Remains of the Ikaho Tramway Takasaki Line
When I entered junior high school, my father was transferred to Takasaki, and we moved there. Takasaki was a large city and a major transportation hub, served by the Joetsu Line, Shinetsu Line, Ryomo Line, Hachiko Line, and the private Joshin Dentetsu. One day, in conversation, the topic of trams came up, and I learned that there used to be a tramway running from Takasaki via Shibukawa to Ikaho. By the mid-1960s, there was nothing left that evoked the image of a tram, but by chance a classmate, Mr. Futagawa, gave me photographs taken by his father, showing the removal of the tram tracks after the service had been discontinued. The closure had occurred in 1953 (Showa 28), before I was born, but in those pictures the Takasaki Station looked much the same as it did in the mid-1960s, though with the traces of a railway I had never seen. Later, Takasaki Station underwent major changes, with the Joetsu Shinkansen construction removing the first locomotive depot north of the station and rebuilding the station building. I thought the tramway had completely vanished, but I discovered that a small trace still remained on the south side of Kita-Takasaki Station, and I went to see it.
Scenes of Track Removal
The tracks had already been torn up. Takasaki Station at the time was a modern building with decorative features. In front of the station were three-wheeled vehicles and buses. The bonnet bus in front carried the swallow mark of the JNR bus. Looking the other way, straight out from Takasaki Station, you would reach a T-junction where the road extended left and right—this was “Aramachi.” The tram turned right here and passed through the busiest shopping district of Takasaki at that time. (1953 photo courtesy of Ms. Yoko NIKAWA)
Remnants of Tracks on the Road
The line, which had run along the road, turned right just before Kita-Takasaki Station and climbed an embankment. At that time, level crossings were generally prohibited, so it passed over the Shinetsu Line on a grade separation. Although only a short section, the beginning of the embankment still remains. The trackbed appears as a narrow strip indistinguishable from the road, but it traces a gentle curve, part of which is now maintained as a park by the Takasaki City Parks and Greenery Section. (Photo taken August 2005)
Reference
The red line indicates the section that still remains today. The road closer to Kita-Takasaki Station is also thought to be a former tramway route, but there was no conclusive evidence.
Chronology of the Ikaho Tramway
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| June 25, 1893 | Establishment of the Gunma Horse Tramway, capitalized at 40,000 yen |
| September 1, 1893 | Opened between Takasaki Yajima-cho and Shibukawa Nagatsuka (20.6 km). Track gauge: 576 mm |
| January 1908 | Plan for electrification |
| August 21, 1908 | Merged with Takasaki Hydroelectric Company; track regauged to 1067 mm |
| December 1909 | Establishment of Ikaho Tramway Company |
| September 24, 1910 | Electric service started between Takasaki and Shibukawa |
| October 16, 1910 | Full opening of the Ikaho Tramway (Shibukawa–Ikaho) |
| November 11, 1913 | Ikaho Tramway (Shibukawa–Ikaho) merged into Takasaki Hydroelectric Company |
| December 10, 1921 | Takasaki Hydroelectric merged into Tokyo Electric Light Company through power company consolidation |
| January 10, 1927 | Tokyo Electric Light transferred management rights to Tobu Railway |
| July 1, 1953 | Ikaho Tramway Takasaki Line (Takasaki Station–Shibukawa Shinmachi, 20.9 km) discontinued |
| March 1, 1954 | Maebashi Line (Maebashi Station–Shibukawa Station) discontinued |
| December 28, 1956 | Ikaho Line (Shibukawa Station–Ikaho) discontinued |