The is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese trolleybus

Trolleybus

A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...

 line between Ōgisawa Station, Ōmachi

Omachi, Nagano

is a city located in Nagano, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 31,079 and the population density of 55 persons per km². The total area is 564.99 km²....

 and Kurobe Dam

Kurobe dam

The or , is a variable-radius arch dam on the Kurobe River in Toyama Prefecture on the island of Honshū, Japan. It supports the 335 MW Kurobe No. 4 Hydropower Plant and is owned by Kansai Electric Power Company. At high, it is the tallest dam in Japan. It was constructed between 1956 and 1963 at...

 Station, Tateyama

Tateyama, Toyama

is a town located in Nakaniikawa District, Toyama, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 28,123 and a density of 91.51 persons per km². The total area is 307.31 km².-External links:*...

. The line does not have any official name. The 6.1-km line runs almost entirely in a tunnel, except for about 300 metres at Ogisawa station and the approach to it. Opened in 1964, it is one of only two trolleybus lines currently existing in Japan. The line is a part of Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route

The is a famous mountain sightseeing route between Tateyama, Toyama and Ōmachi, Nagano, Japan. The whole route opened on June 1, 1971.-Overview:The route is just 37 km in length, but the vertical interval is as large as 1,975m...

, together with another trolleybus line, Tateyama Tunnel Trolleybus

Tateyama Tunnel Trolleybus

The , officially the , is Japanese trolleybus line in Tateyama, Toyama, operated by the Tateyama Kurobe Kankō Company. The line is entirely underground , including both termini. It is one of the only two trolleybus lines in Japan. The line is a part of Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, together with...

.

History

The tunnel was originally built as access for the construction of the hydroelectric

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

 plant of Kurobe Dam, by the Kansai Electric Power Company

Kansai Electric Power Company

, also known as , is an electric utility with its operational area of Kansai region, Japan . The company is regarded as one of the leading companies in Kansai, as well as a leader of the Japanese electric power industry....

 (Kanden or KEPCO). It is only one lane wide, except for a short section near the middle, which is wider so as to allow vehicles going in opposite directions to pass.The trolleybus service began operation on 1 August 1964. After the dam and its power station were completed, the power company decided to try to attract tourists to the scenic location, as a source of income. The single-lane tunnel was not suitable for cars, and there was no space for parking, so the company chose to build a trolleybus line in the tunnel.

Operation

The Kanden Tunnel trolleybus line has always been owned and operated by the Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO). Since trolleybus lines are legally considered as a sort of railway in Japan, KEPCO can be considered the railway operator with the largest capital stock in the country.

Basic data

• Distance: 6.1 km
• Stations: 2 (the two terminals; there are no intermediate stations)
• Track: Single (the overhead wiring
  Overhead lines
  Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...
  
   is single-track)
• Traction: electric 600 V
  Volt
  The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
  
   DC
  Direct current
  Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
  
  
• Railway signalling
  Railway signalling
  Railway signalling is a system used to control railway traffic safely, essentially to prevent trains from colliding. Being guided by fixed rails, trains are uniquely susceptible to collision; furthermore, trains cannot stop quickly, and frequently operate at speeds that do not enable them to stop...
  
  : Counter checking and staff
  Token (railway signalling)
  In railway signalling, a token is a physical object which a locomotive driver is required to have or see before entering onto a particular section of single track. The token is clearly endorsed with the name of the section it belongs to...
  
   token.
• Travel time: 16 minutes
• Current fleet (as of 1994): 9 trolleybuses, built in 1993–94 by Mitsubishi Fuso
  Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
  , or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...
  
  

During busy times, multiple trolleybuses operate through the tunnel in convoy. As many as 10 trolleybuses can be operated in a single convoy, if demand is great enough. In 1984, the line carried 1,066,000 passengers.

Fleet

The original fleet comprised six Mitsubishi Fuso

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

, or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...

 trolleybuses with bodies by Osaka Sharyo Kogyo, built in 1964, numbered 101–106 (renumbered 111–116 in 1976). Additional vehicles built by the same manufacturers, to the same or very similar design, were acquired gradually—at a rate of about one new trolleybus per year—between 1966 and 1973, carrying fleet numbers 107–110 and 201–205 (renumbered 117–120 and 211–215 in 1976). The first six trolleybuses had only one door, at the front, but a second door was added in 1976, in the center. The next four (117–120) also had only a single door, and retained this configuration. The 200-series vehicles came with two doors. They had longitudinal seating, whereas the 100-series vehicles had forward-facing seats.

All of the 1964–1973 vehicles were withdrawn from service in the early to mid-1990s and replaced by a new fleet of nine trolleybuses built by the same two manufacturers, in 1993 and 1994, and numbered 301–309.
Of the previous fleet, the first six were scrapped, but all nine of the others were donated to Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

's Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos

Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos

Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos del Distrito Federal is a public transport agency responsible for the operation of all trolleybus and light rail services in Mexico City. As its name implies, its routes use only electrically powered vehicles...

 (STE), for possible use there, arriving in Mexico City in 1994–1997, but they were never placed in service by STE.

See also

• Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
  Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
  The is a famous mountain sightseeing route between Tateyama, Toyama and Ōmachi, Nagano, Japan. The whole route opened on June 1, 1971.-Overview:The route is just 37 km in length, but the vertical interval is as large as 1,975m...
  
  
• Kurobe Senyō Railway
  Kurobe Senyo Railway
  The is a Japanese industrial railway line in Toyama Prefecture, operated by Kansai Electric Power Company. There are two lines, namely and . The two lines go to hydroelectric power plants of Kurobe River. These lines are basically not open to public...
  
  
• List of trolleybus systems
• List of railway lines in Japan

External links

"The only trolleybus in Japan" from Kurobe Dam official website.