Kumamoto Electric Railway

For the tram system in Kumamoto, see Kumamoto City Transportation Bureau.

Kumamoto Electric Railway
A 6000 series and 03 series train
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerKumamoto Electric Railway
LocaleKumamoto Prefecture
History
Opened15 August 1909
Technical
Line length13.1 km (8.1 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification600 V DC overhead catenary
Operating speed50 km/h (30 mph)[1]
Route map

 Kikuchi
(until 1986)
10.8
 Miyoshi
3.4
(F) 0.0
 Kita-Kumamoto
(F) 2.3
 Fujisakigū-mae
0.0
 Kami-Kumamoto
(F)
- Fujisaki Line

The Kumamoto Electric Railway (熊本電気鉄道, Kumamoto Denki Tetsudō) is a public transport company in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is abbreviated as Kumamoto Dentetsu (熊本電鉄) or Kumaden (熊電). The company was founded in 1909. The company operates railway and bus lines.

Lines

A short section of the Fujisaki Line shares its track with public road.

Routes and services

Train services operate on two routes:[2][3][4][5][6][7]

  • Kami-Kumamoto — Kita-Kumamoto (a portion of the Kikuchi Line)
  • Miyoshi — Kita-Kumamoto — Fujisakigū-mae (the remaining portion of the Kikuchi Line combined with the Fujisaki Line)

Services from the 3 termini (Kami-Kumamoto, Miyoshi and Fujisakigū-mae) meet at Kita-Kumamoto at the same times allowing seamless transfer between services.

From 3 February 2025, Kumamoto Electric Railway implemented service reductions due to chronic driver shortages.[8] Kami-Kumamoto — Kita-Kumamoto services will operate every 40 minutes (previously every 30 minutes), and Miyoshi — Kita-Kumamoto — Fujisakigū-mae services will operate every 20 minutes during morning & evening peak hours (previously every 15 minutes) and every 40 minutes at other times (previously every 30 minutes).

At Kami-Kumamoto, passengers can transfer to JR Kyushu Kagoshima Line trains and Kumamoto City Transportation Bureau tram (streetcar) Route B.

Rolling stock

All trains are 2-car sets acquired second-hand from other operators.

Current

  • Kumamoto Electric Railway 1000 series, February 2024
    Kumamoto Electric Railway 1000 series, February 2024
  • Kumamoto Electric Railway 03 series
    Kumamoto Electric Railway 03 series
  • Kumamoto Electric Railway 01 series
    Kumamoto Electric Railway 01 series
  • Kumamoto Electric Railway 6000 series
    Kumamoto Electric Railway 6000 series

Former

  • Kumamoto Electric Railway 200 series
    Kumamoto Electric Railway 200 series
  • Kumamoto Electric Railway 5000 series
    Kumamoto Electric Railway 5000 series

History

The forerunner of the company, Kikuchi Tramway (菊池軌道), was established in on 15 August 1909, and opened the 914 mm (3 ft) gauge steam-hauled line from Ikeda Station (池田駅) (close to the present-day Kami-Kumamoto Station) to Sendanbatamachi Station (千反畑町駅) (present-day Fujisakigū-mae Station) on 1 October 1911.[1] On 27 August 1913, the line between Ikeda and Waifu Station (隈府駅) (later named Kikuchi) was opened.[1]

From 31 August 1923, the line was converted to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge and electrified at 600 V DC.[1]

The current section of the Kikuchi Line between Kita-Kumamoto and Kami-Kumamoto opened on 1 October 1950, resulting in two lines between those stations, the original via Fujisakigū-mae and the new line.[1] In June 1953 the original line from Kami-Kumamoto to Fujisakigū-mae closed.[1] The 13.5 km Miyoshi to Kikuchi section closed on 16 February 1986 due to falling patronage.[1]

See also

References

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

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Terada, Hirokazu (19 January 2013). データブック日本の私鉄: 全国私鉄165社局掲載 データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways]. Japan: Neko Publishing. p. 186. ISBN 978-4-7770-1336-4.
  2. ^ "路線図・駅情報 | 熊本電気鉄道株式会社". www.kumamotodentetsu.co.jp. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  3. ^ "ourline.pdf" (PDF). www.kumamotodentetsu.co.jp. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  4. ^ "電車 | よくあるご質問 | 熊本電気鉄道株式会社". www.kumamotodentetsu.co.jp. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  5. ^ "Kumamoto Electric Railway". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  6. ^ "上熊本駅(ＪＲ・熊本電鉄) 御代志方面 時刻表｜熊本電気鉄道菊池線【駅探】". ekitan.com (in Japanese). 3 February 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  7. ^ "御代志駅 上熊本(ＪＲ・熊本電鉄)方面 時刻表｜熊本電気鉄道菊池線【駅探】". ekitan.com (in Japanese). 3 February 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  8. ^ Department, Editorial (13 January 2025). "Kumamoto Electric Railway to Implement Major Service Reductions from February 3 Due to a Shortage of Train Drivers". TRAICY Global. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  9. ^ 熊本電鉄で「1000形撮影会」開催 [Kumamoto Electric Railway holds "1000 Series Photo Session"]. Japan Railfan Magazine Onlinee (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  10. ^ 中古車両、熊本電鉄で「第二の人生」５車種すべて移籍組　東京メトロの３編成導入へ [Old rolling stock to spend new life, 5 different types already transferred, 3 Tokyo Metro trains to be introduced] (in Japanese). Japan: Nishinippon Shimbun. 15 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  11. ^ Kekke, Manabu (June 2015). 熊本電気鉄道01形 [Kumamoto Electric Railway 01 series]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 44, no. 374. Japan: Kotsu Shimbun. pp. 44–47.
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