Kintetsu considers closing 762mm gauge lines

[bill937ca]

Kintetsu is considering closing the Utsube line and its branch the Hachioji line.  These lines employ a now extremely rare 762mm gauge track. Kintetsu would rip up the lines and build a dedicated bus lane. The line carries 3.6 million passengers per year and has a deficit of 300 million yen per year.

 

http://mainichi.jp/select/news/20120822k0000m040141000c.html

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-BcNwMPVV0&list=PLCD665E7D5387DF71&index=2&feature=plpp_video

 

Get there soon if you want to ride these lines!

[ToniBabelony]

I heard this depressing news before... Such a shame these gems are considered a bother now. It'll be a huge loss for the sake of industrial heritage if they were to be shut down.

[keitaro]

they look pretty awesome lets hope they don't

[The_Ghan]

Pity.  They're about 5000 regular customers short of break even.

 

Pity also that I just can't fit a ride in on my pending trip.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[westfalen]

I'm assuming the neighboring Hokusei Line now owned by the Sangi Railway has no plans of closing so the Kintetsu 2'6" will live on. Maybe they will step in and buy these lines or at least give some of the trains a new home. When I rode the Hachioji and Utsube lines in 2006 I couldn't figure out why Kintetsu sold the longer Hokosei Line but kept these much shorter ones.

[bill937ca]

I thought the Hokusei line is now a third sector line and the Sangi Railway is just the private sector operator. My understanding is that it exists mainly to carry school traffic.

[Densha]

Just this week I learned of the existence of this line and now this. :(

[The_Ghan]

Mark Newton has a nice drawing of a layout based on this line, I think, on his photobucket or whatever website he uses. 

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[bill937ca]

I heard this depressing news before... Such a shame these gems are considered a bother now. It'll be a huge loss for the sake of industrial heritage if they were to be shut down.

 

That is why I keep going to Lisbon and Sintra. The replacement costs for these minor lines are huge.  Time will tell how many survive. Get there while they survive!

 

[bikkuri bahn]

The lines in Portugal benefit from having wide-ranging tourist appeal, so their future is much more assured.  On the other hand the 762mm Kintetsu lines are located in Yokkaichi, known by the "average" Japanese primarily as the site of environmental catastrophes in the high economic growth era.  

Of course, a diehard fan like me can't help but sing the praises of the railway scene there, and the petrochemical odor that permeates the air in that city is quite nostalgic to me, having grown up in a refinery town myself.

 

*in my numerous travels to Yokkaichi and (northern) Mie prefecture, I have yet to see a single foreign visitor, it's that far off the tourist track. Did see some (possibly nikkei Brazilians) who looked like residents, though.

[Sacto1985]

While they may be railfan favorites, the cost of maintaining the 762 mm gauge line plus all the 762 mm gauge compatible trainsets may be too high for Kintetsu Corporation to justify its continued existence. This isn't like Kintetsu's 1067 mm lines, where fairly strong commuter traffic and the line to the Buddhist shrines at Yoshino can pay for its upkeep.

[keitaro]

While they may be railfan favorites, the cost of maintaining the 762 mm gauge line plus all the 762 mm gauge compatible trainsets may be too high for Kintetsu Corporation to justify its continued existence. This isn't like Kintetsu's 1067 mm lines, where fairly strong commuter traffic and the line to the Buddhist shrines at Yoshino can pay for its upkeep.

 

doesn't mean kintetsu can't do some developments in the area to increase it's passenger levels.

 

as mentioned before it's really not that far from making it's keep. perhaps a very small price increase and some commercial / touristy development at one side of the line could get it to the line of breaking even.

 

I heard some one once suggest why don't they develop some larger residential (mansions as they call them in japan) flats/units to increase the populations near the lines, my response was and where are they going to work?.

 

It must be hard trying to plan right to increase passenger traffic in many areas of japan now.

[bill937ca]

The lines in Portugal benefit from having wide-ranging tourist appeal, so their future is much more assured.  

 

I'm not so sure this is still the case. Austerity imposed by the Troika has taken a huge toll on Portugal. Lisbon line 28 does have a world class profile, but as recently as last winter there was an effort to shutdown tram 18. When tram 18 shutdown for its usual August siesta, we were watching to see if it came back in September.  When I was in Lisbon in June I was surprised at the deterioration that had occurred in 10 months. All carpenters had been laid off at the tram repair shops except for 3 with enough service that waiting for their retirement is cheaper.  Reportedly most of the machines in the repair shops have out of order tags on them. Most Lisbon trams are wooden bodied and it hasn't taken much time for the bodies to develop an alarming sway after their care was cut back. Windows sag and seem in danger of dropping. One of the cars rebuilt in 1995 had already been cannibalized. Carris has long complained of the cost of operating the remaining trams. Tram enthusiasts in Lisbon have been on pins and needles waiting for the axe to fall.

 

Tram 28 stop on a Saturday afternoon.

 

Sintra was closed indefinitely after a storm last fall that brought down the overhead and a later theft of overhead.  I told not to expect it back in the foreseeable future in June, but the owner of property responsible for knocking the overhead down was billed 10,000 Euros and 160,000 Euros in repairs were made by the municipality. Sintra trams returned in August 2012. Hard to say if the line would re-open if the overhead is stolen again or other major repairs are needed. But the line has survived in part because it has a history of closing now and then.

 

Camara Municipal de Sintra really does not promote the line to tourists.  It has a very low profile outside railway enthusiasts and mainly functions to link local residents with the beaches at the Atlantic Ocean. The Sintra terminal is somewhat hidden and there is no signage from the train station to direct you.  Most years the line only runs from mid-July to late September. Still Sintra remains a vintage 1904 rural trolley line with its Brill open cars running along a single track right of way.

[wobblybob]

Costly replacement of very substantial, but life-expired, infrastructure can spell the death knell for this sort of railway. Perhaps adopting ultra light rail technology, like that being developed by Parry in Britain, may offer a lifeline to continued rail operation, rather than replacement by buses.

[tsubasa119]

Rode these two lines yesterday, glad i did! There were a couple of Japanese Railfans along for the ride as well.

Have now ridden 3 of the 4 762mm gauge lines in Japan, Didn't get to the Sangi Line in Kuwana, ran out of time

Allastair

[Densha]

@wobblybob

I've seen something like that at some photos at Hokkaido as well. It's also on wikipedia. It can also extend the service where there's no track because it's also a bus.

[wobblybob]

The London Midland Class 139s are built for use on the short heavy rail branch from Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town and are certainly different to the usual heavy rail stock. There have been other short-lived trials including Bristol, Blackpool and Brighton.

 

In Britain the 'consultancy industry' wields power where transport is concerned, so low-cost technology tends to get overlooked - a consultancy fee on £billions being more appealing than one based on a few £million.  

[Sacto1985]

By the way, YT poster toshiyuki fukaya posted this zenmen tenbou video of the Kintetsu Utsube Line:

 

[marknewton]

Mark Newton has a nice drawing of a layout based on this line, I think, on his photobucket or whatever website he uses.

 

 

I drew this as an entry in a small - 10'x12' room size - layout competition some years ago. The track arrangements in each station are basically those of the prototype in the 1970s, but I did take one big chunk of modeller's licence in locating Tomari before Hinaga. That was simply to better utilise the space in the room.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Martijn Meerts]

Must ... steal ... trackplan ... for ... ttrak ... modules ... layout ....  

 

 

Seriously though, this would make an excellent modular layout, although it'd probably be difficult to get it to work with a standard.

[Densha]

Lol. Well, I think it should be possible somehow if you use straights instead of the slight curves in the track. Only Hinaga station would be an exception.

[Martijn Meerts]

Could just mix Kato and for example Peco track and make series of 2-3 modules that should always be used together in a specific order. Might have to play around with it a little.

 

Of course, it's not the best setup to bring to a show, you'd optimally want people to walk around the layout only, and not get inside it, but that depends on the size of course. But the layout looks perfect for small 1 and 2-car KIHA's and the like.

[Nick_Burman]

Could just mix Kato and for example Peco track and make series of 2-3 modules that should always be used together in a specific order. Might have to play around with it a little.

 

Of course, it's not the best setup to bring to a show, you'd optimally want people to walk around the layout only, and not get inside it, but that depends on the size of course. But the layout looks perfect for small 1 and 2-car KIHA's and the like.

 

 

Kato in the extremities and PECO inside. There are HOn30 module clubs in Japan which use Tomix in the extremities and PECO inside.

 

I was thinking of doing the same for my modules-to-be, however the tighter geometry of Kato switches is an incentive to go all-Kato.

 

 

 

 

Cheers NB

[bikkuri bahn]

I drew this as an entry in a small - 10'x8' room size - layout competition some years ago.

 

That's my kind of track plan- around the walls, uncomplicated trackwork close to the prototype (i.e. what is necessary, not what can fit in the space) and track being organically part of the scenery, rather than overwhelming it.

[marknewton]

...But the layout looks perfect for small 1 and 2-car KIHA's and the like.

 

G'day Martin. In the period the layout is based on, the service was provided by either 2 or 3 car EMUs, or short loco-hauled trains, typically 2 cars. In Charles Small's book "Rails To The Rising Sun" there's a lovely photo of steeplecab No.72 whirring through the rice fields with 2 EMU trailer cars - magic stuff! But as you say, the layout would be equally suited to railcar operation if you didn't want to build catenary.

 

All the best,

 

Mark.