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Kamikochi Line

上高地線

The Kamikōchi Line (上高地線, Kamikōchi-sen) is a 14.4-kilometre railway line operated by the private operator Alpico Kōtsū in the western suburbs of Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture.

It connects Matsumoto Station with Shin-Shimashima Station, the railway gateway from which buses continue into the Kamikōchi highland and toward Norikura in the Hida Mountains. The line is laid to 1,067 mm narrow gauge, is electrified at 1,500 V DC by overhead catenary, and has 14 stations. Although short, it carries both local commuters and tourist traffic bound for the mountains.

5 km
Route of the Kamikochi Line · Nagano · Boundaries: MLIT / GSI / Japan Post

History

The line's origins lie with the Chikuma Railway, a company founded in 1920 to modernise transport in the district west of the Narai River and to help develop tourism in the Japanese Alps and Kamikōchi. The founder and first president, Shin Kamijō, had previously sought licences to build a railway from Matsumoto toward the mountains under earlier company names, but those applications were rejected; permission was finally granted in December 1919 for a line from Matsumoto to Ryūshima. The Chikuma Railway's inaugural general meeting was held in March 1920 at a temple in Niimura on the outskirts of Matsumoto.

The first section, from Matsumoto to Niimura, opened on 2 October 1921 as the Shimashima Line, electrified at 600 V DC. The following year the railway pushed west: the Niimura–Hata section opened on 3 May 1922, and the Hata–Shimashima section on 26 September 1922, completing the line to its original terminus at Shimashima. Shortly afterwards, on 31 October 1922, the company renamed itself the Chikuma Electric Railway.

In 1932 the company adopted the name by which it would be known for most of the twentieth century, becoming the Matsumoto Electric Railway. The line itself was renamed from the Shimashima Line to the Kamikōchi Line on 1 April 1955. The overhead line voltage was raised from 600 V to 750 V DC on 1 November 1957.

In 1965 ED40-type electric locomotives entered service, and from 1967 a Japanese National Railways express from Nagoya — later renamed "Kamikōchi" — ran through to Shin-Shimashima, a service that ended in 1973 with the electrification of the Chūō Main Line's western section. Freight operations were discontinued on 1 December 1973. In September 1983 a typhoon caused landslides that severed the section beyond Shin-Shimashima toward Shimashima; the suspended stretch was never reopened and was later formally abolished. On 24 December 1986 the overhead voltage was raised to 1,500 V DC and one-man operation began.

The company's modern identity dates from 1 April 2011, when, following a merger with local bus operators, the Matsumoto Electric Railway was renamed Alpico Kōtsū. Under the new name the line introduced "Nagisa Train" liveries themed on a mascot and, from 2022, 20100-series cars that formerly ran on the Tobu Railway.

On 14 August 2021, heavy rain swelled the rivers and damaged a pier of the Tagawa bridge between Nishi-Matsumoto and Nagisa, forcing a suspension of services. Trains resumed on the Nagisa–Niimura section on 8 October 2021, but full service was not restored until 10 June 2022, when running resumed on the Matsumoto–Nagisa section; substitute bus operation had ended on 9 June.

Stations on this line

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

Timeline
  • 1919December: a railway licence is granted for the Matsumoto–Ryūshima line, after earlier applications under other company names had been rejected.
  • 192025 March: the Chikuma Railway holds its inaugural general meeting at Senshō-ji (専称寺), a temple in Niimura, outside Matsumoto; the company is founded to modernise transport west of the Narai River and develop tourism toward the Japanese Alps and Kamikōchi (registered incorporation 29 May).
  • 19212 October: the Matsumoto–Niimura section (6.2 km) opens as the Shimashima Line, electrified at 600 V DC.
  • 19223 May: the Niimura–Hata section (4.9 km) opens; 26 September: the Hata–Shimashima section opens, completing the line to Shimashima; 31 October: the company is renamed the Chikuma Electric Railway.
  • 1932The company is renamed the Matsumoto Electric Railway.
  • 19551 April: the line is renamed from the Shimashima Line to the Kamikōchi Line.
  • 19571 November: the overhead line voltage is raised from 600 V to 750 V DC.
  • 1965ED40-type electric locomotives enter service on the Nagisa–Akamatsu (now Shin-Shimashima) section.
  • 19731 December: freight services are discontinued (the through JNR Nagoya express ends the same year with the electrification of the Chūō Main Line's western section).
  • 198328 September: Typhoon No. 10 causes landslides that suspend services on the Shin-Shimashima–Shimashima section.
  • 1984The suspended Shin-Shimashima–Shimashima section is formally abolished.
  • 198624 December: the overhead line voltage is raised to 1,500 V DC and one-man operation begins.
  • 20022 February: Kitanii Station is renamed Kitanii–Matsumoto-Daigaku-mae for the opening of Matsumoto University.
  • 20111 April: following a merger with local bus operators, the Matsumoto Electric Railway is renamed Alpico Kōtsū.
  • 202114 August: heavy rain damages a pier of the Tagawa bridge between Nishi-Matsumoto and Nagisa, suspending services; 8 October: trains resume on the Nagisa–Niimura section.
  • 202210 June: service resumes on the Matsumoto–Nagisa section, fully restoring the line; substitute bus operation had ended the previous day.

Sources

Last updated 16 October 2026.

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