Ryūgasaki Line

The line is the oldest root of the present-day Kantō Railway. Its origins lie in the Ryūzaki Horse Tramway, founded in 1898, which was soon reorganised as the Ryūzaki Railway. Although first planned as a horse tramway, the promoters switched to a steam-worked light railway to secure greater capacity. The route was also altered before construction: the licence had been granted for a line from Fujishiro to Ryūgasaki, but to save money by avoiding a bridge over the Kokai River, the starting point was moved to Sanuki, where the line could connect with the trunk railway instead.

The Ryūzaki Railway opened its line between Sanuki and Ryūgasaki on 14 August 1900 as a 762 mm narrow-gauge steam light railway. On the same day, the Nippon Railway — whose route is today's Jōban Line — opened Sanuki Station (the present Ryūgasaki-shi Station) as the interchange point. The intermediate station at Ireji followed on 1 January 1901, and in July 1915 the line was regauged from 762 mm to the 1,067 mm gauge it still uses today. Internal-combustion working arrived on 13 September 1927, when gasoline railcars began running.

Wartime consolidation of Japan's private railways drew the little line into a larger company. On 13 May 1944 the Ryūzaki Railway transferred its railway business to the Kashima Sangū Railway. In 1957 two of the line's original wayside halts, South Nakajima between Sanuki and Ireji and Kadokura between Ireji and Ryūgasaki, were closed, leaving the three stations that remain in service.

The modern operator was formed by a further merger. On 1 June 1965 the Kashima Sangū Railway and the Jōsō Tsukuba Railway combined to create the Kantō Railway, and the line took its present name, the Ryūgasaki Line. It is the only railway of the former Kashima Sangū Railway still in operation.

The early 1970s brought the changes that define the line's operation to this day. Freight services were discontinued on 1 April 1971, and on 1 August 1971 the line introduced one-man (driver-only) working — recorded as the first driver-only operation of a passenger train in Japan. With a single railcar shuttling along a one-block line, the simple, conductor-free pattern suited the route well.

In more recent years the line has been modernised for fare collection while keeping its rural character. From 14 March 2009 the PASMO transit IC card was introduced and simple IC card readers were installed at every station. Today a single diesel railcar still works the 4.5-kilometre line throughout, with timetables arranged around connections with JR Jōban Line trains at Sanuki, so that the branch continues to serve as a classic feeder to the Tokyo-bound main line.

• 1898The Ryūzaki Horse Tramway, the oldest predecessor company of today's Kantō Railway, is founded; it is later reorganised as the Ryūzaki Railway.
• 190014 August: the Ryūzaki Railway opens the Sanuki–Ryūgasaki line as a 762 mm-gauge steam light railway; the Nippon Railway (today's Jōban Line) opens Sanuki Station (now Ryūgasaki-shi) as the interchange the same day.
• 19011 January: Ireji Station, the line's intermediate stop, opens.
• 1915July: the line is regauged from 762 mm to 1,067 mm.
• 192713 September: gasoline railcar operation begins.
• 194413 May: the Ryūzaki Railway transfers its railway business to the Kashima Sangū Railway.
• 1957South Nakajima Station (Sanuki–Ireji) and Kadokura Station (Ireji–Ryūgasaki) are closed, leaving three stations.
• 19651 June: the Kashima Sangū Railway and the Jōsō Tsukuba Railway merge to form the Kantō Railway, and the line takes its present name, the Ryūgasaki Line.
• 19711 April: freight service is abolished.
• 19711 August: one-man (driver-only) operation begins — recorded as the first driver-only operation of a passenger train in Japan.
• 200914 March: the PASMO transit IC card is introduced and simple IC card readers are installed at every station.