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Native name | 富山地方鉄道 |
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Romanized name | Toyama Chihō Tetsudō |
Company type | Public-private KK |
Industry | Transportation |
Founded | 11 February 1930 |
Website | Official website |
The Toyama Chihō Railway (富山地方鉄道, Toyama Chihō Tetsudō, "Toyama Regional Railway") is a transportation company in Toyama, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The company is commonly known as Chitetsu (地鉄). This private company operates railway, tram, and bus services in the eastern part of the prefecture. It also operates as the agency of All Nippon Airways in Toyama area. The company has its root in Toyama Electric Railway (富山電気鉄道, Toyama Denki Tetsudō) founded in 1930. The current company was founded in 1943, when all the private and public operators of railway, tram, and bus lines in the prefecture were merged into one. In 1950, it founded Kaetsunō Railway, planning to build the railway line that links Toyama and Ishikawa. Chitetsu handed over its networks in the western part of Toyama Prefecture, although the plan never came to fruition.
All the trains from Tateyama Line and Fujikoshi-Kamidaki Line have through services to the Main Line, reaching Dentetsu-Toyama.
The tram lines are collectively called the Toyama City Tram Line, officially consisting of five lines.
The tram operates in two routes. The Main, Branch, Yasunoya and Kureha lines effectively make a single route, from Minami-Toyama-Ekimae to Daigaku-mae. Some tramcars run between Minami-Toyama-Ekimae and Toyama-Ekimae. The Branch Line, the Toyama Toshin Line and a part of the Main Line form a circle route in the city center. The latter route was introduced in December 2009 when the Toyama Toshin Line opened.
There is a plan to link Toyama-Ekimae Station and Toyamaekikita Station of Toyama Light Rail, currently 250 m away. After two tram lines are linked, they will have a through service.
The company operates local bus lines in the whole eastern part of the prefecture, including Toyama City. It also operates many highway buses linking Toyama City and other parts of Japan, including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Kanazawa.
In April 2023, a nineteen-year-old track maintenance worker was struck and killed by a train. On June 6th 2024, the Toyama Labor Standards Inspection Office referred the company and three of its employees to the prosecutor's office for alleged violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act in connection with the accident.[1][2]