Tracks

Posted by Mike Cash (Kiryu, Japan) on 18 August 2007 in Transportation and Portfolio.

Tracks of the Watarase Valley Line, a railroad that serves a very rural area between Kiryu City in Gunma and Matou (Nikko area) in Tochigi.

Many of the stations are just short elevated platforms without so much as an awning, let alone a station building.

For most of its length the line parallels the Watarase River and offers some interesting and often beautiful scenery.

Those familiar with most Japanese passenger lines will notice that something seems odd about the line.....the zillion ugly poles holding an overhead electric power line are missing. The line uses diesel-electric cars for its entire length.

It has a delightful informality about it. On the trip up to Ashio yesterday the air conditioning in the train wasn't working well, so the engineer walked through the train at one stop and opened all the windows. He then made an announcement that this way would be cooler anyway when we got going. He also used the PA system to give us a running commentary on sight-seeing spots, history, and trivia about places along the line. How else would I have known that we were going around the tightest curve on any non-JR line in Japan if he hadn't taken the time to announce it to us?

On the train on the way back to Kiryu, the change machine broke and the engineer, who serves as conductor, station master, and ticket taker when the train is stopped, was unable to make change for people who didn't have the correct change for their fare. Some he gave a discount, based on how close they could come to the fare with what pocket change they had. Unable to use the automated fare box, he was unable to give receipts showing proof that people had paid their fares so they wouldn't be stopped on the way out of the larger stations. "Just tell the ticket taker you paid me" he told them.

It's the most laid-back line since Hooterville's Cannonball Express.

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