Toyohashi Railroad Azumada Main Line

The line was opened in 1925 by the Toyohashi Electric Railway (豊橋電気軌道). The first section, from Ekimae through Shinmei to Fudagi-jūjiro (0.8 km), together with a branch from Shinmei to Yagyūbashi (1.1 km), began operating on 14 July 1925. The line was extended eastward in quick succession that same year, reaching Akamon-mae on 21 July and Azumada on 25 December.

In June 1945 the Toyohashi air raid damaged the tramway and suspended the whole line; services were restored over the following months. The operating company was renamed twice after the war: the Toyohashi Electric Railway became Toyohashi Traffic (豊橋交通) on 1 September 1949, and was renamed the Toyohashi Railroad on 22 July 1954, the name it still carries.

The eastern end of the line reached its present terminus on 1 June 1960, when the section from Keirinjō-mae (the velodrome stop) to Akaiwaguchi (1.2 km) opened, accompanied by a new depot at Akaiwaguchi.

The Yagyūbashi branch was cut back and then closed: the Shinkawa–Yagyūbashi section (0.9 km) was abandoned on 7 March 1976. On 31 July 1982 the 0.6 km branch from Ihara to Undō-Kōen-mae opened — the first new tram extension in Japan in fourteen years, the previous one having been a Nagasaki Electric Tramway extension.

The line was later reshaped at its city-centre end. On 19 February 1998 the Ekimae terminus was moved about 150 metres to a site under the pedestrian deck in front of Toyohashi Station. On 31 March 2005 a new stop, Ekimae-Ōdōri, was opened between Ekimae and Shinkawa.

The following day, 1 April 2005, the closure of the Meitetsu Gifu City Line and Mino-machi Line left the Azumada Main Line as the only tram line remaining in the Tōkai region. Most of its cars were acquired second-hand from other cities' tram systems.

14 stations tracked on the map, listed alphabetically. Select any to read its page.

• Akaiwaguchi赤岩口
• Azumada東田
• Azumada-sakaue東田坂上
• Eki-mae駅前
• Ekimaeodori駅前大通
• Fudagi札木
• Higashihattyo東八町
• Ihara井原
• Keirinjo-mae (Aichi)競輪場前
• Maehata前畑
• Shinkawa (Aichi)新川
• Shiyakusho-Mae (Aichi)市役所前
• Toyohashikoen-Mae豊橋公園前
• Undokoenmae (Aichi)運動公園前

• 192514 July: the Toyohashi Electric Railway opens the first section, Ekimae–Shinmei–Fudagi-jūjiro (0.8 km), with a branch from Shinmei to Yagyūbashi (1.1 km).
• 192521 July: the line is extended from Fudagi-jūjiro to Akamon-mae (1.1 km).
• 192525 December: the line is extended from Akamon-mae to Azumada (1.2 km).
• 194520 June: the whole line is suspended after damage in the Toyohashi air raid; services are restored over the following months.
• 19491 September: the Toyohashi Electric Railway is renamed Toyohashi Traffic (Toyohashi Kōtsū).
• 195422 July: the company is renamed the Toyohashi Railroad, the name it still uses.
• 19601 June: the Keirinjō-mae–Akaiwaguchi section (1.2 km) opens, extending the line to its present eastern terminus, with a new depot at Akaiwaguchi.
• 19767 March: the Shinkawa–Yagyūbashi section (0.9 km) of the Yagyūbashi branch is closed.
• 198231 July: the Ihara–Undō-Kōen-mae branch (0.6 km) opens — the first new tram extension in Japan in fourteen years, since a Nagasaki Electric Tramway extension.
• 199819 February: the Ekimae terminus is relocated about 150 m to a site under the pedestrian deck in front of Toyohashi Station.
• 200531 March: a new stop, Ekimae-Ōdōri, opens between Ekimae and Shinkawa.
• 20051 April: the closure of the Meitetsu Gifu City Line and Mino-machi Line leaves the Azumada Main Line as the only tram line in the Tōkai region.