Nishitetsu_Tenjin_Ōmuta_Line

Nishitetsu Tenjin Ōmuta Line

Nishitetsu Tenjin Ōmuta Line

Commuter railway line in Japan

The Nishitetsu Tenjin Ōmuta Line (西鉄天神大牟田線, Nishitetsu Tenjin Ōmuta sen) is a railway line in Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan. It is the main line of the private railway company Nishi-Nippon Railroad (Nishitetsu). The line connects Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) Station[Note 1] in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka with Ōmuta Station in Ōmuta. Until 2000, the line was called the Nishitetsu Ōmuta Line (西鉄大牟田線, Ōmuta sen).

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Overview

The Fukuoka Tenjin terminal in September 2014
  • Track
    • Double: Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) - Shikenjōmae, Daizenji - Kamachi, Hiraki - Ōmuta
    • Single: the rest

The line runs approximately parallel with to the JR Kyushu Kagoshima Main Line, but connection between the lines are poor.

Operations

Rapid services

The operator Nishitetsu offers two types of limited-stop "Rapid" train services in addition to all-stations "Local" trains.

Local (普通, Futsū)
Stops all stations. Between Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) and Chikushi or Daizenji inside the line, Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) and Dazaifu of Dazaifu Line, Amagi of Amagi Line and Ōmuta. Trains inside the line and Dazaifu Line with 4-7 car EMUs, through trains to Amagi Line with 2-car 7000 and 7050 series EMUs
Express (急行, Kyūkō) (Ex)
Operated all day. Some Expresses are operated as Locals in southern part (Ōmuta side). In day hours, 2 per hour per direction between Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) and Nishitetsu Ogōri, and 2 between Nishitetsu Fukuoka and Hanabatake. Five-car 3000 series EMUs, 6-car 2000 and 5000 series EMUs
Limited Express (特急, Tokkyū) (LE)
Between Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) and Ōmuta, 2 service per direction per hour. Seven-car 8000 series in day hours, 5000, 6000 and 6050 series EMUs in the morning and evening hours

Service pattern

During the daytime between 10:00 and 16:00, the numbers of trains per direction per hour are as follows.

Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) - Nishitetsu Futsukaichi
2 LE, 4 Ex, 6 Lo
Nishitetsu Futsukaichi - Chikushi
2 LE, 4 Ex, 4 Lo
Chikushi - Nishitetsu Ogōri
2 LE, 2 Ex, 2 Lo (north of Chikushi as Ex), 2 Lo
Nishitetsu Ogōri - Miyanojin
2 LE, 2 Ex, 2 Lo
Miyanojin - Hanabatake
2 LE, 2 Ex, 2 Lo, 2 Lo through to Amagi Line
Hanabatake - Daizenji
2 Lo, 4 Lo
Daizenji - Ōmuta
2 LE, 2 Lo

Stations

All stations are located in Fukuoka Prefecture.

  • lower case shows some trains stop
  • e1: Expresses only for Chikushi stop
  • e2: Expresses only down for Nishitetsu Ogōri, some ups from Hanabatake, Shikenjōmae, Tsubuku, Nishitetsu Yanagawa stop
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Rolling stock

New three- and two-car 9000 series electric multiple unit trains were introduced on the line from March 2017.[1]

History

The Kyushu Railway (九州鉄道, Kyūshū Tetsudō)[Note 2] built and operated the first Interurban railway line in Kyushu from Fukuoka, planned to extend to Kumamoto, but difficulty in securing a corridor south of Omuta resulted in that plan being abandoned.

  • 12 April 1924: Fukuoka (presently Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin)) - Kurume (presently Nishitetsu Kurume) opened by the Kyushu Railway (II). 1,435mm gauge, electrified, double tracked.
  • 28 December 1932: Kurume - Tsubuku opened, single tracked.
  • 22 June 1937: The Ōkawa Railway was merged into the Kyushu Railway. Kamikurume - Tsubuku - Daizenji - Enokizu became a part of Kūshū Railway network, single tracked, 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge.
  • 1 October 1937: Tsubuku - Daizenji of ex-Ōkawa Railway regauged to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (the remainder abandoned later). Daizenji - Yanagawa (presently Nishitetsu Yanagawa) opened.
  • 1 December 1938: Fukuoka - Tsubuku from Tram Act to Local Railway Act.
  • 1 September 1938: Yanagawa - Nakashima (presently Nishitetsu Nakashima) opened.
  • 1 October 1938: Nakashima - Sakaemachi (presently Shin-Sakaemachi) opened.
  • 1 July 1939: Sakaemachi - Ōmuta opened, the line completed.
  • 19 September 1942: Kyushu Electric Tramway (九州電気軌道, Kyūshū Denki Kidō) merged, under wartime condition, Kyushu Railway and some other railway companies in Fukuoka Prefecture.
  • 22 September 1942: Kyushu Electric Tramway renamed Nishi-Nippon Railroad, the line became its Ōmuta Line.
  • 11 November 1951: Nishitetsu Kurume - Shikenjōmae track doubled.
  • 20 March 1960: Kuranaga - Nishitetsu Ginsui track doubled.
  • April 1961: Nishitetsu Ginsui - Sakaemachi track doubled.
  • 21 June 1961: Sakaemachi -. Ōmuta track doubled.
  • 20 November 1965: Hiraki - Kuranaga track doubled.
  • February, 1967: Daizenji - Mizuma, Ōmizo - Kamachi track doubled.
  • 10 June 1974: CTC signalling is commissioned on the entire line.
  • 15 January 1997: Mizuma - Ōmizo track doubled.
  • 1 January 2001: Proper names changed to Tenjin-Ōmuta Line from Ōmuta Line, Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) Station (with Tenjin in parentheses) from Nishitetsu Fukuoka Station.
  • 16 February 2008: The maximum speed on the line is increased from 100 km/h to 110 km/h.
  • 27 March 2010: Rapid Express (快速急行, Kaisoku Kyūkō) and Non-Stop (直行, Chokkō) services were discontinued.
  • 28 August 2022: The section between Zasshonokuma and Shimoōri stations was elevated, resulting in the removal of several level crossings.[2]

Footnotes

  1. [N 1]
    Until December 31, 2000, Nishitetsu Fukuoka was the official name. In order to clarify that the station is in Tenjin district of downtown Fukuoka, the official name now carries the location in parentheses.
  2. [N 2]
    This company was the second. The first built and operated, in Meiji period, nearly all the railway lines in Kyushu, and was nationalized in 1907.

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

  1. [1]
    西日本鉄道、天神大牟田線に新型車両「9000形」デビューへ [Nishi-Nippon Railroad to introduce new 9000 series on Tenjin Ōmuta Line] (in Japanese). Japan: Tetsudo Shimbun. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  2. [2]
    "西鉄天神大牟田線の雑餉隈—下大利間が高架化される" [The Nishitetsu Tenjin Omuta Line section between Zasshonokuma and Shimo-Ori is elevated.]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). 29 August 2022. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
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