Echizen Railway
 |
|
| Public-private corporation | |
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Predecessor | Keifuku Electric Railroad |
| Founded | September 17, 2002 |
| Headquarters | Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan |
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Area served
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Northern Fukui Prefecture |
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Key people
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Tōru Minami, President |
| Owner |
Sakai City (17.4%) Katsuyama City (16.7%) Fukui City (16.1%) Eiheiji Town (12.6%) Awara City (7.0%) 42 others (30.2%) |
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Number of employees
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93 |
| Website | www |
Echizen Railway (えちぜん鉄道株式会社 Echizen Tetsudō Kabushikigaisha?) is a third-sector railway operating company located in Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It owns and operates the Katsuyama Eiheiji Line between Fukui and Katsuyama and the Mikuni Awara Line between Fukui and Sakai.
In 1992, Keifuku Electric Railway, the predecessor of Echizen Railway, announced that it would end services between Higashi-Furuichi (now Eiheijiguchi) and Katsuyama stations on the Eiheiji Main Line (now the Katsuyama Eiheiji Line) as well as all service on the Eiheiji Line and replace them with buses. However, for several years this was fought by local municipalities; in 1997, the city of Fukui and other municipalities along the railway lines announced they would establish a committee to provide support to the company to continue operating the lines.
However, two accidents in a six-month span on the Eiheiji Main Line (one on December 17, 2000 between Shiizakai and Higashi-Furuichi stations and another on June 24, 2001 between Hossaka and Hota stations) forced the company to halt all services. The resulting effect on revenue led to the company's decision to withdraw from the railway business, and in October 2001 it officially notified the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
As the Eiheiji Main Line and Mikuni Awara Line were considered to be a crucial means of transport, Fukui Prefecture decided to set up a third-sector company to continue operating railway services and established Echizen Railway in 2002. On February 1, 2003, Keifuku formally transferred all tracks and equipment to Echizen Railway, and the Echizen Main Line was renamed the Katsuyama Eiheiji Line. However, the Eiheiji Line was permanently abolished (as revenue was forecast to fall below the amount needed to break even) and bus service was run in its place.
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Wikipedia