Shimabara Railway Explained

Shimabara Railway
Native Name:	島原鉄道
Native Name Lang:	ja
Romanized Name:	Shimabara Tetsudō
Type:	Third sector
Location:	Bentenmachi, Shimabara, Nagasaki
Industry:	Transportation

(for short) is a third-sector railway company in Nagasaki, Japan.

Shimabara Railway also operates buses, taxis and passenger ferries; as well as other non-transport ventures.^[1]

Nagasaki Prefecture and Cities in Shimabara area came to hold stocks in the company after an eruption disaster of Unzen Fugen-dake in an effort to increase capital.

History

• May 5, 1908: Shimabara Railway Co., Ltd. established.
• 1911:
  • April 1: Line opened with a JGR Class 150 locomotive (built 1871) from the Ministry of Railways.
  • June 20: Line from to Ainomura (now) opened.
• September 24, 1913: Line from Isahaya to Shimabara Minato (now South Shimabara) opened.
• April 10, 1919: Kuchinotsu Railway Co., Ltd. established.
• April 22, 1922: Kuchinotsu Railway line from Shimabara Minato to Dozaki opened.
• March 1, 1928: Kuchinotsu Railway line from Kazusa to Shimabara Minato opened.
• December 5, 1930: Shimabara Railway bus service established.
• June 1, 1935: Shimabara Railway line to Unzen opened (discontinued 1938).
• 1935: Kuchinotsu Railway bus service established.
• 1938: Kuchinotsu Railway buys Oniike route.
• July 1, 1943: Shimabara and Kuchinotsu Railway companies merge.
• July 1956 Island Tourist Rail Co., Ltd. established.
• March 1966 Island Rail Taxi Co., Ltd. established.
• July 1978 Isahaya Terminal Hotel opened.
• November 1990-June 1991: Eruption of Mount Unzen; service from Fukae to Shimabara discontinued.
• October 1995: Nagasaki and cities and towns along the line increase their stock holdings in the company.
• April 1, 1997: Fukae-Shimabara service resumed after reconstruction work. Tourist tram train operation started.
• August 1997: Shimabara - Omuta route opened; Shimatetsu high speed passenger ship service began.
• April 1, 2008 - Rail service from to discontinued.

Current (October 2015) capital of 300 million yen.^[2]

Line

• Shimabara Railway Line

External links

• Shimabara Railway Official Site

Notes and References

1. Web site: 鉄道事業、一般乗合旅客自動車運送事業、一般貸切旅客自動車運送事業、船舶運送事業、ホテル事業、不動産賃貸事業. 16 October 2015.
2. Web site: 資本金 800,000,000円. 16 October 2015.