was a company that built and operated railways in Kyūshū, one of four main islands of Japan. Most of its lines are now operated by Kyushu Railway Company following the nationalization in 1907 and the privatization in 1987.

Outline

The company was incorporated on August 15, 1888 in Fukuoka, Fukuoka. The first of the railway, between Hakata Station in Fukuoka and Chitosegawa temporary station in Asahi, Saga (near Kurume, Fukuoka), opened on December 11, 1889 as the first railway in Kyūshū.

The company expanded the railway by means of both construction and acquisition of other companies. As of 1907, it operated of railways in Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Ōita and Saga prefectures in northern Kyūshū.

On July 1, 1907, the entire operation of the company was purchased by the government of Japan under the Railway Nationalization Act. Consequently the company was dissolved.

List of lines

Operation of Kyūshū Railway as of June 30, 1907

Endpoints (Present station names in parentheses)	Length (miles)	Line names (designated after nationalization)	Notes
Moji –	143.4	Kagoshima Main Line	via Ōkura
– Usa ()	42.6	Nippō Main Line
–	8.8	Kagoshima Main Line	via
– Kami-Yamada	33.3	Chikuhō Main Line, Kami-Yamada Line
–	7.4	Sasaguri Line
–	98.6	Nagasaki Main Line, Sasebo Line, Ōmura Line
–	26.8	Karatsu Line
–	8.1	Matsuura Line
–	5.5	Sasebo Line
–	15.9	Misumi Line
– Soeda ()	23.1	Tagawa Line, Hitahikosan Line
– Ita ()	9.9	Ita Line
– Kōbukuro	3.0	Kōbukuro Line
– Nagao ()	3.6	Chikuhō Main Line
Gotōji – Miyatoko ()	1.9	Itoda Line
– Kirino (Chikuzen-Miyada)	3.2	Miyada Line
Katsuno – Sugamuta	2.7	Tagawa Line	Freight
Soeda – Shō	0.6	Tagawa Line	Freight
Kawara () – Natsuyoshi	1.5	Tagawa Line	Freight
Gotōji (Tagawa Gotōji) – Kigyō	0.6	Gotōji Line	Freight
Kawasaki – Daini-Ōtō	1.2	Hitahikosan Line	Freight
Azamibaru – Yunokibaru	0.8	Karatsu Line	Freight
Ōchi junction –	0.5	Karatsu Line	Freight
Ōshima –	0.8	Karatsu Line	Freight
(Overlap)	(1.0)		Hakata –
Total	442.8

Rolling stock

A special coach made by German car manufacturer Van der Zypen & Charlier was imported by Kyūshū Railway for VIP use in 1891. The coach was improved and designated as the imperial coach in 1902 for use by Emperor Meiji when he visited an army drill in Kumamoto Prefecture. After the nationalization, the coach was called the imperial coach No. 2 but was not used again by the emperor. It was designated a in 1963 and is now in exhibition at Railway Museum in Saitama.

Fleet of Kyūshū Railway

Year	Steam locomotives	Passenger cars	Freight cars etc.
			Wagons	Trucks
1890	3	38	107
1900	159	302	649	3,173
1906	244	392	1,048	5,300

Kyushu Railway History Museum

The Kyushu Railway History Museum was established near Mojikō Station in Kitakyūshū in 2003. The red-brick main building of the museum is the former headquarters of Kyūshū Railway.

References