Keifuku Electric Railroad Co., Ltd. (京福電気鉄道株式会社) is a railroad company based in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan (but with offices in Fukui Prefecture) in operation since March 2, 1942.[1] It is a parent company of Keifuku Bus and Kyoto Bus, and an affiliated company of Keihan Electric Railway,[2] which owns 42.89% of the company stock. The company's stock is traded on the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Lines
This railway started service in 1910,[3] operated at that time by Arashiyama Electric Tram Railway (嵐山電車軌道). It was transferred to the Kyoto-based electric power generation company Kyoto Dento (京都電燈). Later it built the Kitano Line.[4]
Formerly the company operated several railway lines in Fukui Prefecture. Some of them are now operated by Echizen Railway.[5]
The Eizan Electric Railway also belonged to Keifuku until 1985.[6]
Randen
The Randen (嵐電) is a small network of light rail lines classified legally as tramways in Kyoto.
Arashiyama Line
The Arashiyama Line (嵐山本線) connects Kyoto's city center (Shijo-Omiya terminal) and scenic Arashiyama area in the western suburb.
Kitano Line
The Kitano Line (北野線) is from Kitano Hakubaicho Station near Kitano Tenmangū to Katabiranotsuji Station in the midst of Arashiyama (Main) Line.
Arashiyama Line
The Arashiyama Line (嵐山本線) connects Kyoto's city center (Shijo-Omiya terminal) and scenic Arashiyama area in the western suburb.
Kitano Line
The Kitano Line (北野線) is from Kitano Hakubaicho Station near Kitano Tenmangū to Katabiranotsuji Station in the midst of Arashiyama (Main) Line.
Eizan Cable
Eizan Cable (叡山ケーブル), officially the Cable Line (鋼索線), is a funicular line in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto.
Eizan Ropeway
Eizan Rōpuwei (叡山ロープウェイ) is an aerial tramway in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto. The line length is 0.5 km.
The cable and ropeway lines are for visitors to Mount Hiei on the northeastern edge of the city, together with Eizan Electric Railway's Eizan Main Line.
History
Arashiyama Line
The Arashiyama Tram opened the line in 1910, with gauge and electrified at 600 V DC. The Kyoto Electric Light Company acquired the line in 1918, and double-tracked the track between 1925 and 1928. Keifuku acquired the line in 1942.[7]
Kitano Line
The Kyoto Electric Light Company opened the line between 1925 and 1926, and double-tracked the Tokiwa to Narutaki section in 1930. Plans to double-track the rest of the line were abandoned as a result of the economic depression. Keifuku acquired the line in 1942.[7]
Former connecting lines
- Arashiyama Station: A 3 km line electrified at 600 V DC and dual track except for the Kiyotaki tunnel operated to Kiyotaki between 1929 and 1944. It connected to a 2 km funicular which climbed 638 m to Atago Jinja on Mount Atago, Kosaku line which operated for the same period. Closed due to war time austerity measures, efforts to re-establish the incline in the 1950s were unsuccessful.
Etymology
"Keifuku" is composed of two characters "京" and "福", the former denoting Kyoto and the latter Fukui. As the Kyoto Dento lines used to be in Fukui, the hydraulic source, and in Kyoto, the company took the name "Keifuku".
See also
- List of railway lines in Japan
External links
References
- http://www.keifuku.co.jp/company/index.html retrieved 2007-03-22^
- FY2016 Financial Results Presentation - Keihan Electric Railway retrieved 2017-02-12^
- JTB Timetable No. 975 (April 2007) JTB Corporation^
- Wakuda, Yasuo (和久田康雄). Shitetsushi Handobukku (私鉄史ハンドブック) Denkisha Kenkyūkai (電気車研究会), 1993^
- Kokudo Kōtsū Shō Tetsudō Kyoku. Tetsudō Yōran (Heisei 15 Nendo) Denkisha Kenkyūkai, 2003^
- https://eizandensha.co.jp/company/profile.html retrieved 2015-12-14^
- http://randen.keifuku.co.jp/archive/history.php retrieved 2017-02-12^