The Kurobe Gorge Railway ( 黒部峡谷鉄道株式会社 , Kurobe Kyōkoku Tetsudō Kabushiki gaisha ) , or Kurotetsu ( 黒鉄 ) for short, is a private, 762 mm ( 2 ft 6 in ) narrow gauge railway company operating the Kurobe Gorge Main Line along the Kurobe River in the Kurobe gorge area of Toyama Prefecture , Japan. The railway was built to serve the construction of the Kurobe dam for the Kansai Electric Power Company , which was completed in 1963; Kurotetsu was spun off from the power company in June 1971, but remains a wholly owned subsidiary . At its terminus, the Main Line links to Kurobe Senyō Railway , which is not open to the general public.
8-448: As of 2006, the company operated 25 locomotives, 139 passenger carriages and 204 freight wagons. The Unazuki - Nekomata section opened in 1926, electrified at 600 VDC and was extended to Keyakidaira in 1937. The passenger service started in 1953. As of 2023, there are three employees qualified to do track inspections. These inspections are done monthly, workers walking on foot for 7 kilometers stretches to visually inspect that segment of
16-534: A particular attention paid to these joints. At peak times there are 5 trains an hour running on the line; inspections are done when the trains are running, increasing the safety risks for these inspections. All stations are in Kurobe, Toyama . Due to a bridge collapse during the 2024 Noto earthquake , all stations past Nekomata are closed as of November 2024. Trains operate as a round-trip between Unazuki and Nekomata, with passengers being able to temporarily alight at
24-525: Is a city in Toyama Prefecture , in the Chūbu region of Japan . As of 1 February 2018 , the city had an estimated population of 41,564 in 15,387 households and a population density of 95.8 persons per km . Its total area was 426.31 square kilometres (164.60 sq mi). Kurobe is located in northeastern of Toyama Prefecture, with a topography ranging from sea level at Toyama Bay to
32-764: The 3000 meter mountains of the Northern Alps on the border with Nagano Prefecture . The Kurobe River flows through the city. Kurobe has a humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa ) characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kurobe is 13.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2277 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.6 °C. Per Japanese census data,
40-605: The Nekomata terminus. ●: Served by passenger trains ▲: Served by passenger trains only during April–May ★: Temporarily served by passenger trains (typically closed to passengers) ｜: Closed to passengers The cars are manufactured by Alna Koki. The 2000 class cars have drivers cabs at their front end. This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Misplaced Pages Kurobe, Toyama Kurobe ( 黒部市 , Kurobe-shi )
48-547: The establishment of the municipalities system. On April 1, 1954, the town of Ikuji merged with the town of Sakurai to form the city of Kurobe. On March 31, 2006 the town of Unazuki (from Shimoniikawa District ) was merged into Kurobe. Kurobe has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 18 members. Kurobe is the world headquarters of YKK . Kurobe has nine public elementary schools and four public junior high schools. The city has one public high school operated by
56-485: The population of Kurobe has remained relatively steady over the past 50 years. The area is home to the Aimotohimesha Shrine and also shares its name with Kurobe River , both of which form a central element in the local legend of a powerful serpent of Kurobe River. The area of present-day Kurobe was part of ancient Etchū Province . The towns of Ikuji and Mikkaichi were created on April 1, 1889 with
64-408: The track, taking around 3 hours. Any variance between the rails of over 6mm requires repair. Due to the large number of curves (well over 200) along the 20 kilometer route, sections of 10 meter rails are used instead of longer ones as would be used on a typical railroad. The shorter sections of track therefore have more joints (and more locations for issues to occur), requiring detailed inspections, with
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