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Hitahikosan Line

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Hitahikosan Line
Overview
Native name日田彦山線
StatusIn operation (as a railway between Jōno and Soeda)
(as a bus route between Soeda and Yoake)
OwnerJR Kyushu
LocaleKyushu
Termini
Stations23
Service
TypeRegional rail
Operator(s)JR Kyushu
Rolling stockKiHa 40 series DMU
History
Opened1899
Technical
Line length68.7 km (42.7 mi)
Number of tracksEntire line single tracked
CharacterMostly rural with a few urban areas
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
ElectrificationNone
Operating speed85 km/h (53 mph)
Route map
Hitahikosan Line

The Hitahikosan Line (日田彦山線, Hitahikosan-sen) is a railway line in Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Jōno Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture with Yoake Station in Hita, Ōita Prefecture and features the 4380 m Shakadake Tunnel between Chikuzen Iwaya and Hikosan station, where a fatal tunnel collapse occurred during construction in 1953, killing 21 construction workers. The line is named after Hita and Mount Hiko.

The bus rapid transit portion of the line is referred to as the BRT Hikoboshi Line (ＢＲＴひこぼしライン, BRT Hikoboshi Rain).

Stations

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●: Stops, ｜: non-stop
No. Station Distance
(km) 		Rapid Transfers Location
JF Nippō Main Line
JI  01  Kokura 小倉 Kokurakita-Ward, Kitakyūshū
JI  02  Nishi-Kokura 西小倉
JI  03  Minami-Kokura 南小倉
JI Hitahikosan Line
JI  04  Jōno 城野 0.0 ● Nippō Main Line Kokuraminami-Ward, Kitakyūshū Fukuoka Prefecture
JI  05  Ishida 石田 3.3 ｜  
JI  06  Shii-Kōen 志井公園 5.1 ｜ Kitakyushu Monorail (Kikugaoka Station) - 400 m away
JI  07  Shii 志井 6.8 ｜  
JI  08  Ishiharamachi 石原町 9.0 ●  
JI  09  Yobuno 呼野 12.3 ｜  
JI  10  Saidōsho 採銅所 18.1 ｜   Kawara
JI  11  Kawara 香春 23.4 ●  
JI  12  Ipponmatsu 一本松 25.0 ｜  
JI  13  Tagawa-Ita 田川伊田 27.4 ● Heisei Chikuhō Railway Ita Line, Tagawa Line Tagawa
JI  14  Tagawa-Gotōji 田川後藤寺 30.0 ● Gotōji Line
Heisei Chikuhō Railway Itoda Line
Ikejiri 池尻 32.2 ｜   Kawasaki
Buzen-Kawasaki 豊前川崎 34.7 ●  
Nishi-Soeda 西添田 38.3 ｜   Soeda
Soeda 添田 39.5 ●  
Kanyūsha-Hikosan 歓遊舎ひこさん 41.6    
Buzen-Masuda 豊前桝田 43.2    
Hikosan 彦山 47.2    
Chikuzen-Iwaya 筑前岩屋 55.1     Tōhō
Daigyōji 大行司 59.3    
Hōshuyama 宝珠山 61.3    
Ōtsuru 大鶴 62.9     Hita Ōita Prefecture
Imayama 今山 65.4    
Yoake 夜明 68.7   Kyūdai Main Line

History

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On 1 April 1960, the Hitahikosan Line was formed by a merger of the following lines:[1]

  • Main line
    • Jōno – Kawara and Soeda – Yoake sections of the Hita Line (the remaining Kawara – Soeda section became the Soeda Line)
    • Kawara – Ita branch of the Hita Line
    • Ita – Soeda section of the Tagawa Line (the Yukuhashi – Kawara section remained as the Tagawa Line)
  • Branches
    • Ishida – Higashi-Kokura freight branch of the Hita Line
    • Buszen-Kawasaki – Daiichi-Ōtō freight branch of the Tagawa Line
    • Buszen-Kawasaki – Daini-Ōtō freight branch of the Tagawa Line

All the branches were abolished in 1962, 1974 and 1970 respectively.[1] In 1987, the Japanese National Railways was privatized and the line was succeeded by JR Kyushu.

Construction

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The Hōshū Railway opened the Tagawa-Ita - Buzen Kawasaki section as part of the Tagawa Line in 1899. That company merged with the Kyushu Railway Company in 1901, which extended the line to Soeda in 1903. The company was nationalised in 1907.

The Jono - Tagawa-Ita section was opened in 1915 by the Kokura Railway Co., that company being nationalised in 1943. The Soeda - Daigyoji section opened between 1937 and 1946, and the Daigyoji - Yoake section opened in 1956.

CTC signalling was introduced on the entire line in 1984. Freight service ceased beyond Tagawa-Gotōji in 1986, and totally in 1999.

Typhoon damage

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On 5 July 2017, torrential rainfall resulted in the closure of the section of the line between Soeda and Yoake. The damage was severe and included the destruction of several bridges and parts of the track being washed away. The line remained disconnected as of the start of 2020. On 12 February 2020, it was proposed by JR Kyushu to not restore the rail service, due to low passenger use and high maintenance costs, and permanently replace it with bus rapid transit (BRT).[2] On 16 July, JR Kyushu formally announced plans to convert this section of the line to a BRT service.[3]

The BRT route opened on 28 August 2020 under the name Hikoboshi Line. With the opening of the line, the number of stations along the route increased from 12 to 36, although travel times roughly doubled. Following the partial conversion of JR East's Ōfunato Line and Kesennuma Line in the Tōhoku region, the line is Japan's third rail service to be converted to BRT. [4][5][6][7]

Former connecting lines

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Buzen Kawasaki Station: The 26 km Kamiyamada Line opened from Iizuka (on the Chikuho Main Line) to Shimoyamada in 1898, extended to Kamiyamada in 1929 and to Buzen Kawasaki (as a passenger-only section) in 1966. Freight services ceased in 1980, and the line closed in 1988. This line had two connections:

  • A 2 km 3 ft (914 mm) gauge line from Okuma (16 km from Buzen Kawasaki) - Okumamachi operated between 1924 and 1933.
  • The 8 km Urushio line from Shimokamoo (14 km from Buzen Kawasaki) - Shimayamada (connecting to the Gotoji Line) opened in 1943, and closed in 1986.

Soeda station - The Kokura Railway Co. opened a line to Ipponmatsu in 1915. The line was nationalised in 1943 and closed in 1985.

References

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  1. ^ a b Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory – JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. I. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. pp. 230, 231. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
  2. ^ "一部不通の日田彦山線 Jr九州が新たな「Brt復旧案」提示 九州北部豪雨で被災". 12 February 2020.
  3. ^ "日田彦山線、BRT復旧で正式合意 8月に着工". 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
  4. ^ "JR日田彦山線「BRT」新路線 ８月２８日開業で調整" [Hitahikosan BRT line revised to open on 28 August 2023]. Nihon Keizai Shimbun WEB. 25 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Southwest Japan railway hit by rain disaster reborn as pioneering bus service". Mainichi Daily News. 2023-09-15. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
  6. ^ "JR Hitahikosan Line "BRT" Restoration Plans Means More Stations". Fukuoka Now. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
  7. ^ "【BRTひこぼしライン開業記念】ラッピングトレインが運行されます！". 福岡県田川市 (in Japanese). 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-12-14.

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

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