Nagano Electric Railway Explained

Nagano Electric Railway
Native Name:	長野電鉄
Native Name Lang:	ja
Romanized Name:	Nagano Dentetsu
Type:	Public K.K.
Trade Name:	Nagaden
Location City:	〒380-0833 2201, Gondocho, Nagano, Nagano(長野県長野市権堂町2201)
Location Country:	Japan
Area Served:	Nagano.
Key People:	Tohei Kodu (founder)^[1]
Industry:	Conglomerate
Services:	passenger railways other related services
Owner:	Kitano Construction^[2] (8.56%) Hachijuni Bank (3.73%) Dai-ichi Hoki (1.04%)
Subsid:	Nagaden Bus

The is a private railway based in Nagano, Japan. The company and its line are commonly referred to as . It originally operated three lines, but only the Nagano Line between Nagano - Suzaka - Shinshū-Nakano - Yudanaka remains in service. Nagaden owns a 1.1% stake in Shinano Railway.

Operations

The Nagano Line has frequent local and express services. It is a major route for commuter traffic in Nagano, and also serves as a link for tourists going to the town of Obuse, the hot springs at Yudanaka, and the ski resorts at Shiga Kōgen.

At limited times throughout the year, there are special reserve round-trip trains between Nagano and Obuse several nights a week in which customers are served a local, specially-made bento and drink local alcohol. For example, on select evenings in March and April, local nihonshu.^[3] At other seasons, a beer train on the same route is available. In addition, a wine-tasting train from Nagano to Yudanaka or Yudanaka to Nagano is available on select Saturdays throughout the year.

Stations

● Means all trains stops at this station.

｜Means all trains passes at this station.

No.^[4]	Station name	Japanese	Distance (km)		Limited Express			Connections	Tracks	Location
No.^[4]	Station name	Japanese	Between stations	Total	B	A	S	Connections	Tracks	Location
N1		長野	style="text-align:center;"	-	0.0	●	●	●	Hokuriku Shinkansen Shin'etsu Main Line Shinano Railway Kita-Shinano Line	Two	Nagano
N2		市役所前	0.4	0.4	●	｜	｜
N3		権堂	0.6	1.0	●	●	●
N4		善光寺下	0.6	1.6	｜	｜	｜
N5		本郷	1.1	2.7	●	｜	｜
N6		桐原	0.9	3.6	｜	｜	｜
N7		信濃吉田	0.7	4.3	●	｜	｜	Shinano Railway Kita-Shinano Line
N8		朝陽	2.0	6.3	●	｜	｜		∨
N9		附属中学前	0.7	7.0	｜	｜	｜		｜
N10		柳原	1.0	8.0	｜	｜	｜		◇
N11		村山	2.0	10.0	｜	｜	｜		◇	Suzaka
N12		日野	1.0	11.0	｜	｜	｜		｜
N13		須坂	1.5	12.5	●	●	●		◇
N14		北須坂	2.5	15.0	｜	｜	｜		◇
N15		小布施	2.5	17.5	●	●	●		◇	Obuse (Kamitakai)
N16		都住	1.1	18.6	｜	｜	｜		｜	Obuse (Kamitakai)
N17		桜沢	2.7	21.3	｜	｜	｜		◇	Nakano
N18		延徳	2.0	23.3	｜	｜	｜		◇
N19		信州中野	2.3	25.6	●	●	●		◇
N20		中野松川	1.4	27.0	｜	｜	｜		｜
N21		信濃竹原	2.3	29.3	｜	｜	｜		◇
N22		夜間瀬	1.1	30.4	｜	｜	｜		｜	Yamanouchi (Shimotakai)
N23		上条	1.4	31.8	｜	｜	｜		｜
N24		湯田中	1.4	33.2	●	●	●		｜

Rolling stock

4-car EMUs (2 sets)

Ex-Odakyū 10000 series HiSE sets for Limited express "A" (Yukemuri) services. Entered service from 9 December 2006.

2100 series 3-car EMUs (2 sets)

Ex-JR Narita Express 253 series sets for Snow Monkey limited express services. Entered service from 26 February 2011.

3-car EMUs

Ex-Tokyo Metro 03 series sets for local services. Introduced in January 2020. Scheduled to replace the existing 3500 & 3600 series in 2020.

3-car EMUs (6 sets)

Ex-Tokyu 8500 series sets for local services. Introduced in 2005.^[5]

Former rolling stock

2000 series 3-car EMUs

For Limited express "B" services. (1957 - August 2011)

For "Officeman & Student" Local services. (1966 - 2002)

For "Officeman & Student" Local services. (1980 - 2017)

2-car EMUs (14 sets) and 3600 series 3-car EMUs (3 sets)

Ex-TRTA 3000 series sets for local services. (1993 - January 19 2023)^[6]

History

The original Nagano Electric Railway was built in 1926, connecting Gondō in Nagano with Suzaka, and electrified at 1,500 V DC. Later that year, the company absorbed the operations of Katō Railway, which operated a line on the east bank of the Chikuma River from Yashiro via Suzaka to Kijima, with the Gongo to Yoshida section being double-tracked. The following year, an additional line was constructed from Shinshū-Nakano to Yudanaka, and in 1928, the line was extended to Nagano Station as dual track.

The Yoshida - Asahi section was double-tracked in 1956, and freight services ceased in 1979. CTC signalling was commissioned between Yudanaka and Asahi in 1980, and extended to Nagano in 1984. The section from Nagano to Zenkōjishita was converted to an underground railway in 1981.

Former connecting lines

Suzaka Station: The Kato Railway opened a line to Yashiro on the (now) Shinano Railway Line in 1922, electrified it at 1,500 V DC in January 1926, and merged with the Nagano Electric Railway in September the same year. Due to falling patronage, the line closed on 31 March 2012.^[7]
Shinshū-Nakano Station: The Kato Railway opened the line to Kijima in 1925 and electrified it at 1,500 V DC the following year. Freight services ceased in 1979 and CTC signalling was commissioned on the line in 1980, but due to falling patronage, the line closed in 2002.

References

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

Notes and References

He is Tsutomu Hata's grandfather.
Kitano Construction is made a 1.9% investment by Matsuya (department store) and a 1.7% investment by Toei Company
Web site: ながでん地酒トレイン.
Web site: http://www.nagaden-net.co.jp/webstation/station_inquiry.html. https://web.archive.org/web/20140901054058/https://www.nagaden-net.co.jp/webstation/station_inquiry.html. 1 September 2014. ja:長野電鉄各駅情報一覧｜長野電鉄ホームページ. ja. Nagaden.
東急８５００系と田園都市線のあゆみ . Tokyu 8500 series and the History of the Denentoshi Line . Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō . 38 . 301 . 12 - 21 . Kōtsū Shimbunsha. Japan . May 2009 .
Web site: 22 December 2022 . 長野電鉄3500系、最後の現役車両が1/19で完全引退 - イベント開催 . Nagano Electric Railway 3500 series, the last active vehicle will be completely retired on 1/19, Event to be held . https://web.archive.org/web/20221222052234/https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20221222-2543356/ . 22 December 2022 . 22 December 2022 . MyNavi Corporation . ja.
Web site: http://railf.jp/news/2012/04/02/143100.html. ja:長野電鉄屋代線が廃止される. Nagano Electric Railway Yashiro Line Closes. 2 April 2012. Japan Railfan Magazine Online. Koyusha Co., Ltd.. Japan. Japanese. 5 April 2012.