History
Originally the line was 762 mm gauged, constructed by Kurihara Tramway (栗原軌道, Kurihara Kidō?) and opened in 1921, later renamed to Kurihara Railway (栗原鉄道, Kurihara Tetsudō?) in 1941 and again to Kurihara Dentetsu in 1955.
The closure of Hosokura Mine in 1988 reduced freight traffic. The company had hoped for tourists to the Hosokura Mine Park, an amusement park built at the mine site. But this effort failed to stop the decrease of passengers. Municipalities decided to retain the operator as a third sector (in Japanese sense) in 1993, renamed on April 1, 1995 to Kurihara Den'en Railway.
The company has curtailed investment and maintenance measures and made some efforts to increase passengers. But the rapid shift to car traffic has overwhelmed railways everywhere in Japan since the 1990s. Miyagi Prefecture had subsidized the deficit for several years, but in 2001 gave notice to the municipalities of a future suspension of the subsidy. In December 2003 they decided to close the railway in March 2007.
Read more about this topic: Kurihara Den'en Railway Line
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