The Izu Kyūkō Line () is a privately owned

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line of the Izukyū Corporation in

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The line approximately parallels the eastern coast of the

Izu Peninsula The is a mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan, the largest of the four main islands of Japan. Formerly known as Izu Province, Izu peninsu ...

, a tourist district noted for its numerous hot spring resorts, and

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

s, between Itō Station in Itō and Izukyū Shimoda Station in Shimoda. The line opened in 1961. Since March 13, 2010, PASMO and Suica cards are accepted on the line."Suicaサービスの開始について" (14 January 2009)
.

Basic data

*Track: single * Signalling: Automatic ( ATS-Si, compatible with East Japan Railway Company (JR East) ATS-SN.)

History

Initial plans called for the Japanese National Railways (JNR) to build a spur line linking Atami on the Tōkaidō Main Line with Shimoda. However, funding was limited in the 1930s due to a combination of a tight

fiscal policy In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection ( taxes or tax cuts) and expenditure to influence a country's economy. The use of government revenue expenditures to influence macroeconomic variab ...

under

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Osachi Hamaguchi during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, and a number of technical issues. On March 30, 1935, the initial 8.7 km section of the Itō Line linking Atami with was opened. The second (8.3 km) section from Ajiro to was opened on December 15, 1938. Both sections were electrified at 1500 VDC when opened. Further work was delayed, and then canceled due to the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Construction south of Itō resumed when the private-sector Tokyu Corporation acquired the rights to complete the line to Shimoda and established the Izukyū Corporation to manage construction and operations of this section. The line to Shimoda opened in 1961.

Operation

The northern terminal station for the Izu Kyūkō Line is at Ito Station, from which local trains depart for the southern terminal station of Izukyū-Shimoda. However, several varieties of

limited express A limited express is a type of express train or express bus service that stops at fewer locations compared to other express services on the same or similar routes. Japan The term "limited express" is a common translation of the Japanese ...

trains operated by

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

originate at

Tokyo Station Tōkyō Station (, ) is a major railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is not far ...

travel via the Itō Line tracks to Ito, and then terminate at Izukyū-Shimoda. These include the '' Odoriko'' and '' Super View Odoriko'' named trains. Similarly, the '' Resort Odoriko'' operated by the Izu Kyūkō Line also makes the same run, but using different rolling stock.

Station list

Rolling stock

Current

* Izukyu 2100 series * Izukyu 8000 series * Izukyu 3000 series (former JR East 209-2000/2100 series) * JR East E257-2000/2500 series

Former

185 series The 185 series () is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) primarily on mid-distance limited express services centering on Tokyo. As of August of 2024, two sets operate as Special Limit ...

References

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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Izu Kyuko Line Izukyū Corporation Railway lines in Japan Rail transport in Shizuoka Prefecture Railway lines opened in 1961 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan