Iyo Railway
Encyclopedia
Matsuyama, Ehime
is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the Shikoku island of Japan. It is located on the northeastern portion of the Dōgo Plain. Its name means "pine mountain." The city was founded on December 15, 1889....
, Japan. The company or its lines are commonly known as . The private company operates railway, tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
, and bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
lines, and is a core company of Iyotetsu Group, which also operates other business such as department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s and travel agencies
Travel agency
A travel agency is a retail business that sells travel related products and services to customers on behalf of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays that combine several products...
.
History
The company was founded on September 14, 1887, and its railway line, the first one in ShikokuShikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
, was opened on October 28, 1888. "Not only was it the first railway in Shikoku
Shikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
but it was also the third private railway in Japan."
The company currently operates tram and conventional railway lines in 1,067 mm gauge
Cape gauge
Cape gauge is a track gauge of between the inside of the rail heads and is classified as narrow gauge. It has installations of around .The gauge was first used by Norwegian engineer Carl Abraham Pihl and the first line was opened in 1862.- Nomenclature :...
, although in the past it did use narrow 762 mm gauge and standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
(1,435 mm gauge).
From August 2005, its lines introduced the IC e-card
IC e-card
is a rechargeable contactless smart card ticketing system for public transport by Iyo Railway in Matsuyama, Japan. The card was introduced from August 23, 2005, succeeding the previous e-card, a magnetic prepaid card...
, a smart card
Smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...
ticketing system.
Railway lines
Iyotetsu operates the following train lines:- ■ Takahama Line (高浜線): Takahama —
- ■ Yokogawara Line (横河原線): Matsuyamashi — Yokogawara
- ■ Gunchū Line (郡中線): Matsuyamashi — Gunchūkō
Takahama Line and Ōtemachi Line are known to have one of the few surviving level junction
Level junction
In U.S. railroad practice, a level junction is a railway junction that has a track configuration in which merging or crossing railroad lines provide track connections with each other that require trains to cross over in front of opposing traffic at grade In U.S. railroad practice, a level junction...
s crossing each other.
Tram lines
Iyotetsu operates the , a system of five interconnected lines.- Lines:, there are officially five lines.
-
- Jōhoku Line (城北線): Komachi — Heiwadōri-Itchōme
- Jōnan Line (城南線): Dōgo-Onsen — Nishi-Horibata, Kami-Ichiman — Heiwadōri-Itchōme
- Honmachi Line (本町線): Nishi-Horibata — Honmachi-Rokuchōme
- Ōtemachi Line (大手町線): Nishi-Horibata — Matsuyama-Ekimae — Komachi
- Hanazono Line (花園線): Matsuyamashi-Ekimae — Minami-Horibata
- Routes: There are five routes regularly in service by using one or more lines above.
- ■ Loop Line (Route 1; 環状線): Matsuyamashi-Ekimae — Minami-Horibata — Komachi — Kami-Ichiman — Minami-Horibata — Matsuyamashi-Ekimae (Only operates in this direction.)
- ■ Loop Line (Route 2; 環状線): Matsuyamashi-Ekimae — Minami-Horibata — Kami-Ichiman — Komachi — Minami-Horibata — Matsuyamashi-Ekimae (Only operates in this direction.)
- ■ Shieki Line (Route 3; 市駅線): Matsuyamashi-Ekimae — Kami-Ichiman — Dōgo-Onsen
- ■ JR Line (Route 5; JR線): Matsuyama-Ekimae — Minami-Horibata — Kami-Ichiman — Dōgo-Onsen
- ■ Honmachi Line (Route 6; 本町線): Honmachi-Rokuchōme — Minami-Horibata — Kami-Ichiman — Dōgo-Onsen
Bus lines
The company operates highway buses linking Matsuyama and the major cities of Japan, including Tokyo, Ōsaka, FukuyamaFukuyama, Hiroshima
is a city located on the Ashida River in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.As of January 31, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 465,238 and a population density of 898.02 persons per km². The total area is 461.23 km². After Hiroshima City, it is the largest city in Hiroshima Prefecture...
, Takamatsu
Takamatsu, Kagawa
is a city located in central Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan, and is the seat of the prefectural government. It is designated a core city by the Japanese Government. It is a port city located on the Seto Inland Sea, and is the closest port to Honshu from Shikoku island...
, Tokushima
Tokushima, Tokushima
is the capital city of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku island in Japan.As of May 1, 2011, the city had an estimated population of 263,372, with 114,325 households, and a population density of 1,377.25 persons per km². Its total area is 191.23 km²....
, Kōchi
Kochi, Kochi
is the capital city of Kōchi Prefecture on Shikoku island of Japan.Kōchi is the main city of the prefecture with over 40% of its population. As of May 31, 2008, the city had an estimated population of 340,515 and a density of...
and others. It also operates a local network in and around the city.
Trams
- MoHa 50 (since 1951)
- MoHa 2000 (since 1964)
- MoHa 2100 (since 2002)
Railway
- 700 series (since 1987, converted from former Keiō 5000 seriesKeio 5000 seriesThe is an EMU which formerly operated on the Keio Corporation, first introduced in 1963. Built in batches by Nippon Sharyo, Tokyu Car Corp and Hitachi, it was the recipient of the 4th Laurel Prize of the Japan Railfan Club....
trains) - 610 series (since 1995)
- 3000 series (since 2009, converted from former Keiō 3000 seriesKeio 3000 seriesThe is an EMU operated by Keio Corporation exclusively on the Keiō Inokashira Line. First introduced in December 1962, it was built by Tokyu Car Corp and was the recipient of the 3rd Laurel Prize presented by the Japan Railfan Club....
trains)
Botchan Ressha
Iyo Railway also operates the Botchan ResshaBotchan Ressha
The is a diesel-powered replica of a small-gauge steam locomotive installed in the city of Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan in 1888 as the original Iyo Railway...
, diesel-powered replicas of the original Iyotetsu locomotives, well-known from Natsume Sōseki
Natsume Soseki
, born ', is widely considered to be the foremost Japanese novelist of the Meiji period . He is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of British literature and composer of haiku, Chinese-style poetry, and fairy tales...
's famous 1906 novel, Botchan
Botchan
Botchan is a novel written by Natsume Sōseki in 1906. It is considered to be one of the most popular novels in Japan, read by most Japanese during their childhood. The central theme of the story is morality.-Narrative:...
. The current Botchan Ressha, operating on two of the city lines since 2001, reproduces the atmosphere of early train travel in Matsuyama.