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Kitakata City, located in western Fukushima Prefecture and famous for Kitakata ramen,Ban'etsu Westis served The Ban'etsu West Line runs from Koriyama Station in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, through Aizuwakamatsu Station in Aizuwakamatsu City, to Niitsu Station in Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture. It plays a vital role in connecting the central region of Fukushima Prefecture, Aizu, and Niigata City. On holidays, the "SL Ban'etsu Monogatarisightseeing train, which connects Koriyama Station and Kitakata StationAizu SATONO, sometimes operate on this line.
Kitakata Station, the central station of Kitakata City, is currently only served by trains on the Ban'etsu West Line. However, until 1984, when JR was still the Japanese National Railways, another line also ran through it. That line was called the "Nitchu Line."
What is the Nicchu Line?
The Nichū LineAtsushiokano VillageinAtsushio Station(Atsushiokano Village became part of Kitakata City in 2006). There were three stations along the line, named Aizumuramatsu, Kamisanmiya, and Aizukano, in that order from Kitakata Station. , a hot spring located north of Atsushio StationNichū Onsencomes from
The reason the Nichu Line, a now-defunct line, is often talked about is undoubtedlyan extremely quiet local lineanda route that preserved the appearance of railways from a bygone era.
It is said that when the Nichu Line first opened in 1938, there were six round trips per day. However, the number of trains gradually decreased, and by around 1958,just three round trips per dayit had settled down to It is surprising that there were already so few trains running at a time when the explosive growth of private cars was yet to come.
And so, with only three round trips a day, the service was discontinued on April 1, 1984. The oldest timetable I have is from September 1964, so no matter which timetable I look at, it shows three round trips a day, and the train times don't change much. For example, the November 1982 timetable lists the following six trains.
Train 621: Departs Aizu-Wakamatsu at 5:17, arrives Kitakata at 5:40; Departs Kitakata at 6:12, arrives Atsushio at 6:41 (This train was the only one that originated at Aizu-Wakamatsu Station and connected to the Nichu Line from the Ban'etsu West Line at Kitakata Station).
Train 623: Departs Kitakata at 16:10 and arrives at Atsushio at 16:38
Train 625 leaves Kitakata at 18:25 and arrives at Atsushio at 18:53
Train 622 leaves Atsushio at 7:06 and arrives in Kitakata at 7:35
Train 624: Departs Atsushio at 17:01 and arrives Kitakata at 17:37
Train 626: Departs Atsushio at 19:08 and arrives Kitakata at 19:36
As you can see from the timetable, the trains that arrived at Atsushio Station would turn around after about 20 minutes and return to Kitakata Station, and this was repeated three times a day—morning, evening, and night—making for a very straightforward operation. Contrary to its name, the Nichū Line (Daytime Line), it was a well-known fact that no trains ran at all during the daytime. The Nichū Line was mainly used by local high school students, andabout 260 passengers per kilometer per day.
Furthermore, gypsum, silver, and copper ore were once mined in Atsushio-Kano Village, and freight transport was also carried out on the Nichu Line until October 1983. On this line, where the volume of transport was small, freight cars carrying other freight cars were coupled to passenger cars, and a locomotive pulled them all together. Such trains are called mixed trains. All trains on the Nichu Line took nearly 30 minutes to cover the 11.6 km line, giving the impression of a very leisurely pace. This is due not only to the inherently low operating speed of the trains, but also to the fact that time was allocated for loading and unloading freight along the way.
Until 1974, steam locomotives were used to pull the trains, making itthe last steam-powered train to be used. Many railway enthusiasts flocked to the line as steam locomotive operations came to an end. One of the locomotives that ran as the last steam locomotives on Honshu is preserved in static display on the "Nichu Line Memorial Bicycle and Pedestrian Path," which utilizes the abandoned Nichu Line railway track, as described later.
C11 steam locomotive No. 63 preserved on the Nicchu Line Memorial Bicycle and Pedestrian Path
Even after steam locomotive operations ended, trains on the Nichu Line continued to run, pulled by DE10 diesel locomotives. Diesel railcars (passenger cars that run on diesel fuel) were never introduced.
The Nichu Line was a frequent topic of conversation among railway enthusiasts, but there was no way such a deserted local line could survive the final years of the Japanese National Railways (JNR). Under the Special Act for Promoting the Reconstruction of the Management of the Japanese National Railways, commonly known as the JNR Reconstruction Act, the Nichu Line was designated as a first-category designated local railway line. Designated local railway lines were JNR lines with few users that were deemed suitable for conversion to buses or other alternatives. The designation was carried out in three phases, and the Nichu Line"a dead-end line with an operating distance of 30 km or less, and fewer than 2,000 passengers per kilometer per daythe first-category selection criteria (which were significantly more lenient than the second and third phases) of," and was ruthlessly targeted for closure. Its last day of operation was March 31, 1984, and it was officially abolished on April 1st of the following year. Although a bus service began operating in place of the Nichu Line, even that bus service was abolished in 2012, and currently, if you want to travel by public transport, you have to use a demand taxi.
The Nicchu Line, which failed to become a line connecting Yonezawa and Kitakata
The Nichū Line was not destined from the outset to become a quiet, short local line. Pre-war plansa railway line from Yonezawa in Yamagata Prefecture to Kitakata in Fukushima Prefecture, and the Nichū Line opened in 1938 as part of that project.
There was even a plan to connect Yonezawa and Kitakata with lines corresponding to the current Yagan Railway Aizu-Kinugawa Line and Aizu Railway Aizu Line, and to extend the line from Imaichi Station on the current JR Nikko Line in Tochigi Prefecture, through Aizu -Wakamatsu, to Yonezawa. If the plan had been realized, for example, there might have been express or limited express trains that departed from Ueno Station in Tokyo, passing through stations such as Utsunomiya, Imaichi, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Kitakata, Yonezawa, Yamagata, and Shinjo, to Akita Station. The Nichu Line (or a line corresponding to it) could have potentially served as a bypass for the Tohoku Main Line, which traverses the Tohoku region.
Furthermore, the fact that Aizu-Wakamatsu and Yonezawa are connected by a short distance is interesting from a Japanese historical perspective. Both are areas that were once ruled by Uesugi Kagekatsu. which aired in 2009Tenchijin, featured Naoe Kanetsugu, who served Uesugi Kagekatsu, as the protagonist, so it's possible that a special train related to the drama ran between Aizu-Wakamatsu Station and Yonezawa Station that year.
Returning to reality, construction work from Atsushio to Yonezawa was halted due to the war. Even after the war, it was anticipated that construction over the Otoge Pass, which straddles the border between Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures, would be difficult, and railway construction was never resumed. As a result, the transportation network connecting Kitakata and Yonezawa currently exists in the form of a section of National Route 121, but the bus routes that run along this road are not bustling with passengers. Earlier, I imagined the Nichu Line serving as a bypass for the Tohoku Main Line, but its importance as a bypass route was probably lost either with the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen in 1982 or the Yamagata Shinkansen in 1992. In that case, it is almost certain that, like the historical bus routes, the number of users of the railway crossing the Otoge Pass would become sparse. It may have been abolished due to low ridership, or even if it had continued to exist, its abolition might have been discussed by now.
Nicchu Line Memorial Museum
The station building of Atsushio Station, the terminus of the Nichu Line, was a nostalgic structure that had been in use since the Nichu Line opened in 1938. However, in the period leading up to the line's closure, it was in a tragically dilapidated state despite still being an active station. After the Nichu Line was discontinued, the station building was beautifully restored andNichu Line Memorial Museumpreserved as the The museum displays materials related to the Nichu Line.
Outside the station building, a snowplow and passenger cars are preserved in static display. The remains of the turntable used to change the direction of steam locomotives are also still there. (However, in reality, the turntable was rarely used, and steam locomotives usually ran in reverse for one leg of the journey.)
Information <Nicchu Line Memorial Museum>
Name: Nicchu Line Memorial Museum
Address: 602-2 Maedacho, Atsushio, Atsushio-Kanocho, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture
Opening hours: 9:00-16:00 (exterior viewing is always available)
Closed on Mondays, December 29th to January 3rd of the following year (exterior tours are always available)
Inquiry number: 0241-24-5323 (Kitakata City Cultural Affairs Division)
Weeping cherry blossoms on the Nicchu Line Memorial Cycling and Pedestrian Path
The abandoned Nichu Line railway track within the former Kitakata Citya cycling path called the "Nichu Line Memorial Bicycle and Pedestrian Path."has been developed into Along the section from Kitakata Station to the next station, Aizu-Muramatsu Station, approximately 1,000 weeping cherry trees are planted. The best time to see the weeping cherry blossoms is usually from mid to late April, and the Nichu Line weeping cherry trees are one of the most famous cherry blossom viewing spots in Fukushima Prefecture. Parking is available nearby only during the cherry blossom season, but walking from Kitakata Station is also a charming experience.
The Nichu Line opened before World War II, but after that, the number of trains and operating patterns remained largely unchanged until it was discontinued at the end of the Showa era. For 46 years, it was a railway that (for better or worse) preserved the appearance of railways from the pre-war era when they were the main mode of land transportation. As mentioned, fortunately, a few remnants of it remain,conveying the appearance of Showa-era railways to the present day. If you ever travel to the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture, why not add Kitakata and the remnants of the Nichu Line to your itinerary?
For more information on sightseeing in Kitakata, please also refer to the article below
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