Wakayama Electric Railway

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"Ichigo EC" trainset designed by Eiji Mitooka

The Kishigawa Line (貴志川線 Kishigawa-sen?) is a railway in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan It is the sole line of Wakayama Electric Railway Co., Ltd. The 14.3 km route stretches from Wakayama Station in the city of Wakayama, to Kishi Station in neighboring Kinokawa. Including the terminals, the Kishigawa Line has 14 stations. Its gauge is 1,067 mm. The line is single-track and electrified at 600v DC. Prior to April 1, 2006, the line was part of the Nankai Electric Railway system.

Contents

Rolling stock and service

The Kishigawa Line uses 6 sets (12 cars) of 2270 Series electric multiple unit, originally built for Nankai and transferred to the new operator together with the tracks and other assets of the Kishigawa Line. Some of the cars have been repainted with the design by Eiji Mitooka, who designed the type 9200 "MOMO" tram of Okayama Electric Tramway and trains of Kyūshū Railway Company including 800 Series Shinkansen while others are still in the Nankai livery.

In the morning and evening, service operates three to four times each hour; at off-peak times, two per hour is the norm. Trains are driver-only operated, and do not have conductors.

Stations

Features

Besides the new design of cars, the operator is eager in attracting passengers with unique measures such as:

  • Before trains arrive at Kishi Station or after trains leave there, the arranged tune by The Beatles, "Strawberry Fields Forever" is played.
  • Kishi Station has appointed a cat named Tama as its stationmaster, complete with miniature stationmaster hat.[1][2]
  • An existing train car was repainted in Tama livery in April of 2009 to promote tourism along the line.

References

External links

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