Tateyama Tunnel Trolleybus

Tateyama Tunnel Trolleybus
Tateyama Tunnel Trolleybus
Overview
Locale	Toyama Prefecture, Japan
Termini	Murodō Station; Daikanbō Station;
Service
Type	Trolleybus in exclusive tunnel
System	Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
Operator(s)	Tateyama Kurobe Kankō Company
Ridership	735,000 (annual, 2002)
History
Opened	April 1971; 53 years ago
Technical
Line length	3.7 km (2.3 mi)
Highest elevation	2,450 m (8,040 ft)

The Tateyama Tunnel Trolleybus (立山トンネルトロリーバス, Tateyama Tonneru Tororībasu), officially the Trolleybus Line (無軌条電車線, Mukijō Densha-sen), is a Japanese trolleybus line in Tateyama, Toyama, operated by the Tateyama Kurobe Kankō Company. The line is entirely underground (in tunnel), including both termini. The line is a part of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, a sightseeing route to the Kurobe Dam that also includes bus, funicular and aerial tramway lines.

It is the last remaining trolleybus line in Japan, following the conversion of the Kanden Tunnel Trolleybus line to battery operation in November 2018.^[2] It is also the last remaining right-hand drive trolleybus line in the world. The trolleybuses are planned to be retired at the end of the 2024 season, and battery-electric buses will replace them at the beginning of the 2025 season.^[3]

History

The line originally opened as a normal (diesel) bus line in April 1971,^[4] but was later re-equipped for trolleybuses. The trolleybus line opened on 23 April 1996.^[5]

Route and services

The Tateyama Tunnel Trolleybus forms a component of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, a mountain sightseeing route between Tateyama, Toyama and Ōmachi, Nagano. The trolleybus line connects to the Tateyama Highland Bus at its western terminus, and to the Tateyama Ropeway at its eastern terminus.^[6]

The trolleybus line operates in an exclusive tunnel through Tateyama (Mount Tate), whose peak reaches a height of 3,015 m (9,892 ft). Murodō Station, the western terminus, is at an elevation of 2,450 m (8,040 ft), descending to 2,316 m (7,598 ft) at the eastern terminus of Daikanbō Station. Murodō Station is the highest elevation on the Alpine Route, which ascends from near sea level at Toyama Station.^[6]

There are no intermediate stations in the tunnel, and all buses run nonstop between the two stations. The 3.7 km (2.3 mi) journey takes approximately 10 minutes.^[6] The majority of the tunnel is a single lane, with a passing lane provided.^[3]

Regulation

Under Japanese law, the Tateyama Tunnel Trolleybus is considered a railway.^[1] While it is operated with trolleybuses, the Tateyama Tunnel Trolleybus is regulated as a railway, under the terms of the Railway Business Law [ja], which contains special provisions for "special railways," which also covers monorails, suspension railways, and cable railways.^[7]

Statistics

Distance: 3.7 km (2.3 mi)^[8]
Stations: 2
Double-track line: None
Electric supply: 600 V DC
Railway signalling: Automatic signal system
- Buses start while the signal is clear, and the number of vehicles is counted.
Fleet: 8 trolleybuses, built in 1995–96 by Osaka Sharyo Kogyo (on Mitsubishi Fuso chassis^[5]), numbered 8001–8008.^[4]
Ridership: 735,000 per year (2002)^[1]

Future

On 11 December 2023, Tateyama Kurobe Kankō announced plans to discontinue its trolleybuses on 1 December 2024 and replace them with battery-electric buses from April 2025.^[9] The last trolleybus service is expected to take place on 30 November 2024.^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Kishi, Yuichiro (October 2005). "Railway Operators in Japan 15: Untypical Railways". Japan Railway & Transport Review. 41. Tokyo: East Japan Railway Culture Foundation: 40–49.
^ "410_1j_01.pdf" (PDF). Kansai Electric Power Company. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
^ ^a ^b Oya, Hideyuki (12 December 2023). "Last of Japan's trolleybuses to run for the final time in late 2024". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b Trolleybus Magazine No. 209 (September–October 1996), pp. 124–125. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN 0266-7452.
^ ^a ^b Murray, Alan (2000). World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. ISBN 0-904235-18-1.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Modes of Transportation". Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
^ "Technical Regulatory Standards on Japanese Railways" (PDF). Railway Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
^ Trolleybus Magazine (TM) No. 202 (July–August 1995), p. 106. ISSN 0266-7452.
^ "立山トンネルの無軌条電車(トロリーバス)事業廃止、電気バス導入へ" [Tateyama Tunnel trackless train (trolleybus) business to be abolished, electric buses to be introduced]. Mynavi News (in Japanese). Japan: Mynavi Corporation. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
^ "「立山トンネルトロリーバス」ラストラン記念イベントの詳細を発表" [Details of the "Tateyama Tunnel Trolley Bus" last run commemorative event announced]. Mynavi News (in Japanese). Japan: Mynavi Corporation. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.