Shima Line

Unlike most of Kintetsu's network, the line did not begin as a Kintetsu undertaking. It originated as a small, independent narrow-gauge railway built to open up the Shima Peninsula's fishing and pearl-culture coast to visitors. A railway licence was granted on 7 June 1924 to a company that, on 2 June 1926, took the name Shima Electric Railway (志摩電気鉄道). The line opened on 23 July 1929, running from Toba through Kashikojima to a terminus named Shinjukō (真珠港, "Pearl Port"); Kashikojima itself was an intermediate station on the original route, and the line was electrified at 750 V DC on the 1,067 mm narrow gauge typical of Japan's smaller private railways.

Through the mid-twentieth century the line passed through a chain of corporate owners. On 11 February 1944 the Shima Electric Railway was absorbed, with several other local operators, into Mie Transport (三重交通, Sanco). In the post-war years the line saw modest growth, with Shima-Akasaki Station opening on 25 July 1949. On 1 February 1964 the railway operations were hived off into a new company, Mie Electric Railway (三重電気鉄道). That company in turn was merged into Kintetsu on 1 April 1965, finally bringing the Shima Peninsula line into the Kintetsu fold.

The decisive transformation came at the end of the 1960s. On 1 July 1969 freight service was discontinued and Shinjukō Station closed, leaving Kashikojima as the line's terminus. Then on 10 December 1969 the line shut entirely for a thorough rebuilding. When it reopened on 1 March 1970 it had been regauged from 1,067 mm narrow gauge to 1,435 mm standard gauge and its voltage doubled to 1,500 V DC, matching the adjoining Toba Line. From that day Kintetsu limited expresses could run through onto the Shima Line, linking Kashikojima directly with Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya for the first time.

The following decades were dominated by capacity and speed upgrades to support the resort traffic. Much of the originally single-track line was progressively doubled: the section from Ugata to Shima-Shimmei was double-tracked on 6 March 1988, the Shima-Shimmei–Kashikojima section on 8 December 1990, and a series of further segments through 1992 and 1993, including the Toba–Nakanogō and Funatsu–Kamo sections. On 11 September 1993 the new Aomine Tunnel opened on the Kamo–Gochi stretch, and on 21 September 1993 the route through the tunnel was adopted, shortening the line by about 0.7 km.

These improvements were accompanied by faster and more comfortable trains. New limited-express rolling stock such as the 21000 series "Urban Liner" generation reached the Ise-Shima services, and from the mid-1990s limited expresses ran at up to 130 km/h on the upgraded sections. Driver-only ("wanman") operation of local trains began on 30 May 2001, and IC fare cards were progressively introduced across the line during the 2010s.

The line's role as the spine of the Ise-Shima resort was underscored on 21 March 2013, when Kintetsu introduced the 50000 series "Shimakaze," a premium sightseeing limited express built specifically for the Osaka/Kyoto/Nagoya–Kashikojima run. In May 2016 the area around the line hosted the G7 Ise-Shima Summit at a venue on Kashikojima, during which services were suspended for several days for security. Today the Shima Line remains a predominantly tourist-oriented route, combining local trains with through limited expresses that carry visitors from Japan's major cities deep into the Shima Peninsula.

• 19247 June: a railway licence is granted to the company that would build the line (Toba–Ugata area).
• 19262 June: the company takes the name Shima Electric Railway (志摩電気鉄道).
• 192923 July: the line opens from Toba via Kashikojima to Shinjukō (Pearl Port), at 1,067 mm narrow gauge electrified at 750 V DC.
• 194411 February: Shima Electric Railway is merged, with other local operators, into Mie Transport (Sanco).
• 194925 July: Shima-Akasaki Station opens.
• 19641 February: the railway operations are separated into a new company, Mie Electric Railway (三重電気鉄道).
• 19651 April: Mie Electric Railway is merged into Kintetsu, bringing the line into the Kintetsu network.
• 19691 July: freight service is discontinued and Shinjukō Station closes; Kashikojima becomes the line's terminus.
• 196910 December: the line closes entirely for regauging and modernisation work.
• 19701 March: the line reopens regauged to 1,435 mm standard gauge with voltage raised to 1,500 V DC; through service with the Toba Line begins, linking Kashikojima with Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya.
• 19886 March: the Ugata–Shima-Shimmei section is double-tracked, beginning a long programme of double-tracking.
• 199311 September: the new Aomine Tunnel opens on the Kamo–Gochi section; on 21 September the route is switched through it, shortening the line by about 0.7 km.
• 200130 May: driver-only ('wanman') operation of local trains begins.
• 201321 March: the 50000 series 'Shimakaze' sightseeing limited express enters service, running from Osaka/Kyoto/Nagoya to Kashikojima.