Yagan Railway

An Aizu Kinugawa Line train pulling out of Ryūōkyō Station, 2013

Yagan Railway Co., Ltd. (野岩鉄道株式会社, Yagan Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese third-sector railway running between Tochigi and Fukushima prefectures. It operates a single railway line, the Aizu Kinugawa Line (会津鬼怒川線, Aizu Kinugawa-sen).

The name of the line comes from the kanji characters of the ancient provinces of Shimotsuke (; now Tochigi Prefecture) and Iwashiro (; now Fukushima Prefecture). The company's major shareholders include the two prefectural governments.

Aizu Kinugawa Line

Route map of Aizu Kinugawa Line

The Aizu Kinugawa Line (会津鬼怒川線, Aizu Kinugawa-sen) is a 30.7 kilometre railway line from Shin-Fujiwara Station in Nikkō, Tochigi to Aizukōgen-Ozeguchi Station, Minamiaizu, Fukushima.

The name of the line comes from the Aizu area (at the northern end of the line) and the Kinugawa Onsen hot spring resort area (at the southern end). Its nickname is the Hot Spa. Line (ほっとスパ・ライン, Hotto Supa Rain; lit.'Relaxing Spa Line').

Stations

  • Limited Express Revaty Aizu (リバティ会津) is a Limited Express service operated by Tobu Railway.
  • Aizu Mount Express (Aizuマウントエクスプレス) is a rapid train operated by Aizu Railway.
  • Ozatoro Tenbo Ressha Yu-Meguri (お座トロ展望列車 湯めぐり号) is a sightseeing train operated by Aizu Railway.
Station Japanese Distance (km) Revaty Aizu Aizu
Mount
Express
Open-car
Ozatoro Tenbō Ressha
Transfers Location
Between
stations
Total
Through service to/from Tobu Kinugawa Line and Limited Express trains to/from Asakusa
Shin-Fujiwara 新藤原 - 0.0 Tōbu Kinugawa Line Nikkō Tochigi Prefecture
Ryūōkyō 龍王峡 1.7 1.7  
Kawaji-Onsen 川治温泉 3.1 4.8  
Kawaji-Yumoto 川治湯元 1.2 6.0  
Yunishigawa-Onsen 湯西川温泉 4.3 10.3  
Nakamiyori-Onsen 中三依温泉 6.5 16.8  
Kamimiyori-Shiobara-Onsenguchi 上三依塩原温泉口 4.2 21.0  
Ojika-Kōgen 男鹿高原 4.0 25.0  
Aizukōgen-Ozeguchi 会津高原尾瀬口 5.7 30.7 Aizu Railway Aizu Line Minamiaizu, Fukushima, Minamiaizu District Fukushima
Through service to/from Aizu Railway Aizu Line

Rolling stock

History

The construction began as a part of the Japan Railway Construction Corporation. It was taken over by Yagan Railway.

  • 9 October 1986: Starts operations.[1]
  • 12 October 1990: Direct service onto Aizu-Tajima Station on Aizu Railway Aizu Line begins.
  • 18 March 2006: The nickname Hot Spa. Line debuts.

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

  1. ^ "会社概要" [Company Profile]. yagan.co.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.