Former Nunobiki Electric Railway Abandoned Line Remains

旧布引電気鉄道跡きゅうぬのびきでんきてつどうあと

Remains of a short-lived electric railway that operated from 1926 to 1934 along a planned 7.6 km route connecting Komoro Station on the Shinetsu Main Line with Shimakawara in what is now Tomi City, serving the Kawa-nishi agricultural district. The company was capitalized in 1924 with the goal of rural transport modernization, but continuous deficits attributable to the Showa Depression and competition from motor buses led to suspension of operations in 1934 — a mere eight years after opening. Bridge piers in the Chikumagawa (Shinano River) between the Oshidashi and Nunobiki stations survive as visible industrial heritage, having endured nearly nine decades of river flow. A section of the switchback embankment at the former Oshidashi Station also partially survives, with interpretive signage installed by the Shinmachi District Historical Heritage Preservation Society.

N O P H O T O

H I G H L I G H T S

Highlights

01Concrete bridge piers in the Chikumagawa riverbed — surviving nearly nine decades after closure, they represent a rare instance of in-situ industrial infrastructure from a short-lived abandoned railway line
02Partial remains of the Oshidashi Station switchback embankment, with interpretive signage by the local heritage preservation society
03The ironic nickname 'Shijukara Kotori Densha' (Great Tit Bird Train) — a pun on 'always empty, small bird-sized railcar' — documents in popular memory the railway's chronic under-patronage

A C C E S S ／ M E T A

Essentials

Location: Nagano Prefecture Komoro City
Address: 長野県小諸市〜東御市（千曲川橋脚跡：長野県小諸市大字甲）
Fee: 無料（見学ポイントまでの駐車は布引温泉駐車場等を利用）
Hours: 見学自由（川岸・私有地への立ち入りは不可）
Status: 廃線跡（遺構が散在・一部のみ見学可）

D E E P D I V E

Deep Dive

R E F E R E N C E

References

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