Hiroden Hakushima Line

The line opened on 23 November 1912, in the first year of the Taishō era, as the Tokiwabashi Line (常盤橋線), running between Hatchōbori and Hakushima. Its original course lay over a road that had been created by filling in the old outer moat of Hiroshima Castle, near the former Kyōguchi gate. It thus dates from the same early period as the Main Line and the other founding routes of Hiroden's city network.

In April 1940 the line was the first on the Hiroden system to adopt the bügel current collector, an early instance of the role it would repeatedly play as the network's proving ground. Five years later the line was caught in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, which left the entire route out of service along with most of the city's tram system. Service was restored in June 1952, when the line reopened on a new alignment in its present position rather than its pre-war course.

The Hakushima Line continued to lead the network in operational firsts. In 1969 one-man operation was introduced here, using 900-series cars, ahead of Hiroden's other lines. On 1 March 2008 it was again chosen to go first when Hiroden's PASPY contactless fare card was rolled out on the line, with JR West's ICOCA card accepted at the same time. Because the route is so short, its fare was for many years set lower than on Hiroden's other city lines.

For most of its history the Hakushima Line was the only one of Hiroden's city lines that did not run through to any other route, operating instead as a self-contained Hatchōbori–Hakushima shuttle worked by Route 9. That changed on 15 February 2013 — 101 years after the line opened — when ultra-low-floor articulated 1000-series cars were introduced and some Route 9 services began running through to Eba via the Main Line and the Eba Line. The through-running remained limited; as of mid-2022 only an early-morning Hakushima-bound trip and a late-night Eba-bound trip ran beyond the line.

The line's future has not always been assured: in 2007 the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce proposed abolishing it, but the city declared that it should "by all means be retained," and Hiroden said it would act in line with the city's wishes. The discounted fare ended on 1 February 2025, when the line was brought up to the standard city-line fare of ¥240 for adults and ¥120 for children. A timetable revision planned for 28 March 2026 is set to reduce midday and other services. Today the Hakushima Line remains a compact but historically significant branch, linking Hatchōbori with the Hakushima district and the area around Shukkei-en garden.

• 191223 November: the line opens between Hatchōbori and Hakushima as the Tokiwabashi Line (常盤橋線), running over a road built by filling in the old outer moat of Hiroshima Castle.
• 1940April: the line is the first on the Hiroden system to introduce the bügel current collector.
• 19456 August: the atomic bombing of Hiroshima leaves the whole line out of service.
• 1952June: the line reopens on a new alignment in its present position, rather than its pre-war course.
• 1969One-man operation begins on the line using 900-series cars, ahead of Hiroden's other lines.
• 20081 March: the PASPY contactless fare card is introduced on the line ahead of Hiroden's other lines, and JR West's ICOCA card becomes usable at the same time.
• 201315 February: ultra-low-floor articulated 1000-series cars are introduced, and some Route 9 services begin running through to Eba via the Main Line and Eba Line — 101 years after the line opened.
• 202628 March (planned): a timetable revision is set to reduce midday and other services.