History
Kawane-Ryōgoku Station opened on May 30, 1935, on the present-day Ikawa Line, then operated as an industrial railway by Chūbu Electric Power. The gauge was widened from 762 mm to 1,067 mm in November 1936, with a short three-rail section retained at the Senzu end to accommodate the connecting Sumatagawa forestry tramway. The Chūbu Electric private line was transferred to Ōigawa Railway on August 1, 1959, when the Ikawa Line was formed and passenger service began. The yard adjoining the station houses the Ikawa Line maintenance depot. From November 1970 a small steam shuttle ran on a parallel siding to Senzu; the operation closed on November 26, 1989.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.
Notes
A 2100-class locomotive operated as a tourist shuttle here between 1970 and 1989, marking the start of Ōigawa Railway's preserved steam programme.