Watarase Keikoku Line

The line began as a private mineral railway. It was built by the Ashio Railway (足尾鉄道) to carry ore down from the Ashio Copper Mine, at its peak the source of about forty per cent of Japan's domestic copper output. The company was backed by the Furukawa interests — Furukawa Toranosuke subscribed a large block of its shares and a Furukawa executive served as president. The Ashio Railway received its full operating licence for the Kiryū–Ashio route on 31 January 1910, and opened its first section, from the Shimo-Shinden connecting point to Ōmamamachi (today's Ōmama), on 15 April 1911; between Kiryū and Shimo-Shinden it ran over the government's Ryōmō Line. Because the new locomotives ordered for the opening were delivered late, the company hurriedly secured a hand-me-down engine from the state railways and borrowed wooden two-axle carriages made surplus by the electrification of the Nankai Railway.

The railway pushed up the valley in quick stages. The line was extended from Ōmamamachi to Kōdo (now Kōbe) on 5 September 1912, on to Sōri on 11 November 1912, and from Sōri to Ashio on 31 December 1912. Because ore haulage was treated as a matter of national policy, the whole line was leased by the state on 13 October 1913 and renamed the Ashio Line (足尾線). A freight branch from Ashio to Ashio-Motoyama opened on 25 August 1914, completing the Ashio Line, and on 1 November 1914 Matō Station opened and passenger services began over the Ashio–Matō section. The government then purchased the line outright on 1 June 1918, nationalising it as the state-owned Ashio Line.

For more than half a century the line's fortunes were tied to the copper mine. Steam locomotives — including JNR Class C12 engines from 1934 — gave way to diesel railcars from the mid-1950s, and from March 1960 passenger trains were fully dieselised, ending the old mixed trains. The Ashio Copper Mine closed on 23 February 1973; smelting of imported ore continued for a time but was scaled back, and the line's ore and sulphuric-acid traffic finally ceased in March 1987. In a major civil-engineering change, the Kōdo–Sōri section was re-routed on 27 June 1973 through the newly built Kusaki Tunnel — the line's longest — to clear the way for the Kusaki Dam, and the submerged Kusaki Station was abolished.

With the copper traffic gone, the line's passenger numbers fell steeply and its operating ratio reached 677. Under Japan's 1980 law to rebuild the national railways it was designated a second-round Specified Local Line slated for conversion, and approval for its abolition as a JNR route was granted on 11 September 1984. The line briefly passed to the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) at the privatisation of Japanese National Railways on 1 April 1987 before its planned hand-over to local operation.

The conversion came on 29 March 1989, when the JR Ashio Line was abolished and the third-sector Watarase Keikoku Railway opened its Watarase Keikoku Line over the 44.1 km from Kiryū to Matō. The freight-only section beyond Matō, towards Ashio-Motoyama, was closed at the same time; the new company held a licence to operate it but never did, and the licence eventually lapsed. New stations — Undō-Kōen, Motojuku and Nakano — were added, Kōdo Station was renamed Kōbe, and several stations became unstaffed as automatic signalling was introduced. The line has since weathered natural disruptions, including landslide closures and a suspension following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake.

From the outset the Watarase Keikoku Railway leaned on tourism to survive. The valley is celebrated for its fresh greenery in early summer and its autumn foliage, and from 10 October 1998 the company began running the open-sided 'Torokko Watarase Keikoku' trolley train, a locomotive-hauled excursion between Ōmama and Ashio. A self-propelled trolley railcar, the WKT-550, entered service on 1 April 2012 as the 'Torokko Wassi' — named after the railway's mascot — able to work the whole Kiryū–Matō line. Running mainly on weekends and holidays from spring to late autumn, the trolley trains slow or pause at the most scenic spots and switch on interior illumination through the Kusaki Tunnel, helping draw the railway enthusiasts and sightseers on whom the line now depends.

• 191031 January: the Ashio Railway is granted its full operating licence for the Kiryū–Ashio route.
• 191115 April: the Ashio Railway opens its first section, Shimo-Shinden connecting point–Ōmamamachi (now Ōmama); Kiryū–Shimo-Shinden uses the government Ryōmō Line.
• 1912Ōmamamachi–Kōdo (now Kōbe) opens on 5 September; Kōdo–Sōri on 11 November; Sōri–Ashio on 31 December.
• 191313 October: the state leases the line and renames it the Ashio Line (足尾線), Kiryū–Ashio.
• 191425 August: the Ashio–Ashio-Motoyama freight branch opens, completing the Ashio Line. 1 November: Matō Station opens and passenger services begin on the Ashio–Matō section.
• 19181 June: the state purchases the line, nationalising it as the state-owned Ashio Line (Kiryū–Matō plus the Matō–Ashio-Motoyama freight branch).
• 196022 March: passenger trains are fully dieselised, ending the mixed (passenger-and-freight) trains.
• 197323 February: the Ashio Copper Mine closes. 27 June: the Kōdo–Sōri section is re-routed through the new Kusaki Tunnel for the Kusaki Dam, and Kusaki Station is abolished.
• 198411 September: abolition of the line (as a second-round Specified Local Line) is approved under the 1980 JNR Reconstruction Law.
• 19871 April: at the privatisation of Japanese National Railways the Ashio Line passes to the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Ore and sulphuric-acid traffic had ceased that March.
• 198929 March: the JR Ashio Line is abolished and the third-sector Watarase Keikoku Railway opens the Watarase Keikoku Line, Kiryū–Matō (44.1 km); the Matō–Ashio-Motoyama freight section is closed; new stations Undō-Kōen, Motojuku and Nakano open and Kōdo is renamed Kōbe.
• 199810 October: the locomotive-hauled 'Torokko Watarase Keikoku' trolley sightseeing train begins running (irregular service) between Ōmama and Ashio.
• 201111 March: the line is disrupted by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, which breaches a tailings dump at the former Ashio mine; full service is restored in stages by 1 April.
• 20121 April: the self-propelled WKT-550 trolley railcar enters service as the 'Torokko Wassi', able to run the whole Kiryū–Matō line; 'Wassi' is the railway's mascot.
• 201722 May: a JR East Kiya E193 inspection train derails between Mizunuma and Hanawa (no injuries); the Ōmama–Matō section is suspended and reopens on 10 June.