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Tosaden Kotsu line2 min read

Ekimae Line

駅前線

The Ekimae Line (駅前線, Ekimae-sen, literally "Station-front Line") is a short tramway in the city of Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku, operated by Tosaden Kōtsū. Just 0.8 kilometres long with four stops, it is the northern arm of the four-way junction at Harimayabashi, running north to Kōchi-ekimae in front of Kōchi Station.

It is laid to 1,067 mm gauge, electrified at 600 V DC overhead, and double-tracked throughout. At its northern end it meets the JR Shikoku Dosan Line at Kōchi Station, while at Harimayabashi it connects with the Sanbashi, Gomen and Ino lines; in passenger information the Ekimae and Sanbashi lines are sometimes referred to together as the "Nanboku" (North–South) Line.

Kochi2 km
Route of the Ekimae Line · Kochi · Boundaries: MLIT / GSI / Japan Post

History

The line was opened on 16 February 1928 by Tosa Denki (Tosa Electric) under the name "Enokuchi Line" (江ノ口線), running from Harimayabashi to Kōchi-ekimae. The name "Ekimae Line" was already in use, but the section was not listed as an independent line in the Tetsudō Yōran railway register until the 2006 (Heisei 18) edition; before that it was recorded as part of the Sanbashi Line.

As with the Sanbashi and Gomen lines, the operating company changed several times. On 12 July 1941 the line became part of Tosa Kōtsū following a merger and change of company name, and on 3 June 1948, after a merger with Nankai Tan'atsuki, it passed to the Tosa Electric Railway company. On 24 May 1951 the track near the Kōchi-ekimae stop was realigned, the curve being shifted from a left-hand to a right-hand bend.

Conversion of the line's overhead wiring to centre-pole support was completed on 31 March 1997, together with that of the Harimayabashi–Ume-no-tsuji section of the Sanbashi Line.

On 27 March 2001 a new stop, Kōchi-bashi, opened between Hasuikemachi-dōri and Kōchi-ekimae, and on 1 April 2001 the Kōchi-ekimae terminus was moved into the rotary directly in front of Kōchi Station. From 2002 a demonstration trial of through services ran from Kōchi-ekimae toward Masugata and Kagamigawabashi on the Ino Line, and on 1 April 2005, after the intersection near Harimayabashi was rebuilt to add a right-turn track from the Ekimae Line onto the Ino Line, those through services entered regular operation.

From the 2006 edition of the Tetsudō Yōran, the Kōchi-ekimae–Harimayabashi section was formally separated from the Sanbashi Line and listed independently under the name Ekimae Line. The terminus moved once more after Kōchi Station itself was raised onto an elevated structure in 2008: on 14 February 2009 the Kōchi-ekimae stop was shifted about 30 metres north and brought into provisional use on one of its two tracks, and on 11 March 2009 the relocation work was completed and both tracks entered full service.

The line's most recent change of ownership came on 1 October 2014, when Tosa Electric Railway was brought together with Kōchi-ken Kōtsū and Tosaden Dream Service in a business integration, and the Ekimae Line passed to Tosaden Kōtsū. Most Ekimae Line services run through onto the Sanbashi Line, with a weekday-morning through service to the Ino Line. In Tosaden Kōtsū's weekday timetable revised on 1 August 2024, trams leave Kōchi-ekimae every 10 minutes from about 10:00 to 16:00, and more often at the morning and late-afternoon peaks.

Stations on this line

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

Timeline
  • 192816 February: the line is opened by Tosa Denki (Tosa Electric) under the name 'Enokuchi Line', running from Harimayabashi to Kōchi-ekimae.
  • 194112 July: following a merger and a change of company name, the line becomes part of Tosa Kōtsū.
  • 19483 June: after a merger with Nankai Tan'atsuki, the line passes to the Tosa Electric Railway company.
  • 195124 May: the track near the Kōchi-ekimae stop is realigned, the curve being shifted from a left-hand to a right-hand bend.
  • 199731 March: the line's overhead wiring is converted to centre-pole support, together with the Harimayabashi–Ume-no-tsuji section of the Sanbashi Line.
  • 200127 March: a new Kōchi-bashi stop opens between Hasuikemachi-dōri and Kōchi-ekimae; 1 April: the Kōchi-ekimae terminus is moved into the rotary in front of Kōchi Station.
  • 2002A demonstration trial of through services from Kōchi-ekimae toward Masugata and Kagamigawabashi on the Ino Line begins.
  • 20051 April: the intersection near Harimayabashi is rebuilt to add a right-turn track from the Ekimae Line onto the Ino Line, and the Kōchi-ekimae–Masugata/Kagamigawabashi through services enter regular operation.
  • 20061 April: from this year's Tetsudō Yōran, the Kōchi-ekimae–Harimayabashi section is separated from the Sanbashi Line and listed independently as the Ekimae Line.
  • 200914 February: following the 2008 elevation of Kōchi Station, the Kōchi-ekimae stop is moved 30 m north and brought into provisional use on one of its two tracks; 11 March: the relocation is completed and both tracks enter full service.
  • 20141 October: with the business integration of Tosa Electric Railway with Kōchi-ken Kōtsū and Tosaden Dream Service, the Ekimae Line passes to Tosaden Kōtsū.

Sources

Last updated 16 October 2026.

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