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In Ofunato City, located on the Pacific coast of Iwate Prefecture, there is a railway company that is not very well known except to those who are somewhat familiar with Japanese railways. Its name is "Iwate Kaihatsu Railway Co., Ltd." What kind of railway company is it, exactly?
The Higoroichiis a 9.5km long line connecting Sakari Station to Iwateishibashi Station, via Chōanji Station and Higoroichi Station. The Akasaki Lineis a 2.0km long line connecting Sakari Station to Akasaki Station. Although the two lines are distinguished on paper, in reality, trains basically run across both lines, so there is little point in distinguishing them.
Mori Station is a station on the Sanriku Railway's Rias Line and a stop on JR East's Ofunato Line BRT (which is a bus, not a train), so it probably has a fair amount of recognition. However, I think there are very few people, especially among the younger generation, who know any stations other than Mori. And that's because the Iwate Development Railway currently does not carry passengers, andall the trains in operationare freight trains.
Limestone to the cement factory
Inland in Ofunato City lies the Ofunato Mine, where limestone is mined and loaded onto freight trains at Iwate-Ishibashi Station on the Iwate Development Railway. These limestone-laden freight trains travel at a maximum speed of 50 km/h to Akasaki Station, 11.5 km away. The limestone is then used in cement production at the Taiheiyo Cement Ofunato Plant, located near Akasaki Station.
Incidentally, I don't know the exact times when freight trains operate. I enjoy watching freight trains,a freight train timetableevery year (to clarify, this is a timetable that lists only the operating times of freight trains), but even the freight train timetable doesn't include the timetable for Iwate Development Railway's freight trains.
According to information posted on the Japan Private Railways Association website, freight trains operate at a frequency of either 13, 15, or 18 round trips per day. This is a fairly high frequency for freight trains, and it shouldn't be difficult to spot them during the daytime on days they are running (they seem to be suspended on weekends and public holidays). They undoubtedly contribute to local industries.
Iwate Development Railway Co., Ltd. was established in August 1939. Its goal was to promote industry and develop the areas along the railway line by connecting Ofunato Port with the inland areas of Iwate Prefecture. , with investment from Iwate Prefecture, the municipalities along the line, and related companiesthird-sectorwas established as a Although third-sector companies exist in various places today (Sanriku Railway, which serves Mori Station, is one example), Iwate Development Railwaypioneer of the third-sector railway company modelis noteworthy as a
At the time of the company's founding, the plan was to connect Mori Station to Hirakura Station on the Kamaishi Line, a distance of approximately 29 km, by rail. The Kamaishi Line connects Hanamaki Station and Kamaishi Station. By laying a railway line from Mori Station to Hirakura Station, it would be possible to travel to Hanamaki Station via the Kamaishi Line and then transfer to the Tohoku Main Line, a major artery of the Tohoku region. In other words, the aim was to enable people to travel from Mori Station to all parts of the country by rail, and to transport goods.
Construction work on the railway was interrupted by the Pacific War, so the railway actually opened after the war. First, in October 1950, the section of the Higoroichi Line between Mori Station and Higoroichi Station opened.
However, despite the railway's successful opening, both passenger and freight transport were sluggish, necessitating a solution. It was decided to transport limestone to cement factories, leading to the extension of the line. In June 1957, the Akasaki Line between Mori Station and Akasaki Station opened, and in June 1960, the Higoroichi Line between Higoroichi Station and Iwate-Ishibashi Station opened, completing the Iwate Development Railway's current route. Simultaneously, limestone transport began.
Plans to extend the Kamaishi Line to Hirakura Station were officially abandoned in March 1976
Kiha 301 diesel railcar used for passenger transport
Until 1992, passenger transport was also carried out on the Higoroichi Line (between Mori Station and Iwate-Ishibashi Station). However, there were not many people using the line that connected the mine and the cement factory. According to the author's timetable from September 1964, thereonly five round trips per day, and two of those did not go all the way to Iwate-Ishibashi Station, with Higoroichi Station being the terminal and starting point. With the spread of automobiles, the number of users decreased even further, and by 1992, there were onlythree round trips per day, one of which terminated at Higoroichi Station. Passenger service was discontinued on April 1, 1992, and thereafter, Iwate Kaihatsu Railway became a railway company specializing in freight only.
Although passenger service was discontinued more than 30 years ago, the platforms at stations such as Mori Station remain intact. Ikawa Station (located between Mori Station and Chōanji Station), which was used solely for passenger boarding and alighting, has been closed. The platform at this station has been removed, but the stairs leading up to the platform on the embankment still exist. Local people of the generation who remember the time when passenger service was in operation still affectionately refer to the Iwate Kaihatsu Railway as "Kaihatsu-san."
The remains of the platform at Mori Station, located slightly north of JR and Sanriku Railway Mori Station (entry prohibited)
As a freight-only company, it may seem somewhat low-profile compared to other railway companies, but its business is not limited to transporting limestone. For example, it receives contracts for the maintenance of diesel railcars owned by companies such as the Sanriku Railway. It can be said that it is an indispensable presence in the railway industry in Iwate Prefecture. Including its group companies, it operates businesses in tourism, printing, real estate, trucking, water and sewage construction, and civil engineering, and is involved in a wide range of businesses, just like other railway companies.
Iwate Development Railway in 2011
The Akasaki Line of the Iwate Development Railway was damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. The Ofunato Plant of Taiheiyo Cement, the shipper, also suffered significant damage, but both companies worked diligently on restoration efforts, andtrain operations on November 7, 2011, eight months after the disasterresumed
Furthermore, the JR Ofunato Line, which was also damaged in the disaster, was never restored as a railway line. Instead, the section from Kesennuma Station to Mori Station was converted to a bus service. A bus-only lane was built where the railway tracks used to run, and buses now operate on this route as the Ofunato Line BRT. This serves as a stark reminder of the magnitude of the damage caused by that earthquake and the difficulty of maintaining local railways.
Board the bus from the platform at the Ofunato Line BRT stop at Sakari Station
After that massive tsunami, the scene was one of nothing but concrete buildings and bridges remaining in many places. It was a heartbreaking sight. However, the current president of Iwate Development Railway (as of June 2024) also spoke about that time in this way: He said that the limestone they transported becomes cement and concrete, which helps protect people's lives and propertyto reaffirm their awareness that also said that the disaster taught them the importance of cooperation and trust with their clients and affiliated companies, as well as the unity and high level of technical skill of their employees, all of which were lessons learned from the disaster.
summary
Although the Iwate Development Railway has become a freight-only railway, it still plays an important role in transporting raw materials for concrete and cement used in various regions. The concrete that supports the daily lives of me and my readers may even be made from limestone transported by Iwate Development Railway freight trains.
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