Shima Line

Shima Line
 M 

Shimakaze Limited Expresses at the line terminus, Kashikojima Station
Overview
Type Commuter rail
Locale Mie Prefecture
Termini Toba
Kashikojima
Stations 16
Operation
Opened July 23, 1929
Operator(s) Kintetsu Railway
Technical
Line length 24.52 km (15.24 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification 1,500 V DC overhead
Route map
Legend

 All lines are Kintetsu unless otherwise noted
Osaka Namba
 Osaka Uehommachi
Kyoto
Kashihara Line • Kyoto Line
 Yamato-Yagi
Nagoya
Osaka Line •
Nagoya Line
 Ise-Nakagawa
 Yamada Line
 Ujiyamada
Toba Line •
JR Central Sangū Line

0.0 Toba1970-
0.1 (old) Toba-1970
Shima Line
1.0 Nakanogō1992-
Ise-wan Ferry
 (old) Nakanogō-1992
 Akasaki Tunnel
 2.3 Shima-Akasaki
 3.9 Funatsu
 National Route 167
5.5 Kamo
6.9 Matsuo
 7.9 Shiraki
Aomine Tunnel
11.0 Gochi
 12.7 Kutsukake
 14.6 Kaminogō(Old Shima-Isobe)
 16.0 Shima-Isobe(Hasama)
Original track - Closed 1993
17.6 Anagawa
(old) Anagawa
Anagawa Tunnel
20.4 Shima-Yokoyama
 21.3 Ugata
 National Route 260
 23.1 Shima-Shimmei
Ago Bay
 24.5 Kashikojima
 ShinjukōClosed 1969

The Shima Line (志摩線 Shima-sen) is a railway line in Mie Prefecture, Japan, operated by private railway operator Kintetsu Railway, connecting Toba Station in Toba with Kashikojima Station in Shima.

The line connects with the Toba Line at Toba Station. The Yamada Line, Toba Line, and Shima Line form a single train line that begins at Ise-Nakagawa Station and serves the Ise-Shima tourist region.

Service

 LO  Local (普通 futsū)

For Nakagawa
For Kashikojima
(Locals stop at every station.)


 LE  Limited Express (特急 tokkyū)

For Osaka Namba and Osaka Uehommachi; via Nabari and Yamato-Yagi (Kashihara)
For Kyoto; via Yamato-Saidaiji (Nara)
For Nagoya; via Tsu and Yokkaichi
For Kashikojima
(Seat reservations and limited express fee required.)


 NS  Non-stop Limited Express (ノンストップ特急 nonsutoppu tokkyū)

For Osaka Namba
For Nagoya
For Kashikojima
(Runs twice a day on weekends.)
(Seat reservations and limited express fee required.)

 SV  Premium Express Shimakaze (しまかぜ Shimakaze)[1]

For Osaka Namba
For Kyoto
For Nagoya
For Kashikojima
(Train to and from Osaka runs once a day except on Tuesday with some exceptions.)
(Train to and from Kyoto runs once a day except on Wednesday with some exceptions.)
(Train to and from Nagoya runs once a day except on Thursday with some exceptions.)
(Seat reservations, limited express fee and "Shimakaze" special vehicle fee required.)

Stations

Legend
● Trains stop here
| Trains do not stop here
Station Japanese Distance (km) Transfers LO LE NS SV Location
Toba 鳥羽 0.0 Sangū Line
Toba Line		 ● ● ● ● Toba Mie Prefecture
Nakanogō 中之郷 1.0 Ise-wan Ferry ● | | |
Shima-Akasaki 志摩赤崎 2.3 ● | | |
Funatsu 船津 3.9 ● | | |
Kamo 加茂 5.5 ● | | |
Matsuo 松尾 6.9 ● | | |
Shiraki 白木 7.9 ● | | |
Gochi 五知 11.0 ● | | | Shima
Kutsukake 沓掛 12.7 ● | | |
Kaminogō 上之郷 14.6 ● | | |
Shima-Isobe 志摩磯部 16.0 ● ● ● |
Anagawa 穴川 17.6 ● | | |
Shima-Yokoyama 志摩横山 20.4 ● | | |
Ugata 鵜方 21.3 ● ● ● ●
Shima-Shimmei 志摩神明 23.1 ● | | |
Kashikojima 賢島 24.5 ● ● ● ●

History

During the Meiji era, travelers coming to modern-day Shima walked along the Ise-Isobe road, now known as Mie Route 32. In 1911, as the Meiji era neared its end, the government-owned Sangū Line (now owned by JR Central) was extended from the city of Ujiyamada (modern-day Ise) to Toba, making Toba the default origin of any railroad to Shima, and not Ujiyamada. During the 1910s, as the Taishō period began, many plans were put forth by various members of the railroad industry, but none were implemented.

Shima Electric Railway

In 1923, Shima Electric Railway (志摩電気鉄道 Shima Denki Tetsudō) was established by Kakuya Morimoto, and by 1924 the plan for a railroad to Shima was finally approved. This plan specified Toba Station as the origin, as well as a track gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in), allowing the line to connect directly with the Sangū Line (also 1,067 mm) in Toba. The original plan also specified that Ugata Station would be the terminus. However, shortly before construction began, a request was made to members of an already-established railway company, Tokyu Corporation, to see if the plan drawn up by Shima Electric Railway was sound. In the end, the only recommendation made was that the terminus be extended from Ugata to a nearby uninhabited island in Ago Bay called Kashiko Island, citing the island's natural beauty as conducive to establishing a profitable resort and tourism industry catering to travelers and pilgrims already coming to the area to visit nearby Ise Grand Shrine. Executives at Shima Electric Railway incorporated this suggestion into their plan and decided the line would include two stations on Kashiko Island: Kashikojima Station for tourists, and Shinjukō Station (真珠港駅, lit: Pearl Port Station), the new terminus, for use as a freight station by the area's marine industry. However, the people living near Ugata, the original terminus, opposed the new plan because they felt having the line's endpoint in their area would bring economic benefit. This period of opposition lasted for four years, during which people living near Ugata refused to sell the land needed by Shima Electric Railway to lay track leading to Kashiko Island, thereby delaying construction. After an agreement was reached, the line was finally completed and opened in 1929, five years after the original plan had been drafted.

In 1944, Shima Electric Railway, along with six other companies, merged to form Mie Transport (Sanco). Twenty years later, the railway department of Sanco split off to become a separate company called Mie Electric Railway (Sanden), however this organization was short-lived as it was bought up by railway giant Kinki Nippon Railway (Kintetsu) the following year, and thus in 1965 the line came under its current name and ownership.

Kintetsu renovation

In acquiring the line, Kintetsu now had a problem because the Shima Line, which originated at Toba Station, was not connected with the rest of Kintetsu's extensive rail network which only stetched as far as Ujiyamada Station in Ise. Moreover, the railway gauge and voltage used on the Shima Line were different from the majority of Kintetsu lines, including the nearby Yamada Line which terminated at Ujiyamada. For the time being, Kintetsu offered bus service between Ujiyamada and Toba, but in the late 1960s they decided it was worthwhile to create a rail connection between the two in hopes of attracting customers from the upcoming 1970 World's Fair in Osaka by offering direct rail service to the area. This was the impetus for the construction of the Toba Line, and to make direct service possible between the Shima Line, the under-construction Toba Line, the Yamada Line, and beyond, the Shima Line was closed for four months in late 1969 and early 1970 to change the gauge to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) and double the voltage to 1,500 V DC to match the other Kintetsu lines it would connect with. Other improvements were added such as the ATS system, a new switching network, and gentler curves. The renovated Shima Line and the newly built Toba Line opened together in March 1970, and Kintetsu began running limited express trains from Kintetsu Namba and Kintetsu Nagoya to Kashikojima just in time for the beginning of the World's Fair. The sharp increase of passengers on the line also motivated Kintetsu to invest money in a variety of tourism business enterprises in the Ise-Shima, especially along the Shima Line.

In 1986, it was decided that a second track on the Shima Line would assist in increasing the speed and number of trains on the line. Construction took several years and now most but not all of the line has dual tracks. The Aomine Tunnel between Shiraki and Gochi was also added to the line during this phase.

Timeline

References

  1. ↑ 近畿日本鉄道｜観光特急しまかぜのご案内 - Kintetsu. (Japanese)
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