The line runs mostly through rural area and operates at a huge loss. JR East has announced consultations are to be held concerning the potential replacement of the last section from Kururi to Kazusa-Kamegama (around 10 km (6.2 mi)) with a bus service due to a ~75% decline in patronage since 1987.[1]
Kururi Line services KiHa E130-100DMU series in amount of 10 cars.
These trains have a one-man operation system, so there is no conductor needed to operate these trains. Also, these trains can be doubled or even tripled during rush periods. KiHa 130–100 series trains started their operation from 1 December 2012.
Former rolling stock
KiHa 30 DMU
KiHa 37 DMU
KiHa 38 DMU
History
Map of line with stations location
The Chiba Prefectural Government opened the 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge section from Kisarazu to Kururi as a light railway on 28 December 1912.
In 1922, the Railway Construction Act was amended by the Diet, and a new rail line connecting Kisarazu Station to Ōhara Station on the Sotobō Line via Kururi and Ōtaki, to transect the Bōsō Peninsula, appeared on the list as compensation for the underdeveloped network of roads in the area at that time.
On 1 September 1923, the Kisarazu to Kururi Line was nationalised, and the line was named the Kururi Line under the Japanese Government Railways (JGR) system. On 20 August 1930, the track gauge was widened to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in), and on 25 March 1936, the line was extended to Kazusa-Kameyama Station.
The private Kihara Line from Ōhara Station was extended to Kazusa-Nakano Station in 1934, and it was planned that the Kururi Line and the Kihara Line would be connected to form a single route across the Bōsō Peninsula (which would have been named the Kihara Line). However, due to World War II, the plan was abandoned, and Kururi Line was never to be extended into the most mountainous area of the peninsula. Services on the section from Kururi Station to Kazusa-Kameyama Station were suspended from 1944 to 1947.
New KiHa E130-100 series DMU trains were introduced from 1 December 2012, replacing the ageing KiHa 30/37/38 DMUs.[2]
Problems
The Kururi Line suffers from a small number of passengers and operates at deficit that requires JR East to give it subsidies.
In 2020, fare revenue covered only 0.6% of operation costs for the section between Kururi and Kazusa-Kameyama stations.[3]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kururi Line.
^久留里線旧型気動車さよなら記念イベント [Old Kururi Line diesel train farewell event] (PDF). News release (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company Chiba Division. 21 September 2012. Archived from the original(PDF) on 7 December 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
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