Founded in 1920 as the Kato Railway, the Nagano Electric Railway is a 3'6" gauge railway line running from Nagano to Yamanochi. The full line opened in 1928, however due to the railway's financial difficulties, the line has shrunk over the last 20 years, losing the line between Shinshu-Nakano and Kijima in 2002, and the section between Yashiro and Suzaka in 2012. The current route features 24 stations over 33.2km of track, with the section between Nagano and Asahi being the only part of the line the be double tracked. With the last of the rolling stock purpose built for the line being taken out of service in 2017, this railway uses old rolling stock from a variety of other railway companies in Japan, including JR East, Odakyu, Tokyu Corporation, Tokyo Metro, and TRTA. Due to the differences in both the variety of rolling stock and the overall route length, I am proposing 2 versions of the Nagano Electric Railway route. The first is as it is today, with the rolling stock that operated on the line between 2017 and 2023. The other will be as it was between 1982 and 1986, with the entire line open and the Shiga Express service being run between Yashiro and Yudanaka with JNR rolling stock. Route Map: Red - Existing Route (33.2km, 24 stations) Yellow - Section abolished in 2012 (24.4km, 12 stations) Purple - Section abolished in 2002 (12.9km, 7 stations) Stations: Existing Route - Nagano, Shiyakusho-Mae, Gondo, Zenkojishita, Hongo, Kirihara, Shinano-Yoshida, Asahi, Fuzokuchougaku-Mae, Yanagihara, Murayama, Hino, Suzaka, Kita-Suzaka, Obuse, Tsusumi, Sakurasawa, Entoku, Shinshu-Nakano, Nakanomatsukawa, Shinano-Takehara, Yomase, Kamijo, Yudanaka Section abolished in 2012 - Yashiro, Higashiyashiro, Amenomiya, Iwano, Zouzanguchi, Matsushiro, Kanaiyama, Oomuro, Shinano-Kawada, Wakaho, Watauchi, Inoue Section abolished in 2002 - Nakano Kita, Shikago, Akaiwa, Yagisawa, Tagami, Shinano Yasuda, Kijima Rolling Stock (Modern) Nagano Electric Railway 1000 Series "Yukimuri" (Former Odakyu 10000 Series "HiSE") Nagano Electric Railway 2100 Series "Snow Monkey" (Former JR East 253 Series) Nagano Electric Railway 3000 Series (Former Tokyo Metro 03 Series) Nagano Electric Railway 3500 Series (Former TRTA 3000 Series - 2 Coach Variant) Nagano Electric Railway 3600 Series (Former TRTA 3000 Series - 3 Coach Variant) Nagano Electric Railway 8500 Series (Former Tokyu 8500 Series) Rolling Stock (1980s) Nagano Electric Railway 0 Series Nagano Electric Railway 10 Series Nagano Electric Railway 2000 Series Nagano Electric Railway 2500 Series (Former Tokyu 5000 Series (Gen 1) - 2 Coach Variant) Nagano Electric Railway 2600 Series (Former Tokyu 5000 Series (Gen 1) - 3 Coach Variant) Nagano Electric Railway Moha 400 Series Nagano Electric Railway Moha 1000 Series Nagano Electric Railway ED500 Series Locomotive (Related to JNR ED15) JNR 165 Series & JNR 169 Series (Shiga service between Yashiro and Yudanaka) All pictures copyright of their original owners. Side note: This railway was featured in episode 11 of the anime "Tetsuko no Tabi", which covered some of the history and features of the sections of the Nagano Electric Railway that were abolished in 2002 and in 2012.
