Kōwa Line

In the middle of the Taishō era a railway was planned to branch from the Aichi Electric Railway's Tokoname Line at Ōtagawa, cross the Chita Peninsula and reach Kōwa on its eastern shore. The eastern side of the peninsula was already served by the government's Taketoyo Line, but that route was worked by slow, infrequent steam-hauled passenger trains, so influential figures in the Handa and Kōwa districts pressed for a faster electric line. The Aichi Electric Railway had itself obtained approval as early as December 1912 to build from Owari Yokosuka toward Handa, but that licence lapsed at the end of 1915 without construction beginning, defeated by the economic slump of the time.

The scheme was revived in 1924 by a group of Handa and Kōwa notables, and in 1926 a railway licence for an Ōtagawa–Kōwa line was granted under the name Chita Electric Railway. With capital and technical backing from the Aichi Electric Railway, the company was reorganised as the Chita Railway (知多鉄道) in January 1927. Construction of the Ōtagawa–Narawa section began in December 1929 and was able to continue through the Wall Street Crash thanks to the Aichi Electric Railway's financial and engineering support.

The first 15.8-kilometre section, from Ōtagawa to Narawa, opened on 1 April 1931, electrified at 1,500 V DC. The Ōtagawa–Chita-Handa stretch was double-tracked from the outset and built to good alignment for fast running; through-running with the Aichi Electric Railway began the same day, covering Jingūmae to Chita-Handa in as little as 35 minutes and decisively outpacing the Taketoyo Line, which took about an hour and a half between Atsuta and Handa. The line was extended from Narawa to Kōwaguchi in 1932, and the final 3.0-kilometre section on to Kōwa opened on 1 August 1935, completing the route; the last stretch had been delayed by difficulties in acquiring land. The Chita Railway entrusted all of its operations to the Aichi Electric Railway from the start, and after that company merged to form the present-day Meitetsu, Meitetsu carried on running the line.

Under the wartime consolidation driven by the Land Transport Business Coordination Act, the Chita Railway was absorbed into Meitetsu in February 1943, and its route became Meitetsu's Chita Line; it was renamed the Kōwa Line in May 1948. A number of stations that had been suspended during the Pacific War were formally abolished in 1969, and the line was progressively double-tracked between Ōtagawa and Kōwaguchi from 1960 to 1974. New stations were added over the following decades — Tatsumigaoka in 1955, Agui in 1983, and Kagiya-nakanoike in 2024 — while lightly used stops such as Futto and Mukuoka were closed in 2006.

Today the Kōwa Line functions as a commuter and leisure artery for the Chita Peninsula. Most trains run through from Ōtagawa onto the Tokoname Line and continue to the Nagoya Main Line and Inuyama Line, and limited expresses link Kōwa with Nagoya Station roughly every thirty minutes. From the terminus at Kōwa, excursion boats sail across Mikawa Bay to the islands of Himakajima and Shinojima and to Cape Irago, so that the line, together with the Chita New Line branching toward Utsumi, has long doubled as a sightseeing route to the coast.

• 1912December: the Aichi Electric Railway gains approval to build a line from Owari Yokosuka toward Handa, but the licence lapses at the end of 1915 without construction beginning.
• 192620 November: a railway licence for an Ōtagawa–Kōwa line is granted under the name Chita Electric Railway (Chita-gun Yokosuka-chō to Kōwa-chō).
• 1927January: with capital from the Aichi Electric Railway, the company is reorganised as the Chita Railway (知多鉄道).
• 1929December: construction of the Ōtagawa–Narawa section begins, continuing through the Wall Street Crash thanks to Aichi Electric Railway support.
• 19311 April: the Chita Railway opens the first 15.8 km section, Ōtagawa–Narawa, electrified at 1,500 V DC; through-running with the Aichi Electric Railway begins the same day.
• 19321 July: the Narawa–Kōwaguchi section opens (10.0 km).
• 19351 August: the final 3.0 km section to Kōwa opens, completing the line; the last stretch had been delayed by difficulties in acquiring land.
• 19431 February: under wartime consolidation (Land Transport Business Coordination Act), the Chita Railway is absorbed into Meitetsu and the route becomes Meitetsu's Chita Line.
• 194816 May: with a wholesale timetable revision, the route is renamed the Kōwa Line.
• 196414 September: a timetable revision introduces an hourly limited express between Shin-Gifu and Kōwa.
• 197416 May: double-tracking of the Ōtagawa–Kōwaguchi corridor is completed (the Futto–Kōwaguchi section being the last stage of work begun in 1960).
• 202416 March: Kagiya-nakanoike Station opens between Takayokosuka and Minami Kagiya.