Wednesday 14 December 2016

Local Railway with a Sakura Timetable

Unit 315 of the diesel rail-car HaiMo 295-310 series travels on the Tarumi Line

Tarumi Railway is a local company based in Gifu Prefecture, about 400 km west of Tokyo. This company was established in 1984 taking over the Tarumi Line of Japanese National Railways (JNR).

The JNR Tarumi Line was partially opened in 1956. After been taken over by Tarumi Railway Company, the route was fully opened between Oogaki and Tarumi in 1989. The total route length is 34.5 km. The track is un-electrified and single. The gauge size is 1,067 mm.

Tarumi Railway has seven units of diesel rail-cars. Unit 315 of the HaiMo 295-310 series is one of my favorite rail-cars. It was built in 1999 by Fuji Heavy Industries. This rail-car has a 16 m-long body and a 295 PS engine manufactured by Nissan Diesel. The green colored face is quite unique and conspicuous among the Tarumi Railway rolling stock.

Unit 516 of the HaiMo 295-510 series is also lovely. It was built in 2005 by Niigata Transys. It has an 18 m-long body with Tarumi Railway's standard color design. This rail-car also has a Nissan 295 PS diesel engine. Different from Unit 315, Unit 516 has bolsterless type trucks.

In the meantime, there are many famous sakura (cherry) blossoms viewing spots on the Tarumi Line. In early April, many holidaymakers flock to this local railway, so, additional trains are operated during this period. The company calls it the Sakura season railway timetable. It is the busiest week for this local railway.

Unit 516 of the diesel rail-car HaiMo 295-510 series travels on the Tarumi Line