The disappearance of the ultra-local train line, the Nicchu Line (Fukushima Prefecture)

Kitakata City, located in western Fukushima Prefecture and famous for its Kitakata ramen, is served by the JR East Ban'etsu West Line railway

The Ban'etsu West Line is a railway line that connects Koriyama Station in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, to Niitsu Station in Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, via Aizuwakamatsu Station in Aizuwakamatsu City

It plays a vital role in connecting the Nakadori and Aizu regions of Fukushima Prefecture with Niigata City. On holidays, the "SL Banetsu Monogatari " steam locomotive train, which connects Niitsu Station and Aizu-Wakamatsu Station, and the " Aizu SATONO " sightseeing train, which connects Koriyama Station and Kitakata Station , sometimes operate.

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The new tourist train "SATONO" runs smoothly through Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures!

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A new sightseeing train called "SATONO" debuted in the southern Tohoku region in April 2024. This article will introduce the operating sections, operating days, how to ride, and sightseeing spots along the route of this new sightseeing train. "SATONO" is the nickname for JR East's sightseeing train, which debuted in April 2024. The name comes from the desire for passengers to enjoy the scenery, scents, and culture of the "sato" (hometown) from the train. As of June 2024, SATONO is planned to be used on two types of trains. One is the "Aizu SATONO," which will operate between Koriyama Station and Kitakata Station on the Ban'etsu West Line in Fukushima Prefecture...

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Kitakata Station, the central station of Kitakata City, is currently only served by trains on the Ban'etsu West Line, but until 1984, when JR was still the Japanese National Railways, other lines also passed through it

It's called the "Nitchu Line."

What is the Nicchu Line?

The Nichū Line was a 11.6km-long Japanese National Railways line that connected Kitakata Station to Atsushio Station in Atsushiokano Village, located to the north of Kitakata (Atsushiokano Village became part of Kitakata City in 2006).

There were three stations along the way, named Aizu-Muramatsu, Kami-Sannomiya, and Aizu-Kano, in that order from Kitakata Station. The name of the line, Nichu Line, comes from Nichu Onsen, a hot spring located north of Atsushio Station

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.

When the Nichu Line first opened in 1938, there were reportedly six round trips per day. However, the number of trains gradually decreased, and by around 1958, it had settled downjust three round trips per day.

I can't help but be surprised that there were already this many train services running, even though the explosive growth of private car ownership is still yet to come

And so, with only three round trips per 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, there are three round trips per day, and the train departure times don't vary much. For example, the November 1982 timetable lists the following six trains

• Train 621　departs Aizu-Wakamatsu at 5:17 and arrives in Kitakata at 5:40, then departs Kitakata at 6:12 and arrives in Atsushio at 6:41.
  (This train was the only one that originated at Aizu-Wakamatsu Station and then switched from the Ban'etsu West Line to the Nichu Line at Kitakata Station.)
• Train 623　departs Kitakata at 16:10 and arrives at Atsushio at 16:38.
• Train 625　departs Kitakata at 18:25 and arrives at Atsushio at 18:53.
• Train 622　departs Atsushio at 7:06 and arrives in Kitakata at 7:35.
• Train 624　departs Atsushio at 17:01 and arrives in Kitakata at 17:37.
• Train 626　departs Atsushio at 19:08 and arrives in 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 in the morning, evening, and night, making for a very easy-to-understand operating pattern

Despite its name, the Nichū Line (Daytime Line) was famous for having no trains running during the daytime. Its users were mainly local high school students, and itonly about 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 passengers were coupled together and pulled by a locomotive.
Such trains are called mixed trains.

All trains on the Nichu Line take nearly 30 minutes to cover the 11.6km route, 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 time allocated for loading and unloading cargo along the way

Steam locomotives were used to pull the trains until 1974, making itthe last steam-powered train to be used.

As the steam locomotive service came to an end, many railway enthusiasts gathered

One of the locomotives that ran as the last steam locomotive on Honshu is preserved in static display on the "Nichu Line Memorial Bicycle and Pedestrian Path," which utilizes the abandoned railway line of the Nichu Line, as described later

Even after the end of steam locomotive operations, trains on the Nichu Line continued to run, pulled by DE10 diesel locomotives, and diesel railcars (passenger cars that run on diesel fuel) were never introduced

The Nichū Line was a frequent topic of conversation among railway enthusiasts, but there was no way such a deserted local line could survive until the end of the Japanese National Railways era

Under the 1980 Special Act for Promoting the Reconstruction of the Japanese National Railways, commonly known as the JNR Reconstruction Act, the Nichu Line was designated as a first-class designated local railway line. A designated local railway line is a JNR line with few users that is deemed suitable for conversion to buses or other alternatives

Routes were designated in three phases, and the Nichu Line easily met the first selection criteria (which were significantly more lenient than the second and third phases) of being "a dead-end route with an operating distance of 30 km or less, and with fewer than 2,000 passengers per kilometer per day," and was therefore mercilessly targeted for closure .

The last day of service was March 31, 1984, and the service was discontinued on April 1st of the following year

Although a local bus service began operating as a replacement for the daytime bus line, even that service was discontinued in 2012. Currently, if you want to travel by public transport, you have to use a demand-responsive 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 and passed through stations such as Utsunomiya, Imaichi, Aizuwakamatsu, Kitakata, Yonezawa, Yamagata, and Shinjo before reaching Akita Station

It's possible that the Nichu Line (or a similar line) served as a bypass for the Tohoku Main Line, which runs through 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

The 2009 NHK Taiga drama "Tenchijin" featured Naoe Kanetsugu, who served Uesugi Kagekatsu, as the main character, so it's possible that a special train related to the drama ran between Aizu-Wakamatsu Station and Yonezawa Station that year.

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Three Sengoku warlords from Yamagata Prefecture! Mogami Yoshimitsu, Naoe Kanetsugu, and Shimura Mitsuyasu

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During the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, a major battle known as the Keicho Dewa War took place in Yamagata Prefecture. The battle between the Mogami forces of the Eastern Army, based at Yamagata Castle, and the Uesugi forces of Aizu and Yonezawa, who sided with the Western Army, was a fierce battle that has been passed down through generations. What was the other Sekigahara, the "Keicho Dewa War"? After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, on July 24th, while Tokugawa Ieyasu was marching to conquer Uesugi Kagekatsu in Aizu, Ishida Mitsunari raised an army at Osaka Castle, declaring his intention to overthrow Ieyasu. Ieyasu, who was in Shimotsuke (Tochigi Prefecture), returned to Edo, and the Tohoku generals who had gathered for the Aizu campaign also returned to their castles. Ieyasu and Hidetada split up and marched along the Tokaido and Nakasendo roads, setting out for Edo...

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To return to the realities, construction work from Atsushio to Yonezawa was halted due to the effects of the war

Even after the war, construction over the Ōtoge Pass, which straddles the border between Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures, was expected to be difficult, and the railway construction was never resumed. As a result, the transportation network connecting Kitakata and Yonezawa still exists today in the form of a section of National Route 121, but the bus routes that run along this road have never seen a surge in 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

If that were to happen, it's almost certain that, just like the real-life bus routes, the number of passengers using the railway crossing the Otoge Pass would become sparse. It might have been discontinued due to low ridership, or even if it had continued, its closure 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, but in the period leading up to its closure, it was in a tragically dilapidated state despite still being an active station

However, after the Nichu Line was discontinued, the station building was beautifully renovated and preserved as the " Nichu Line Memorial Museum ." Inside the museum, materials related to the Nichu Line are on display

Outside the station building, a snowplow and passenger cars are preserved in static display, and the remains of the turntable used to change the direction of steam locomotives are also visible. (However, in reality, the turntable was rarely used, and steam locomotives usually ran in reverse for one leg of the journey.)

Weeping cherry blossoms on the Nicchu Line Memorial Cycling and Pedestrian Path

The abandoned Nichu Line railway track within the former Kitakata City has been developed into a cycling path called the "Nichu Line Memorial Bicycle and Pedestrian Path."

Along the section from Kitakata Station to the next station, Aizu-Muramatsu Station, approximately 1,000 weeping cherry trees are planted along the roadside

The weeping cherry trees are typically in full bloom from mid- to late April, and the Nichu Line weeping cherry trees are one of Fukushima Prefecture's most famous cherry blossom viewing spots. While a parking lot is set up nearby only during the cherry blossom season, getting off the train at Kitakata Station and walking there is also a charming experience

summary

The Nichū 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, this railway line (for better or for worse) preserved the appearance of railways from the pre-war era, when they were the main mode of land transportation

As I mentioned, fortunately, a few remnants of the line remain,preserving a glimpse of what the railway looked like in the Showa era. If you ever have the chance to travel to the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture, why not add Kitakata and the remains 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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Kitakata (Fukushima Prefecture): A town of storehouses with over 4,000 surviving storehouses

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/16446

When you think of Kitakata City in Fukushima Prefecture, ramen immediately comes to mind. Along with Sapporo ramen and Hakata ramen, it's considered one of Japan's three great ramen dishes. Its history is long, dating back to the late Taisho period, when a young man from China arrived and began selling Chinese noodles from a food cart. After World War II, the number of ramen restaurants increased as Chinese repatriates returned to Kitakata. Kitakata's signature soy sauce ramen (Genraiken) © Fukushima Travel In the 1980s, local governments began to renovate the old townscape, sparking a boom in strolling through old streets. Kitakata...

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Yuto Ono

A former railway engineer and current freelance writer who has loved trains since childhood, his dream is to make train travel his career