Shimabara Railway Line

Shimabara Railway Line
Train on the Shimabara Railway Line at Shirahama Beach, 2008
Overview
LocaleShimabara Peninsula, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
Termini
Stations24
Service
Rolling stockKiHa 2500
History
Opened20 June 1911 (1911-06-20)
Shimabarakō – Kazusa closed1 April 2008
Technical
Line length43.2 km (26.8 mi)
Number of tracks1
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map
km
elev
in m
Ōmura Line to Haiki
0.0
 Isahaya
Nagasaki Main Line
16
0.7
tunnel
42
1.5
 Hon-Isahaya
8
2.9
 Saiwai
4
3.6
44 m
4.8
 Ono
5
5.5
 Kantakunosato
4
7.5
 Moriyama
4
9.6
 Kamanohana
3
11.4
 Isahaya-higashi-kōkō
3
11.7
42 m
Unzentetsu Line (
closed
1938
)
12.4
 Aino
4
14.4
 Abozaki
6
16.6
 Azuma
6
19.6
 Kobe
5
20.8
 Taishō
5
21.7
29 m
23.0
 Saigō
8
National Route 57
25.5
 Kōjiro
5
29.0
41 m
29.4
 Taira
Ariake Ferry
to Nagasu
5
31.6
26 m
31.8
 Ariake-Yue
8
National Route 57
34.1
 Ōmisaki
5
35.2
 Matsuo
7
37.5
 Mie
6
40.5
 Shimabara
4
41.5
 Reikyūkōen-Taiikukan
5
42.3
 Shimabara-Funatsu
4
National Route 57
Kyūshū and Kumamoto Ferry
to Kumamoto
43.2
 Shimabarakō
Shimatetsu
Ferry to Miike
8
↓ Closed 2008
National Route 57
44.3
 Chichibu-ga-ura
12
45.4
 Antoku
31
45.4
225
46.3
68 m
47.5
 Seno-fukae
33
49.6
 Fukae
25
50.0
23 m
National Route 251
52.0
 Futsu-shinden
3
53.9
 Futsu
6
National Route 251
56.9
 Dōzaki
6
58.4
 Kamaga
8
59.9
 Arie
20
60.2
30 m
National Route 251
61.2
 Nishi-arie
9
63.4
 Tatsuishi
5
63.5
20 m
National Route 251
65.3
 Kita-arie
5
65.5
61 m
66.1
 Jōkōjimae
10
67.1
 Uratakannon
6
68.2
 Harajō
5
70.6
 Arimayoshikawa
8
73.5
272 m
74.6
 Higashi-ōya
7
75.8
 Kuchinotsu
Shimatetsu Ferry
to Oniike
3
National Route 251
76.8
 Shirahama-kaisui-yokujōmae
11
78.5
 Kazusa
7

The Shimabara Railway Line (Japanese: 島原鉄道線, Hepburn: Shimabara Tetsudō-sen) is a Japanese railway line in Nagasaki Prefecture connecting Isahaya Station in Isahaya and Shimabarakō Station in Shimabara. The line parallels the coast of the Shimabara Peninsula. The third-sector railway company Shimabara Railway owns the line and also operates buses and ferries.[1]

History

Shimabara Railroad was established in 1908.[2] Shimabara Railroad acquired permit to operate the railway line in 1909 and began constructing it in 1910.[3][2] The company opened the Isahaya – Aino section on 20 June 1911,[4] extending the line to Minami-Shimabara in 1913.[2]

The Kuchinotsu Railway Co. opened the Minami-Shimabara – Dozaki section in 1922, extending the line to Harajo in 1926 and Kazusa two years later.

Diesel power was introduced by the Kuchinotsu Railway Co. in 1930, and by the Shimabara Railway Co. in 1934. In 1943 the two companies merged under the name Shimabara Railway Co.

In 1958 direct services to/from Nagasaki were introduced, operating until 1980.

The portion of the line between Shimabarakō and Kazusa had few passengers and closed on 1 April 2008.

Until 2008 the line used the older diesel-powered KiHa 20 series diesel railcars which were developed in the mid-1950s. Because of the line's vintage trains which maintained the old Japanese National Railways colors of red and beige, it remained popular among train enthusiasts.

Former connecting lines

  • The Hizen Obama Railway Co. opened a 17 km line from Aino station to Unzen Obama between 1923 and 1927. Direct services from the Shimabara line operated from 1927 until 1932. The line closed in 1938.

Volcanic disruptions

Services were disrupted for six months in 1991 owing to lava flows from Mount Unzen, which also caused a one-month service disruption the following year.

In 1993 a major lava flow forced the closure of the line between Shimabarakō and Fukae, and services did not resume on that section until 1997.

Infrastructure

Stations list

Legend:

● All trains stop
▲ Some trains stop
｜ All trains pass
Station Distance
(km) 		Local Express Connecting lines Location
Isahaya 0.0 ● ●
Isahaya Nagasaki
Prefecture
Hon-Isahaya 1.5 ● ●
Saiwai 2.9 ● ▲
Ono 4.8 ● ▲
Kantakunosato 5.5 ● ▲
Moriyama 7.5 ● ▲
Kamanohana 9.6 ● ▲
Isahaya-higashi-kōkō 11.4 ● ▲
Aino 12.4 ● ● Unzen
Abozaki 14.4 ● ｜
Azuma 16.6 ● ●
Kobe 19.6 ● ｜
Taishō 20.8 ● ｜
Saigō 23.0 ● ●
Kōjiro 25.5 ● ●
Taira 29.4 ● ●
Ariake-Yue 31.8 ● ｜ Shimabara
Ōmisaki 34.1 ● ●
Matsuo 35.2 ● ｜
Mie 37.5 ● ｜
Shimabara 40.5 ● ●
Reikyūkōen-Taiikukan 41.5 ● ●
Shimabara-Funatsu 42.3 ● ●
Shimabarakō 43.2 ● ●

Rolling stock

KiHa 2500 series diesel railcar operates in the line with 15 railcars manufactured by Niigata Iron Works between 1994 and 2011.

See also

References

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

  1. ^ "トップページ | 島原鉄道". www.shimatetsu.co.jp. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  2. ^ a b c "沿革 | 企業情報 | 島原鉄道". www.shimatetsu.co.jp. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  3. ^ "国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション". dl.ndl.go.jp. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  4. ^ "国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション". dl.ndl.go.jp. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
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