Kitakyushu Monorail

Kitakyushu Monorail
Overview
Locale	Kitakyushu, Japan
Stations	13
Service
Type	Straddle-beam monorail
Services	1
Operator(s)	Kitakyushu Urban Monorail Co. Ltd.
Daily ridership	31,700
History
Opened	9 January 1985
Technical
Line length	8.8 km (5.5 mi)
Route map

Kitakyushu Monorail
to Shin-Shimonoseki to Moji to Hakata to Nishi-Kokura Kokura Heiwadōri Tanga Kantake River Kawaraguchi Mihagino Katano Hitahikosan Line Jōno Kitagata Keibajōmae Moritsune Shii River Tokuriki Kōdanmae Tokuriki Arashiyamaguchi Shii Shii River to Ishida Kikugaoka │ Shii-Kōen to Shii

The Kitakyushu Monorail (北九州モノレール, Kitakyūshū monorēru) is a monorail system in the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, operated by Kitakyushu Urban Monorail Co. Ltd. (北九州高速鉄道株式会社, Kitakyūshū Kōsoku Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha, literally "Kitakyūshū Rapid Railway Stock Company"), which is wholly owned by the Kitakyushu municipal government.

The Kokura Line (小倉線, Kokura-sen) is the only line. It runs the 8.8 km (5.5 mi) between Kokura station and Kikugaoka station in Kokura Minami ward in about 18 minutes. It was opened on January 9, 1985, between the station now called Heiwadori and Kikugaoka, and at the time was the first monorail in the world with high level platforms and trains with floors entirely above the bogies. This increased available floor space and now all but one of Japan's surviving Alweg monorails have high level platforms and employ podium-free trains. This line was extended about 300 metres (1000 ft) to Kokura station from Heiwadori on April 1, 1998.

The monorail is owned by the city of Kitakyushu, and did not begin to make a profit until the extension to Kokura station was completed. This had been resisted by the businesses in Uomachi shopping district who feared they would lose customers, but that did not happen.

Once a year, there are beer and wine parties held on the monorail, with bookings made in advance. Santa Claus boards the train on December 24.

Stations

No.	Station Name	Japanese	Distance (km)		Transfers	Location
			Between Station	Total Distance
01	Kokura	小倉	-	0.0	San'yō Shinkansen JA Kagoshima Main Line JF Nippō Main Line JI Hitahikosan Line	Kokurakita-ku Kitakyūshū	Fukuoka Prefecture
02	Heiwadōri	平和通	0.4	0.4
03	Tanga	旦過	0.3	0.7
04	Kawaraguchi Mihagino	香春口三萩野	0.9	1.6
05	Katano	片野	0.8	2.4
06	Jōno	城野	0.8	3.2		Kokuraminami-ku Kitakyūshū
07	Kitagata	北方	1.0	4.2
08	Keibajōmae (University of Kitakyushu) (Kokura Racecourse)	競馬場前 (北九州市立大学前) (小倉競馬場)	0.7	4.9
09	Moritsune	守恒	0.8	5.7
10	Tokuriki Kōdanmae	徳力公団前	0.9	6.6
11	Tokuriki Arashiyamaguchi	徳力嵐山口	0.7	7.3
12	Shii	志井	0.9	8.2
13	Kikugaoka	企救丘	0.6	8.8	JI Hitahikosan Line (Shiikōen)

See also

• Monorails in Japan
• Kitakyushu Airport
• List of rapid transit systems

External links

• Kitakyushu monorail (Official page in Japanese)
• Map of the Kitakyushu Monorail