Gomen Line

The line was begun by the first Tosa Electric Railway company, which opened its first section, between Horizume and Shimoji (the present Hōeichō), on 31 October 1908. Construction then pushed eastward stage by stage. The Shimoji–Kazurashimabashi-nishizume section (the latter now Chiyorichō-sanchōme) opened on 30 October 1909, and in 1910 the line was carried further east, reaching Kako on 15 October and Ōtsu — a stop since abolished, between today's Ryōseki-dōri and Seiwagakuen-mae — on 4 December.

In 1911 the railway closed in on Gomen itself: the Ōtsu–Gomen-nakamachi-dōri section (now Gomen-nakamachi) opened on 27 January, and the Gomen-nakamachi-dōri–Gomen-machi section (the contemporary stop now called Gomen-higashimachi) followed on 14 May. The corporate background then shifted: on 1 August 1922, through a merger with Tosa Suiryoku Denki and a change of company name, the line became part of Tosa Denki (Tosa Electric). The eastern end was completed on 21 February 1925, when the short Gomen-higashimachi-dōri–Gomen-machi-ekimae extension opened, giving the line its full length to the present Gomen-machi terminus.

The Gomen terminus soon became a junction with a conventional railway. From 30 May 1930 the Kōchi Railway — a heavy-rail line that later became the Aki Line — began running into the grounds of Gomen-machi station. Wartime consolidation reshaped the operator again: on 12 July 1941 a merger with the Kōchi Railway and Tosa Bus, together with a name change, made the line part of Tosa Kōtsū, and on 3 June 1948 a merger with Nankai Tan'atsuki brought it under the second Tosa Electric Railway company, the name the operator would keep for most of the rest of the twentieth century.

From 31 October 1955 through-running began between the tramway and the Aki Line, so that trams could continue out onto the conventional railway toward Aki; some services even ran as semi-express or express trains within the Gomen Line. That arrangement ended on 1 April 1974, when the Aki Line was abolished and the rail-to-tram through services and express running were discontinued; on 26 July the same year the Gomen-machi-ekimae stop was relocated and renamed Gomen-machi.

The later twentieth century brought a series of smaller changes. With the relocation of the line's depot, the Chiyorichō-shakomae stop was renamed Chiyorichō on 1 December 1987, and a new stop, Kenritsu-bijutsukan-dōri, opened on 3 November 1993. In the 2000s the line saw engineering and realignment work: the rebuilding of the Kokubu River bridge between Chiyorichō-sanchōme and Kazurashimabashi-higashizume was completed on 14 December 2002, and on 5 July 2003 the Ryōseki-dōri stop was moved to its present location as part of a river-improvement track relocation.

The line's most recent change of ownership came on 1 October 2014. On that day Tosa Electric Railway was brought together with Kōchi-ken Kōtsū and Tosaden Dream Service in a business integration, and the Gomen Line — along with the rest of the former Tosa Electric Railway tram network — passed to the newly formed operator Tosaden Kōtsū, which runs it today.

• 190831 October: the first Tosa Electric Railway company opens the line's first section, Horizume–Shimoji (the present Hōeichō).
• 190930 October: the Shimoji–Kazurashimabashi-nishizume section (now Chiyorichō-sanchōme) opens.
• 1910The line is extended east: Kazurashimabashi-nishizume–Kako opens on 15 October and Kako–Ōtsu (a since-abolished stop) on 4 December.
• 1911The line reaches Gomen: Ōtsu–Gomen-nakamachi-dōri (now Gomen-nakamachi) opens on 27 January and Gomen-nakamachi-dōri–Gomen-machi (now Gomen-higashimachi) on 14 May.
• 19221 August: through a merger with Tosa Suiryoku Denki and a name change, the line becomes part of Tosa Denki (Tosa Electric).
• 192521 February: the Gomen-higashimachi-dōri–Gomen-machi-ekimae extension opens, completing the line to its present Gomen-machi terminus.
• 193030 May: the Kōchi Railway (a rail line, later the Aki Line) begins running into the grounds of Gomen-machi station.
• 194112 July: a merger with the Kōchi Railway and Tosa Bus, with a name change, makes the line part of Tosa Kōtsū.
• 19483 June: a merger with Nankai Tan'atsuki brings the line under the second Tosa Electric Railway company.
• 195531 October: through-running begins between the tramway and the Aki Line.
• 19741 April: with the abolition of the Aki Line, rail-to-tram through services and express running end; 26 July: Gomen-machi-ekimae is relocated and renamed Gomen-machi.
• 19871 December: with the relocation of the depot, the Chiyorichō-shakomae stop is renamed Chiyorichō.
• 19933 November: the Kenritsu-bijutsukan-dōri stop is newly opened.
• 200214 December: reconstruction of the Kokubu River bridge between Chiyorichō-sanchōme and Kazurashimabashi-higashizume is completed.
• 20035 July: the Ryōseki-dōri stop is moved to its present location as part of a river-improvement track relocation.
• 20141 October: with the business integration of Tosa Electric Railway with Kōchi-ken Kōtsū and Tosaden Dream Service, the Gomen Line passes to the newly formed Tosaden Kōtsū.