Kamikōchi Line

The line's origins lie with the Chikuma Railway, a company founded in 1920 to modernise transport in the district west of the Narai River and to help develop tourism in the Japanese Alps and Kamikōchi. The founder and first president, Shin Kamijō, had previously sought licences to build a railway from Matsumoto toward the mountains under earlier company names, but those applications were rejected; permission was finally granted in December 1919 for a line from Matsumoto to Ryūshima. The Chikuma Railway's inaugural general meeting was held in March 1920 at a temple in Niimura on the outskirts of Matsumoto.

The first section, from Matsumoto to Niimura, opened on 2 October 1921 as the Shimashima Line, electrified at 600 V DC. The following year the railway pushed west: the Niimura–Hata section opened on 3 May 1922, and the Hata–Shimashima section on 26 September 1922, completing the line to its original terminus at Shimashima. Shortly afterwards, on 31 October 1922, the company renamed itself the Chikuma Electric Railway.

In 1932 the company adopted the name by which it would be known for most of the twentieth century, becoming the Matsumoto Electric Railway on 2 December 1932. The line itself was renamed from the Shimashima Line to the Kamikōchi Line on 1 April 1955, reflecting its role as an access route to the Kamikōchi highland. The overhead line voltage, raised from 600 V to 750 V DC on 1 November 1957, supported steadily growing traffic.

The post-war decades brought both expansion and contraction. In 1965 an ED40-type electric locomotive entered service, and from 1967 a Japanese National Railways express running through from Nagoya — later named "Kamikōchi" — operated through to the line's terminus before that through service ended with the electrification of the Chūō Main Line's western section in 1973. Freight operations were discontinued on 1 December 1973. In September 1983 a typhoon caused landslides that severed the section beyond Shin-Shimashima toward Shimashima; the suspended stretch was never reopened and was formally abolished on 1 January 1985. On 24 December 1986 the overhead voltage was raised to 1,500 V DC and one-man operation began.

The company's modern identity dates from 1 April 2011, when, following a merger with local bus operators, the Matsumoto Electric Railway was renamed Alpico Kōtsū. Under the new name the line leaned further into its tourist character, including "Nagisa Train" liveries themed on a mascot and, from 2022, the introduction of 20100-series cars converted from former Tobu Railway stock.

The line's most serious recent disruption came in 2021. On 14 August 2021, heavy rain swelled the rivers and damaged a pier of the Tagawa bridge between Nishi-Matsumoto and Nagisa, forcing a suspension of services. Trains resumed on the Nagisa–Niimura section on 8 October 2021, but full service was not restored until 10 June 2022, when running resumed on the Matsumoto–Nagisa section and substitute bus operation ended; the line has operated end to end since.

• 1919December: a railway licence is granted for the Matsumoto–Ryūshima line, after earlier applications under other company names had been rejected.
• 192025 March: the Chikuma Railway holds its inaugural general meeting at a temple in Niimura, Matsumoto; the company is founded to modernise transport west of the Narai River and develop tourism toward the Japanese Alps and Kamikōchi (registered incorporation 29 May).
• 19212 October: the Matsumoto–Niimura section (6.2 km) opens as the Shimashima Line, electrified at 600 V DC.
• 19223 May: the Niimura–Hata section (4.9 km) opens; 26 September: the Hata–Shimashima section opens, completing the line to Shimashima; 31 October: the company is renamed the Chikuma Electric Railway.
• 19322 December: the company is renamed the Matsumoto Electric Railway.
• 19551 April: the line is renamed from the Shimashima Line to the Kamikōchi Line.
• 19571 November: the overhead line voltage is raised from 600 V to 750 V DC.
• 1965An ED40-type electric locomotive enters service on the Nagisa–Akamatsu (now Shin-Shimashima) section.
• 19731 December: freight services are discontinued (the through JNR Nagoya express ends the same year with the electrification of the Chūō Main Line's western section).
• 198328 September: a typhoon causes landslides that suspend services on the Shin-Shimashima–Shimashima section.
• 19851 January: the suspended Shin-Shimashima–Shimashima section is formally abolished.
• 198624 December: the overhead line voltage is raised to 1,500 V DC and one-man operation begins.
• 20022 February: Kitaniimura Station is renamed Kitaniimura–Matsumoto-Daigaku-mae for the opening of Matsumoto University.
• 20111 April: following a merger with local bus operators, the Matsumoto Electric Railway is renamed Alpico Kōtsū.
• 202114 August: heavy rain damages a pier of the Tagawa bridge between Nishi-Matsumoto and Nagisa, suspending services; 8 October: trains resume on the Nagisa–Niimura section.
• 202210 June: service resumes on the Matsumoto–Nagisa section, fully restoring the line; substitute bus operation had ended the previous day.