Nishitetsu Kaizuka Line
{{Short description|Railway line in Fukuoka prefecture, Japan}}
{{Refimprove|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox rail line
| box_width = 300px
| color = fc6
| other_name =
| name = 13px Kaizuka Line
| image = Nishi-Nippon-Railroad-600.JPG
| image_width = 300px
| image_alt =
| caption = Kaizuka Line 600 series train
| type =
| status =
| start = Kaizuka
| end = Nishitetsu Shingū
| stations = 10
| open = {{Start date|1927|05|23|df=y}}
| event1label =
| event1 =
| event2label =
| event2 =
| close =
| owner = Nishi-Nippon Railroad (Nishitetsu)
| operator =
| depot = Tatara
| stock =
| linelength_km = 11.0
| linelength =
| gauge = {{RailGauge|1067mm|lk=on}}
| minradius =
| linenumber = NK
| electrification = 1,500 V DC
| speed =
| maxincline =
| map =
| map_state =
}}
{{routemap
|title =Route map
| title bg =#fc6
|map =
\tSTRe!~POINTERg@fq\exSTR~~ ~~ ~~Fukuoka City Subway Hakozaki Line
STR+4!~POINTERg@fq\KBHFe!~HUBaq\exSTR!~HUBlg~~ ~~ ~~Kagoshima Main Line
STR2\STRc3\KBHFxa!~HUBe~~0.0~~Kaizuka
STRc1\STR+4\STR~~ ~~ ~~Old Tatara Station
\hKRZWae\hKRZWae
\STR\BHF~~1.4~~Najima
\BHF!~HUBaq\BHF!~HUBeq~~2.5~~Chihaya
\STR\STR~~ ~~ ~~Nishitetsu Chihaya
\STR\BHF~~3.0~~Kashii-Miyamae
\STR\BHF~~3.6~~Nishitetsu Kashii
\ABZg+r\STR~~ ~~ ~~Kashii Line
\HST\STR~~ ~~ ~~Kashii
STRc2\ABZg3\BHF~~5.0~~Kashii-Kaenmae
STR+1\STRc4!~STR\STR
STR2\STR3u\BHF~~6.1~~Tōnoharu
STR+1u\STR+4\STR
LSTR\BHF!~HUBaq\BHF!~HUBeq~~7.2~~Wajiro
\STRl\KRZo~~ ~~ ~~Kashii Line
\\BHF~~9.0~~Mitoma
LSTR\\KBHFxe~~11.0~~Nishitetsu Shingū
STR2\STRc3\exSTR~~ ~~ ~~↓Closed in 2007
STRc1\STR+4\exBHF~~13.0~~Koga-Golfjomae
\HST\exBHF~~14.2~~Nishitetsu-Koga
\STR\exSTR~~ ~~ ~~Koga
\STR\exBHF~~15.6~~Hanami
HSTq\STRr\exSTR~~ ~~ ~~Fukuma
uexKHSTa\\exSTR
uexSTR2\uexSTRc3\exBHF~~18.2~~Nishitetsu-Fukuma
uexSTRc1\uexSTR+4\exSTR
exKBHFaq!~HUBa\uexmKRZ\exABZgr~~19.6~~Miyajidake~~(1) -1951
uexKBHFaq!~HUBe\uexSTR!~uexKHSTeq\exSTR~~ ~~ ~~Miyajidake Eik-mae
\\exBHF~~19.5~~Miyajidake~~(2) 1951-
\\exKBHFe~~20.9~~Tsuyazaki
}}
The {{nihongo|Kaizuka Line|貝塚線|Kaizuka-sen}} is an {{Convert|11.0|km|abbr=on}} Japanese railway line in Fukuoka prefecture, run by the private railway operator Nishi-Nippon Railroad which operates publicly as Nishitetsu. It links Kaizuka Station in Higashi-ku, Fukuoka with Nishitetsu Shingū Station in Shingū. It connects to the Kashii Line of JR Kyushu at {{Stn|Wajiro|X}}, and the Hakozaki Line of Fukuoka City Subway at Kaizuka.
The line was {{Convert|20.9|km|abbr=on}} long until Nishitetsu closed the 9.9 km section between Nishitetsu Shingū and Tsuyazaki stations on April 1, 2007.Nishitetsu News Release (2007-02-20) [http://www.nishitetsu.co.jp/nnr/inf/release/release06_114.htm 宮地岳線一部区間廃止に伴う路線名変更および鉄道・バス運行概要決定のお知らせ] (Japanese) Until then, the line was called {{nihongo|Miyajidake Line|宮地岳線|Miyajidake-sen}}.
The Kaizuka Line is the most congested railway line in Japan outside the Tokyo Metropolitan area. In Fiscal Year 2022 the congestion rate between Najima and Kaizuka stations was 154% during the morning peak, making it the 2nd most congested railway line in Japan.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-09 |title=Commuter Train Lines More Congested in 2022 |url=https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01745/ |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=nippon.com |language=en}} In Fiscal Year 2023 the congestion rate was 158%,{{Cite web |title=Japan: busiest railway lines 2023 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/998622/japan-most-congested-train-lines/#:~:text=Most%20crowded%20railway%20line%20sections%20in%20Japan%20FY%202023&text=In%20the%20fiscal%20year%202023,-shogakkomae%20and%20Nishi-nippori. |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=Statista |language=en}} which was equal 5th most congested and the only line outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Area in the list of top 10 most congested railway lines.
Services
All services on the Kaizuka Line are Local trains, stopping at all stations.
{{As of|2024|January}}, services operate every 10 minutes during weekday morning & afternoon peaks, and every 15 minutes at other times.{{Cite web |title=『駅すぱあと for web』-経路検索・定期代検索・運行情報 |url=https://roote.ekispert.net/timetable/28270/4390 |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=roote.ekispert.net |language=ja}}
Rolling stock
2-car {{Ill|Nishitetsu 600 Series|ja|西鉄600形電車_(鉄道・2代)}} electric multiple unit trains.
Station list
| class=wikitable |
| Station name
!Japanese !Distance (km) !Connections !colspan=2|Location |
|---|
| NK 01 {{STN|Kaizuka|x|Fukuoka}}
|貝塚 |style="text-align:right;"|0.0 |rowspan="9"|Higashi-ku, Fukuoka |rowspan="10"|Fukuoka Prefecture |
| NK 02 {{STN|Najima|x}}
|名島 |style="text-align:right;"|1.4 | |
| NK 03 {{STN|Nishitetsu Chihaya|x}}
|西鉄千早 |style="text-align:right;"|2.5 |{{JRKSN|JA}} Kagoshima Main Line ({{Stn|Chihaya|x}}) |
| NK 04 {{STN|Kashii-Miyamae|x}}
|香椎宮前 |style="text-align:right;"|3.0 | |
| NK 05 {{STN|Nishitetsu Kashii|x}}
|西鉄香椎 |style="text-align:right;"|3.6 |{{JRKSN|JA}} Kagoshima Main Line ({{Stn|Kashii|x}}) |
| NK 06 {{STN|Kashii-Kaenmae|x}}
|香椎花園前 |style="text-align:right;"|5.0 | |
| NK 07 {{STN|Tōnoharu|x}}
|唐の原 |style="text-align:right;"|6.1 | |
| NK 08 {{STN|Wajiro|x}}
|和白 |style="text-align:right;"|7.2 |{{JRKSN|JD}} Kashii Line |
| NK 09 {{STN|Mitoma|x}}
|三苫 |style="text-align:right;"|9.0 | |
| NK 10 {{STN|Nishitetsu Shingū|x}}
|西鉄新宮 |style="text-align:right;"|11.0 | |
History
The Hakata Bay Railway opened the {{RailGauge|1435mm}} gauge Shinhakata to Wajiro line in 1924, and extended the line to Miyajidake the following year. The line was electrified at 1,500 V DC in 1929. The company merged with the Nishi-Nippon Railway in 1942. The 1 km section from Miyajidake to Tsuyazaki opened in 1951, and in 1954 the line was re-gauged to {{RailGauge|1067mm}} and connected to the Fukuoka line.{{cn|date=October 2014}}
The line was grade separated over the JR Kashii Line at Wajiro Station in 1966, and CTC signalling was commissioned in 1978.{{cn|date=October 2014}}
In 1986, the Shinhakata to Kaizuka section was closed and replaced by the Fukuoka City Subway Hakozaki Line.
In 2007, the 10 km Nishitetsu Shingū to Tsuyazaki section closed due to declining patronage.
References
This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.
{{Reflist}}
{{Fukuoka transit}}
Category:Nishi-Nippon Railroad
Category:Railway lines in Japan