Furusato Ginga Line
Furusato Ginga Line CR70 seriesDMU February 2006, near Nishitomi Station
Overview
Status	Ceased operation
Owner	Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway
Locale	Hokkaidō, Japan
Termini	Ikeda Kitami
Stations	33
Service
Type	Heavy rail
Operator(s)	Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway
Rolling stock	CR70 series DMU, CR75 series DMU
History
Opened	September 22, 1910
Closed	April 21, 2006
Technical
Line length	140.0 km (87.0 mi)
Number of tracks	Single
Character	Rural
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	Not electrified
Operating speed	85 km/h (53 mph)

v t e Furusato Ginga Line
Legend
km Nemuro Main Line Ikeda 5.7 Samamai 11.5 Takashima 16.5 Ōmori 20.8 Yūtari 23.5 Minami-Honbetsu 27.3 Okamedō 29.8 Honbetsu 36.2 Senbiri 44.6 Ashoro 50.7 Aikappu 54.0 Nishiissen 55.9 Shiohoro 58.4 Kamitoshibetsu 62.2 Sasamori 66.5 Oyochi 70.7 Kunbetsu 77.4 Rikubetsu 83.1 Bunsen 87.2 Kawakami 93.5 Shōtoshibetsu Senpoku temporary stop closed 1957 109.4 Oketo 113.8 Toyozumi 116.6 Sakaino 118.4 Nishi-Kunneppu 121.4 Nishitomi 123.5 Kunneppu 125.3 Honami 127.4 Hinode 129.4 Hirosato 132.2 Kami-Tokoro 135.5 Hokkōsha Kitami Sekihoku Main Line km

TheFurusato Ginga Line (ふるさと銀河線,Furusato Ginga-sen) was a railway line operated by thethird-sector Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway Company inHokkaidō, Japan. The 140 km (87 mi) line connected the municipalities ofIkeda andKitami until its closure in 2006.

The first segment of the line, originally called theAbashiri Line (網走線,Abashiri-sen) and operated byJapanese Government Railways, was opened on September 22, 1910, and ran for 77.4 km, connecting Ikeda and Rikunbetsu (later renamed to Rikubetsu). The line was then extended further north, and on September 25, 1911, the segment connecting Rikunbetsu and Nokkeushi (present-dayKitami) was opened. In 1912 the Abashiri Line was further extended toAbashiri, and the line was renamed theAbashiri Main Line (網走本線,Abashiri-honsen).^[1]

Once theSekihoku Line was extended to Nokkeushi in 1932, traffic largely shifted to the shorter Sekihoku Line. On April 1, 1961, the section of the Abashiri Main Line from Ikeda to Kitami (renamed from Nokkeushi in 1942) was named theChihoku Line (池北線,Chihoku-sen), and the rest of the Abashiri Main Line was absorbed into the Sekihoku Main Line. The name "Chihoku Line" was created from theon'yomi of each of the first characters forIkeda (池田) andKitami (北見).^[1]

In 1987Japanese National Railways (JNR), the successor to Japanese Government Railways, was privatized andJR Hokkaido took over management of the line. However, on June 4, 1989, JR Hokkaido ceased operation of the Chihoku Line. Unlike all other lines shut down by JNR and JR Hokkaido, in the Chihoku Line's case a successor company was established by local governments and private investors. The new company, Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway Company, renamed the Chihoku Line to theFurusato Ginga Line ("Hometown Galaxy Line") and introduced new cars. However 17 years later, the company came to the decision to close the line, which thus ceased operations on April 21, 2006.^[2]

Media related toHokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway at Wikimedia Commons

• Rail transport in Hokkaido
• Defunct railway companies of Japan
• 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
• Railway lines opened in 1910
• Railway lines closed in 2006
• Defunct railroads
• Closed railway lines in Japan

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