was a Japanese railway company. The company in
Miyazaki Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,028,215 as of 1 January 2025 and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefectur ...
suspended operation of the railway after a
typhoon
A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...
disaster in 2005 and was
liquidated
Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...
in 2009.
Line
The company operated the Takachiho Line connecting
Nobeoka Station in
Nobeoka, Miyazaki
file:Nobeoka city center area Aerial photograph.2018.jpg, 270px, Central Nobeoka City
is a Cities of Japan, city located in the north of Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 113,367 in 51272 households, and a po ...
and
Takachiho Station
270px, Manai Falls
270px, Mount Sobo
270px, Yokagura
is a town in Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , the town has an estimated population of 11,065 in 4865 households, and a population density of 47 persons per km2. The total ...
in
Takachiho, Miyazaki
270px, Manai Falls
270px, Mount Sobo
270px, Yokagura
is a town in Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , the town has an estimated population of 11,065 in 4865 households, and a population density of 47 persons per km2. The total ...
. The government authorization of the railway business was abolished for a half of the line in 2007 and for the remaining half in 2008.
* Distance 50.0 km (31 mi)
** Nobeoka — Makinine 29.1 km (18.1 mi) officially closed on 2007-09-06
** Makimine — Takachiho 20.9 kilometres (13.0 mi) officially closed on 2008-12-28
*
Gauge
Gauge ( ) may refer to:
Measurement
* Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments
* Gauge (firearms)
* Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire
** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, especia ...
:
* Stations: 19
* Double-track line: None
*
Electrification
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...
: None
*
Signalling
A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology.
In ...
:
Simplified automatic
History
The Takachiho Line, originally named the of
Japanese Government Railways
The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national rail transport, railway system directly operated by the until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Railways Group.
Name
The English name "Japanese ...
, opened on February 20, 1935, in the section between Nobeoka and Hyūga-Okamoto stations.
Following some extensions, the line reached Takachiho Station on July 22, 1972 and was renamed the Takachiho Line same day.
Freight service ceased in 1974. In 1982 all service was suspended for four months due to typhoon damage.
When the national railway was privatized in 1987, the line belonged to
JR Kyushu
The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...
, which withdrew from the operation of the Takachiho Line and transferred it to Takachiho Railway, a new company established by local funds, on April 28, 1989.
[
On September 6, 2005, flooding triggered by ]Typhoon Nabi
Typhoon Nabi (), known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Jolina, was a powerful typhoon that struck southwestern Japan in early September 2005. The 14th tropical cyclone naming, named storm of the 2005 Pacific typhoon season, Nabi formed on Aug ...
washed away two bridges on the line, halting all operations. By December, it was clear that no government funding for rebuilding was available. Attempts by local communities to rebuild the railway were unsuccessful. A shareholders' resolution made on January 6, 2009 started the company's liquidation procedures which ended in March 2009 with no distribution to shareholders.
A new company, the Takachiho Amaterasu Railway, was later established. It repurposed a section of the Takachiho Line in Takachiho for tourist services.
Proposed extension
After the line opened in 1972, construction of the 23 km section from Takachiho to the Takamori line
The is a Japanese railway line in Kumamoto Prefecture, between Tateno Station, Minamiaso, and Takamori Station, Takamori. This is the only railway line operates. The line traverses the southern part of Mount Aso caldera.
History
The single ...
continued until 1975, when flooding in the 6500m Takamori tunnel (16 km north of Takachiho) resulted in work being suspended. Construction was formally abandoned in 1980.
Stations
Cars
In 2005
*TR100 (101, 102, 203, 104, 105)
*TR200 (201, 202)
*TR400 (401, 402)
Following the closure of the line, two truck-style sightseeing cars, TR401 and TR402, were purchased by JR Kyushu upon an offer from Takachiho Railway. They will be refurbished and used on the new ''Umisachi Yamasachi
The ''Umisachi Yamasachi'' (; hiragana: ; ) is a two-car limited express train operated by JR Kyushu in Japan.
Overview
The train began operation on October 10, 2009, and is a 2-car limited express which runs to the resort town of Nichinan a ...
'' limited express service on the Nichinan Line
The is a railway line in south-eastern Kyushu, Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Minami-Miyazaki Station in Miyazaki, Miyazaki to Shibushi Station in Shibushi, Kagoshima.
History
The Miyazaki Prefectural Gover ...
from October 2009.
Among ordinary railcars, TR201 was given to Asa Kaigan Railway
Asa may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Asa (given name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters so named
* Asa people, an ethnic group based in Tanzania
* Aṣa, Nigerian-French singer, songwriter, and reco ...
without compensation. It will go into service in autumn 2009. Other ordinary cars were disused. TR104 and TR105 were given to the town of Hinokage and are preserved at Hinokage-Onsen Station. TR101 and TR202 were given to the town of Takachiho and are preserved at Takachiho Station. Others were scrapped.
Before 2005
*TR300
Current operations
operates the line between Takachiho and Amanoiwato as a heritage railway
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...
.
References
External links
Takachiho Railway official siteTakachiho-Amaterasu Railway Official siteAkaboshi Tamiko (Manga artist, Inside director of Takachiho-Amaterasu Railway) Official site
{{Specified local lines, state=collapsed
Rail transport in Miyazaki Prefecture
Defunct railway companies of Japan
Railway companies established in 1989
Railway companies disestablished in 2009
1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
Japanese third-sector railway lines