiyosu, in Aichi Prefecture. Trains are operated by JR-Central Transport Service Company, or TKJ in short, a wholly owned subsidiary of JR Central. While TKJ operates the line, the rail facilities belong to its parent company JR Central. The line is currently not electrified.
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History
The construction of a railway connecting Seto and Inazawa was proposed in 1922, when it was listed as one of the proposed railway lines by the Railway Construction Act.[1]
The line was originally planned by Japanese National Railways (JNR) in the 1960s as a freight-only line linking the Chuo Main Line at Kachigawa with the Tokaido Main Line at Biwajima.[2] Construction began in March 1976, but was subsequently halted due to the huge deficit of JNR.[2] The line consisted of two separate sections, one between Setoshi and Kōzōji, and another between Kachigawa and Biwajima. Construction of both sections resumed later, as passenger lines, but by different operators. The plan for the former section was permanently frozen. The latter section was completed, and succeeded by Tokai Transport Service. The first section of the Jōhoku Line, between Kachigawa and Owari-Hoshinomiya, opened on 1 December 1991.[2] The section between Owari-Hoshinomiya and Biwajima opened on 18 March 1993.[2]
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Operation and services
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All trains stop at all stations, and there are no limited stop rapid services. Services operate once per hour in the daytime, and 2 or 3 times per hour in the morning and evening. Travel time is 16 minutes toward Biwajima and 17 minutes toward Kachigawa.[3] Only a single car is used for each service.[4]
The line is currently operated by Tokai Transport service. When the line was under construction, all JNR lines were constructed by the Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation, which would let JNR operate trains on the line in return for fee payments covering the construction cost. When the payment ends, the line was transferred to JNR. As a result of JR Central taking over the line, the company cancelled several constructions on the line to reduce the amount of fee they had to pay. This led to the line lacking direct connection to Kachigawa Station, old Shinkansen rails being used, and not being electrified. The payment is set to end in 2032, when the line will completely be under JR Central's ownership.[5]
Fares and ticketing
Despite being a subsidiary of JR Central, the Jōhoku Line has its own separate fare scale and does not accept the Japan Rail Pass or any other JR ticket or pass. Single ride fares are either 230, 320 390, or 450 yen for adults, and 120, 160, 200, or 230 yen for children[6] and can be purchased using cash from the JR ticket machines at Kachigawa and Biwajima Stations or onboard the train. IC cards, such as TOICA, manaca, and Suica, are not accepted on the Johoku Line.[7]
Commuter passes (1/3/6 months) and coupon tickets (11 tickets for the price of 10) can be purchased from the JR ticket machines at Kachigawa and Biwajima Stations (for travel to/from those stations) or at the Jōhoku Line Ticket Office (near Otai Station) for other stations.[8]
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Infrastructure
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The 11.2 km (7.0 mi) line is entirely double-tracked. While the line is not electrified, concrete bases to allow installation of overhead catenary poles are present in the line.[9] The line is narrow-gauge railway with a track gauge of 1,067 mm (42.0 in). All of the line is elevated with viaducts, and railroad ties made out of prestressed concrete are used.[10]
Rolling stock
The line is operated using a fleet of four KiHa 11 single-car diesel multiple unit DMUs.[2] When the line first opened, services were operated using KiHa 40 series single-car DMUs leased from JR Central. These were painted in the TJK livery of cream with an orange window band.[11]
Up until April 2015, the fleet consisted of four KiHa 11-200 series cars (KiHa 11-201–204), based at Kachigawa Depot.[12] Two of these (KiHa 11-203 and 204) were sold to the Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway in Ibaraki Prefecture in April 2015.[12] KiHa 11-201 was withdrawn from Johoku Line services on 23 September 2015, and sold to the Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway. It was replaced on 24 September 2015 by KiHa 11-300 series car KiHa 11-301, purchased from JR Central.[13] The remaining KiHa 11-200 series car (KiHa 11-202) was scheduled to be replaced by a KiHa 11-300 series car in 2016.[14]
Future connections with Kachigawa Station
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The line was originally planned to directly connect with JR Chuo Line's Kachigawa Station in 2009, although this was not done. The operating company TKJ and the related JR Central refuses to upgrade the infrastructures of the line citing lack of profitability.[15] Currently, the line's Kachigawa Station is about 500 meters away from the Chuo line,[16] and has an empty space between the two island platforms for the line's future direct connection with the Johoku Line.[17]
Stations
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Passenger statistics
Reference:[18]
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See also
References
External links
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