Railway Construction Act

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The Railway Construction Act (Japanese: 鉄道敷設法, Hepburn: Tetsudō Fusetsu-hō, Law No. 4 of 1892) was promulgated by the Diet of Japan on June 21, 1892, and designated government support for a network of thirty-three railway lines covering most of Japan, with the exception of Hokkaidō. On April 11, 1922, the Diet amended the law to add an additional network of regional and local routes. Today, these lines form the backbone of the national railway network, JR (although JR has relinquished control of some of the more minor ones).

Lines designated by the Act of 1892[edit]

Route Year Completed Line name at present
Lines of the central region
Hachiōji or GotenbaKōfuSuwaIna District or NishiChikuma DistrictNagoya 1911 Hachiōji — Nagoya via NishiChikuma District by national railway Chūō Main Line
Nagano or Shinonoi (present day in Nagano) — Matsumoto — connect to the previous clause route 1902 Shinonoi — Shiojiri by national railway Shinonoi Line
Kōfu — Fujikawa 1928 Kōfu — Fuji by private railway, 1941 nationalized Minobu Line
Line to connect the Central region lines and the Hokuriku region line
Gifu or MatsumotoTakayamaToyama 1934 Gifu — Toyama by national railway Takayama Main Line
Lines of the Hokuriku region
TsurugaKanazawaToyama ; and branch to Nanao 1899 Tsuruga — Toyama by national railway ; 1898 Tsubata — Nanao by private railway but not connected to main line until 1900 in Tsubata, 1907 nationalized Hokuriku Main Line, Nanao Line
Line to connect the Hokuriku region line and the Echigo region line
ToyamaNaoetsu (present day Jōetsu) 1913 by national railway Hokuriku Main Line
Line of the Echigo region
Naoetsu or Maebashi or ToyonoNiigata and Shibata 1899 Naoetsu — Nuttari Station in Niigata by private railway, 1907 nationalized; 1912 connected Shibata by national railway; 1931 connected Maebashi by national railway; 1929 connected Toyono partly private railway, 1944 nationalized Shinetsu Main Line, Jōetsu Line, Iiyama Line
Line to connect the Echigo region line and the Ōu region lines
ShibataYonezawa ; or, NiitsuWakamatsuShirakawa or Motomiya 1936 Shibata — Yonezawa by national railway; 1914 Niitsu — Kōriyama including 1906 nationalization section Uetsu Main Line, Yonesaka Line, West Ban'etsu Line
Lines of the Ōu region (Mutsu Province and Dewa Province)
FukushimaYonezawaYamagataAkitaHirosakiAomori ; and branch to Sakata 1905 Fukushima — Aomori by national railway; 1914 Shinjō — Sakata by national railway Ōu Main Line, Rikuu West Line
Sendai or IshinomakiTendō or KogotaFunagata 1937 Sendai — Yamagata by national railway; 1912 Ishinomaki — Kogota by private railway, 1919 nationalized; 1917 Kogota — Nagasawa Station (in Funagata) — Shinjō by national railway Senzan Line, Ishinomaki Line, Rikuu East Line
Kitakami or HanamakiYokote 1924 Kitakami — Yokote by national railway Kitakami Line
MoriokaMiyako or Yamada 1934 Morioka — Miyako, 1935 connected Yamada by national railway Yamada Line[1]
Lines of the Sōbu region (Shimōsa Province and Musashi Province)
TokyoChibaSakuraChōshi ; and branch to Kisarazu 1897 Honjo Station in Tokyo — Chōshi by private railway, 1907 nationalized ; 1912 connected Kisarazu including 1907 nationalization section Sōbu Main Line, Uchibō Line
Line of the Jōban region (Hitachi Province and Iwaki Province)
MitoTairaIwanuma 1898 by private railway, 1906 nationalized Jōban Line
Lines of the Kinki region
Nara — Tsuge (present day in Iga-City) 1898 by private railway, 1907 nationalized Kansai Main Line
Osaka or Yagi or TakadaGojōWakayama 1900 Takada — Wakayama by private railways, 1907 nationalized Wakayama Line
Kyoto — Nara 1896 by private railway, 1907 nationalized Nara Line
Kyoto — Maizuru 1910 Kyoto — Ayabe including 1907 nationalization section San'in Main Line
Lines of the San'yō region
MiharaShimonoseki 1901 by private railway, 1906 nationalized San'yō Main Line
KaitaichiKure 1903 by national railway Kure Line
Line of the San'in region
MaizuruToyookaTottoriMatsueHamadaYamaguchi 1923 FukuchiyamaOgōri by national railway San'in Main Line, Yamaguchi Line
Lines to connect the Sanyō region and the San'in region
HimejiIkuno or SasayamaMaizuru or Sonobe ; or Tsuchiyama (present day eastern border of Kakogawa) — FukuchiyamaMaizuru 1906 Himeji — Ikuno — Wadayama by private railway, 1906 nationalized; 1904 Amagasaki — Sasayama — Tanikawa — Fukuchiyama — Ayabe — Maizuru by private railway, 1907 nationalized 1924 Kakogawa — Tanikawa by private reilway, 1943 nationalized Bantan Line, Fukuchiyama Line, Maizuru Line, Kakogawa Line
Himeji — Tottori ; or OkayamaTsuyamaYonagoSakai ; or Kurashiki or Tamashima (present day in Kurashiki) — Sakai 1936 Himeji — Tsuyama by national railway; 1898 Okayama — Tsuyama by private railway, 1944 nationalized; 1932 Tsuyama — Tottori by national railway; 1928 Kurashiki — Yonago by national railway; 1902 Yonago — Sakai by national railway Kishin Line, Tsuyama Line, Inbi Line, Hakubi Line
HiroshimaHamada Not completed
Lines of the Shikoku region
KotohiraKōchiSusaki 1935 by national railway Dosan Line
Tokushima — connect to the previous clause route 1914 Tokushima — Awa-Ikeda including 1907 nationalization section Tokushima Line
TadotsuImabariMatsuyama 1927 by national railway Yosan Line
Lines of the Kyūshū region
SagaSasebo and Nagasaki 1898 via Takeo and Ōmura by private railway, 1907 nationalized; 1934 via Kashima, by national railway Sasebo Line, Ōmura Line, Nagasaki Main Line
KumamotoUtoMisumi ; and branch line as Uto — YatsushiroKagoshima To Misumi 1899 by private railway, 1907 nationalized; To Kagoshima 1909 via Hitoyoshi and Hayato, including 1907 nationalization section; 1927 via Minamata and Sendai by national railway Misumi Line, Kagoshima Main Line, Hisatsu Line, Hisatsu Orange Railway
Kumamoto — Ōita 1928 by national railway Hōhi Main Line
Kokura — Ōita — Miyazaki — Kagoshima 1923 via Kobayashi and Yoshimatsu including nationalization sections; 1932 via Takarabe by national railway Nippō Main Line, Kitto Line
Iizuka — Haruda (present day Chikushino) 1929 including 1907 nationalization section Chikuhō Main Line
KurumeYamaga — Kumamoto Not completed

Notable main lines before the Act[edit]

The lines listed below were not covered by the act, since they were already built by that time.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Takayuki Haraguchi (24 November 2009). 歴史でめぐる鉄道全路線 国鉄・JR 21号 (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun Publishing. p. 18. Retrieved 27 February 2021.