Tsugaru Railway Company


The Tsugaru Railway Company, or Tsutetsu, is a railway company that provides transportation services in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The company operates the Tsugaru Railway Line, which connects Tsugaru-Goshogawara Station in the city of Goshogawara with Tsugaru-Nakasato Station in the town of Nakadomari in Tsugaru Peninsula. The company also operates, through subsidiary operations, taxi services. It is headquartered in the city of Goshogawara. It should not be confused with the JR East Tsugaru Line.

History

The Tsugaru Railway was founded by former shareholders of the Mutsu Railroad on February 24, 1928, after that line was nationalized and became part of the Japanese Government Railways system. The new privately held Tsugaru Railway connected Goshogawara with Kanagi Station on July 15, 1930, and was extended to its present terminus, Nakasato Station, on November 13, 1930. Transit bus operations began on November 13, 1934. The bus subsidiary, Tsugaru Bus Company, was sold to the Kōnan Bus Company in 1955.

Rail operations

The Tsugaru Railway Line is a, operating twelve stations over a route connecting Goshogawara with Nakasato. The line also runs a number of antique carriages equipped with coal-burning stoves in wintertime as tourist attractions.