SHIZUOKA, Feb 05 (News On Japan) –
Oigawa Railway, the place round half of its total line has remained out of service for greater than three years as a consequence of hurricane injury, is urgent forward with an extended and troublesome restoration plan towards full reopening within the spring of 2029, as its president—often called a “local railway revival specialist”—makes a painful however strategic resolution to prioritize commercially viable steam locomotives whereas maintaining a small margin for goals.
The railway has been partially suspended since hurricane injury in 2022 left the part between Kawane-Onsen Sasamado Station and Senzu Station impassable, with restoration work solely set to start in earnest from the top of 2025, making a full reopening unlikely earlier than the spring of 2029.
As trial and error continues towards that objective, President Akira Toritsuka, who took workplace in June 2024, has launched a sequence of initiatives aimed toward maintaining the struggling line related and financially afloat. Toritsuka has earned a repute as a “railway revival contractor” after rebuilding regional traces comparable to Echigo Tokimeki Railway in Niigata and Isumi Railway in Chiba.
One such initiative was a particular eating automotive tour held in December 2025, throughout which passengers loved boxed meals made with Shizuoka components whereas driving a steam locomotive by way of the mountainous area, an expertise designed to mix surroundings, nostalgia, and native delicacies. Toritsuka personally welcomed friends aboard the refurbished eating automotive, signaling his hands-on strategy to rebuilding the railway’s enchantment.
Toritsuka’s bigger imaginative and prescient is to revive the spirit of Japan’s former “Blue Train” sleeper providers in Shizuoka, arguing that areas related to iconic trains turn into locations in themselves. As a part of that technique, the railway launched refurbished 12-series passenger vehicles as soon as utilized by Japanese National Railways and JR, and in January 2026 efficiently operated its first in a single day practice tour, departing within the night and operating till the next morning over repeated spherical journeys on the Oigawa Main Line.
The roughly 14-hour journey, evoking the environment of traditional in a single day steam journey, drew railway lovers from throughout the nation, together with guests from so far as northern Hokkaido, lots of whom mentioned the expertise allowed them to relive the romance of Showa-era evening trains.
However, as these concepts have been taking form, the corporate confronted a severe setback in 2025 when a number of steam locomotives broke down in fast succession, together with one among its conventional black engines and the favored Thomas the Tank Engine-themed locomotive, dealing a heavy blow to operations and income.
With passenger numbers closely depending on the Thomas model, Oigawa Railway determined to pay attention its restricted operational assets on simply two steam locomotives—Thomas and Percy—each of which stay serviceable, a transfer that can briefly sideline the traditional black steam locomotive from the road.
The resolution comes because the railway continues to submit losses within the post-pandemic period, forcing administration to confront harsh monetary realities. Toritsuka described the selection as unavoidable, saying that whereas administration should prioritize actuality above all else, a railway that gives no sense of hope or creativeness will ultimately lose public curiosity.
According to Toritsuka, actuality accounts for about 95% of administration choices, however the remaining 5% have to be reserved for goals, permitting the railway to encourage passengers with out letting ambition undermine its footing.
Looking forward, Oigawa Railway plans to reopen sections of the road regularly from across the autumn of 2027, with full operations focused for the spring of 2029, at which level it goals to revive one other black steam locomotive at the moment underneath refurbishment, in the end working a three-engine lineup of Thomas, Percy, and a standard steam locomotive.
Source: SBSnews6