Kureha Line

The line dates from the first decade of the Toyama tramway. The network had been built by the Toyama Electric Tramway (富山電気軌道), which obtained its construction licence in late 1912 and opened its first lines on 1 September 1913. A further tramway licence covering the Yūbinkyoku-mae–Kureha-Kōen corridor was granted on 16 December 1915, and on 22 November 1916 the Kureha Line opened, running from Yūbinkyoku-mae by way of Shōkonsha-ura and Annoya-machi to Kureha-Kōen. In its original form the line was thus considerably longer than today's surviving stub, extending west of the Jinzū River toward Kureha.

Ownership of the tramway changed twice in the line's early decades. Hampered by poor finances, the Toyama Electric Tramway was transferred to the city of Toyama on 1 July 1920, becoming the Toyama Municipal Tramway; the lingering nickname 'shiden' (city tram) dates from this municipal era. Then, on 1 January 1943, under the wartime Land Transport Business Coordination Act, the whole network was handed to Toyama Chihō Railway, which has operated it ever since. Around the same time the Annoya-machi stop was renamed simply Annoya, the name its successor still bears.

The Second World War cut the Kureha Line back severely. Its westernmost section, Rikugun-Byōin-mae–Kureha-Kōen, was suspended on 17 May 1944 and never reopened, and the New-Toyama-Eki-mae–Rikugun-Byōin-mae section followed on 10 January 1945, the Daigaku-mae–Rikugun-Byōin-mae portion likewise being abandoned without restoration. The great Toyama air raid of 2 August 1945 then forced the suspension of the entire tram network. Recovery began on 15 May 1946, when the Kureha Line's New-Toyama-Eki-mae–Echizenchō section reopened.

The line was reshaped again in the 1950s. On 5 August 1952 the new Annoya Line (Marunouchi–Annoya) opened, and on the same day the Kureha Line's eastern Hatagomachi–Gokoku-jinja-mae–Annoya section was abolished, the older inner alignment being superseded by the new line. The western survivor was rebuilt instead: on 20 March 1954 the Kureha Line's New-Toyama-Eki-mae–Daigaku-mae section reopened, with the Gofuku stop renamed Daigaku-mae and a Kyūjō-mae (ballpark) stop newly opened. From this point the line's role settled into carrying passengers between the city centre and Toyama University.

Floods and a fragile river crossing shaped the line's later history. On 2 July 1969 heavy rain partly collapsed the Toyama Ōhashi bridge over the Jinzū River, and the Kureha Line's Annoya–New-Toyama-Eki-mae section had to be suspended; later that year, on 1 October 1969, the short Kyūjō-mae–Daigaku-mae section was abolished and Kyūjō-mae itself renamed Daigaku-mae. The bridge was restored and the Annoya–New-Toyama-Eki-mae section reopened on 25 June 1970. The connecting Ishikawa Line trams that had run through the area ceased when that line closed in 1980, and New-Toyama-Eki-mae was renamed New-Toyama.

The line's modern transformation came with the rebuilding of the Toyama Ōhashi bridge. Because the old, narrow bridge could not carry the tramway's large low-floor cars, the roughly 1.2-kilometre stretch from Annoya to Daigaku-mae had long been restricted to single track and older rolling stock. A wholly new bridge, built alongside and downstream of the old one, opened on 24 March 2012; with it the Annoya–New-Toyama section was finally double-tracked, the Hiyodorijima signal post was removed, and the Annoya and New-Toyama stops were relocated, allowing the full fleet to work the route.

The line's terminus stops have since been renamed in step with Toyama's tram-led urban renewal. When the Hokuriku Shinkansen reached an elevated Toyama Station in 2015, New-Toyama was renamed Toyama Toyopet Honsha-mae (Gofuku-Suehiromachi), and on 21 March 2020, as through running with the Toyamakō Line opened across the rebuilt station, the line's terminus Daigaku-mae was renamed Toyama-Daigaku-mae. The intermediate stop was renamed again, to Toyota Mobility Toyama G-Square Gofuku-mae (Gofuku-Suehiromachi), on 1 January 2021. Today the Kureha Line carries the cross-city trams (the 2系統 and the Toyamakō-Line-through 5系統 services) out to Toyama University.

• 191516 December: a tramway licence is granted for the Yūbinkyoku-mae–Kureha-Kōen corridor, the future Kureha Line.
• 191622 November: the Kureha Line opens, running Yūbinkyoku-mae–Shōkonsha-ura–Annoya-machi–Kureha-Kōen.
• 19201 July: hampered by poor finances, the Toyama Electric Tramway is transferred to the city of Toyama, becoming the Toyama Municipal Tramway.
• 19431 January: under the wartime Land Transport Business Coordination Act, the tramway is transferred to Toyama Chihō Railway, its operator ever since.
• 194417 May: the Kureha Line's westernmost Rikugun-Byōin-mae–Kureha-Kōen section is suspended and is never reopened.
• 194510 January: the Kureha Line's New-Toyama-Eki-mae–Rikugun-Byōin-mae section is suspended (Daigaku-mae–Rikugun-Byōin-mae abandoned); on 2 August the great Toyama air raid suspends the whole network.
• 194615 May: the Kureha Line's New-Toyama-Eki-mae–Echizenchō section reopens.
• 19525 August: the new Annoya Line (Marunouchi–Annoya) opens and, on the same day, the Kureha Line's eastern Hatagomachi–Gokoku-jinja-mae–Annoya section is abolished.
• 195420 March: the Kureha Line's New-Toyama-Eki-mae–Daigaku-mae section reopens; the Gofuku stop is renamed Daigaku-mae and a Kyūjō-mae stop is newly opened.
• 19692 July: heavy rain partly collapses the Toyama Ōhashi bridge and the Kureha Line's Annoya–New-Toyama-Eki-mae section is suspended; on 1 October the Kyūjō-mae–Daigaku-mae section is abolished and Kyūjō-mae is renamed Daigaku-mae.
• 197025 June: the Toyama Ōhashi bridge is restored and the Kureha Line's Annoya–New-Toyama-Eki-mae section reopens.
• 19801 April: with the closure of the Ishikawa Line its trams stop running into the area, and New-Toyama-Eki-mae is renamed New-Toyama.
• 201224 March: with the rebuilding of the Toyama Ōhashi bridge, the Annoya–New-Toyama section is double-tracked (it had been single track, limited to older cars); the Hiyodorijima signal post is removed and the Annoya and New-Toyama stops relocated.
• 201514 March: as the Hokuriku Shinkansen reaches an elevated Toyama Station, New-Toyama is renamed Toyama Toyopet Honsha-mae (Gofuku-Suehiromachi).
• 202021 March: through running between the city trams and the Toyamakō Line begins across Toyama Station, and the Kureha Line's terminus Daigaku-mae is renamed Toyama-Daigaku-mae.
• 20211 January: the line's intermediate stop is renamed Toyota Mobility Toyama G-Square Gofuku-mae (Gofuku-Suehiromachi).