Kishigawa Line

The Kishigawa Line (貴志川線, Kishigawa-sen) is a railway line in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. It is the sole line of the Wakayama Electric Railway Co., Ltd. The 14.3 km route extends from Wakayama Station in the city of Wakayama to Kishi Station in neighboring Kinokawa. Including the terminals, the Kishigawa Line has 14 stations. Its gauge is 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in). The line is single-track and is electrified at 1,500 V DC. Prior to April 1, 2006, the line was part of the Nankai Electric Railway system.

Kishigawa Line
"Ichigo EC" trainset designed by Eiji Mitooka
Overview
Owner	Wakayama Electric Railway
Locale	Wakayama
Stations	14
Technical
Line length	14.3 km (8.9 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC overhead catenary
Operating speed	60 km/h (37 mph)
Route map

History

The Sando Light Railway Co. opened the Wakayama - Sando section between 1916 and 1917, and extended the line to Kishi in 1933.

The line was electrified at 600 V DC between 1941 and 1943, and was acquired by the Nankai Electric Railway Co. in 1961.

CTC signalling was commissioned in 1993, and the Wakayama Electric Railway Co. acquired the line in 2006, increasing the line voltage to 1500 V DC in 2012.

Rolling stock and service

The Kishigawa Line uses 6 sets (12 cars) of 2270 series electric multiple units (EMUs), originally built for Nankai and transferred to the new operator, together with the tracks and other assets of the Kishigawa Line. Some of the cars have been repainted with the design by industrial designer Eiji Mitooka, who designed the type 9200 "MOMO" tram of Okayama Electric Tramway and various trains of JR Kyushu, including the 800 Series Shinkansen, while others are still in the Nankai livery.

In the mornings and evenings, the service operates three to four times each hour; at off-peak times, two per hour is the norm. The trains are driver-only operated, and do not have conductors.

Stations

No.	Station	Japanese	Distance (km)	Distance between stations (km)	Location
01	Wakayama	和歌山	0.0	-	Wakayama, Wakayama
02	Tanakaguchi	田中口	0.6	0.6
03	Nichizengū	日前宮	1.4	0.8
04	Kōzaki	神前	2.9	1.5
05	Kamayama	竈山	3.7	0.8
06	Kōtsū-Center-mae	交通センター前	4.8	1.1
07	Okazaki-mae	岡崎前	5.4	0.6
08	Kire	吉礼	6.4	1.0
09	Idakiso	伊太祈曽	8.0	1.6
10	Sandō	山東	9.1	1.1
11	Oikeyūen	大池遊園	11.3	2.2	Kinokawa, Wakayama
12	Nishiyamaguchi	西山口	12.1	0.8
13	Kanroji-mae	甘露寺前	13.1	1.0
14	Kishi	貴志	14.3	1.2

Features

In addition to the new design of the rolling stock, the operator is eager to attract passengers through unique measures such as the following:

• Before trains arrive at Kishi Station or after trains leave there, The Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever" is played.
• Kishi Station appointed a cat named Tama as its stationmaster, complete with miniature stationmaster hat.^[1][2]

See also

• List of railway lines in Japan