Ita Line

Ita Line
A Heisei Chikuhō train at Akaike Station
Overview
Native name	伊田線
Owner	Heisei Chikuhō Railway
Locale	Fukuoka Prefecture
Termini	Nōgata Tagawa-Ita
Stations	15
Website	www.heichiku.net
Service
Type	Heavy rail
History
Commenced	11 February 1893 (1893-02-11)
Completed	25 March 1899 (1899-03-25)
Privatized	1 October 1989 (1989-10-01)
Technical
Line length	16.1 km (10.0 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Route map

The Ita Line (伊田線, Ita-sen) is a 16.1 km railway line owned by the third-sector company Heisei Chikuhō Railway. The line runs north from Tagawa to Nōgata, all within Fukuoka Prefecture.

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The line was first built by the Chikuhō Kōgyō Railway, later renamed Chikuhō Railway (筑豊鉄道), as a branch line of the Chikuhō Main Line. Used to transport coal from the Chikuhō coal mine, the line had two stations: Nōgata Station and Kanada Station. The entire Chikuhō Railway system was merged in 1897 with Kyushu Railway, where the line was extended to Ita Station (now Tagawa-Ita Station) in 1899. Kyushu Railway was nationalized in 1907 and was merged into Japanese Government Railway.

Even though the Ita Line was widened to a double-track railway in 1911, ridership suffered with the decline of the Chikuhō coal mine. Therefore, JR Kyushu, the successor of Japanese Government Railway, privatized and transferred the Ita Line, Itoda Line, and Tagawa Line to the newly founded Heisei Chikuhō Railway.

Even after privatization, the Japan Freight Railway Company still ran trains from Kanada north to Mojiko Station in Kitakyushu, transporting cement from a Mitsui Tankō plant near Kanada Station. This service ceased with the plant's closure in March 2004.

The line is not electrified and is single-tracked for the entire line. Some services continue past Kanada Station on the Itoda Line to Tagawa-Gotōji Station.^[1]

All stations are within Fukuoka Prefecture.

No.	Name		Distance (km)	Connections	Location
HC1	Nōgata	直方	0.0	JR Kyushu: Chikuhō Main Line (Fukuhoku Yutaka Line)	Nōgata
HC2	Minami-Nōgata-Gotenguchi	南直方御殿口	1.1
HC3	Akaji	あかぢ	2.4		Kotake
HC4	Fujitana	藤棚	3.6		Nōgata
HC5	Nakaizumi	中泉	4.3
HC6	Ichiba	市場	6.5		Fukuchi
HC7	Fureai-Shōriki	ふれあい生力	7.6
HC8	Akaike	赤池	8.5
HC9	Hitomi	人見	9.1
HC10	Kanada	金田	9.8	■ Itoda Line
HC11	Kami-Kanada	上金田	11.6
HC12	Hoshii	糒	12.8		Tagawa
HC13	Tagawa Municipal Hospital	田川市立病院	13.4
HC14	Shimoita	下伊田	14.5
HC15	Tagawa-Ita	田川伊田	16.1	■ Tagawa Line JR Kyushu: Hitahikosan Line