Utsunomiya Light Rail
light rail line in Utsunomiya and Haga, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan
The Utsunomiya Light Rail (宇都宮ライトレール, Utsunomiya raitorēru) is a light rail transit (LRT) line serving the Utsunomiya metropolitan area in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. The 14.6 km line links Utsunomiya, the capital city of Tochigi, with the nearby town of Haga, running between Utsunomiya Station East, a tram stop in front of the East Exit of Utsunomiya Station in central Utsunomiya, and Haga Takanezawa Industrial Park in Haga.
The line is operated by the third-sector railway operator Utsunomiya Light Rail Co., Ltd. [ja] (:宇都宮ライトレール株式会社, Utsunomiya raitorēru Kabushiki-gaisha) and is officially known as the Utsunomiya Light Rail Utsunomiya Haga Light Rail Line (宇都宮ライトレール宇都宮芳賀ライトレール線), although there are no other light rail lines in Utsunomiya.
History
The project to develop a light rail line in Utsunomiya was conceived because of the need to alleviate serious traffic congestion. Since the 1960s, when Japan's economy grew dramatically (Japanese economic miracle), large industrial areas such as Hiraide Industrial Park and Kiyohara Industrial Park were developed in the eastern part of Utsunomiya City, and as many as 30,000 employees came to work there. However, these industrial parks were far from the center of Utsunomiya, and it was necessary to cross the Kinugawa River to access them, so traffic congestion became serious around the limited bridges that crossed the Kinugawa River due to passenger cars driven by commuters and trucks transporting raw materials and products. This is because Tochigi Prefecture is one of the most motorized regions in Japan, and has the highest dependence on automobiles for transportation in this country, so most residents have lived a life that relies on automobiles for transportation. Due to serious traffic congestion, it can take more than an hour to travel 10 to 15 kilometers from the center of Utsunomiya to the industrial parks, and it became a serious social problem that required an immediate solution.
In addition, in the Utsunomiya metropolitan area, the Tōhoku Main Line, a railway trunk line, runs north–south from JR Utsunomiya Station, but there has never been a railway line running east–west.
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