S P O T ／ SPOT-216

Former Nagano Electric Railway Kato Line (Kijima Line) Abandoned Railway Line Remains

旧長野電鉄河東線（木島線）廃線跡きゅうながのでんてつかとうせん（きじません）はいせんあと

Remains of the 12.9 km Shinshunakano–Kijima segment of the Nagano Electric Railway Kato Line, commonly called the Kijima Line, which was discontinued on 1 April 2002 after 77 years of operation. The line originated as the Kato Railway (1925), established to promote agricultural commerce along the eastern bank of the Chikumagawa. Eight stations were closed; track and overhead wire were promptly removed, but abutments, the Iizunayama Tunnel, and sections of embankment remain in situ. A portion of the former trackbed between Shikago and Yanagisawa stations was subsequently incorporated into the Akaiwabaypass prefectural road replacement project associated with the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension — an unusual instance of railway-to-roadway infrastructure conversion.