Isumi Line

The Isumi Line (いすみ線) is a railway line in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the third-sector railway operating company Isumi Railway Company. It extends through the central eastern section of the Bōsō Peninsula, linking Ōhara Station in the city of Isumi, where it connects with the Sotobō Line, to Kazusa-Nakano Station in the town of Ōtaki, where it connects with the Kominato Line.

Station list

 * Isumi Railway Line only operates Local services on weekdays.
 * The Holiday Express runs only on holidays. This train service requires the additional purchase of an Express Ticket, in addition to fares. The Express Service begins and ends at Ōtaki or Kazusa-Nakano. The train between Ōtaki Station and Kazusa-Nakano Station can be boarded without an Express Ticket as the Holiday Express runs parallel to the Local service in this section of the route.
 * Stations marked "●" are served by all Express services.

Rolling stock

 * Isumi Class 200 single-car DMUs
 * Isumi Class 300 single-car DMUs, numbers 301 to 302 (since March 2012)
 * Isumi Class 350 single-car DMU, number 351 (since 2013)
 * KiHa 28 DMU car KiHa 28 2346 (from JR West)
 * KiHa 30 DMU car Kiha 30 62 (from JR East)
 * KiHa 52 DMU car KiHa 52-125 (from JR West)
 * KiHa 20 single-car DMU, number KiHa 20 1303, since September 2015

History
Plans for the Isumi Line were drafted by the Railway Ministry under Railway Construction Act in 1922. However, the route already had an existing 609 mm gauge human-powered tramway, which had been opened by the Chiba Prefectural government on 15 December 1912 to connect Ōhara and Ōtaki. Local opposition and the deficit situation of the existing line delayed construction, which did not begin until 1925. The tramway was bought out by the Japanese Government Railways in 1927, and the first section of the new Kihara Line (木原線) was opened on 1 April 1930. The line was extended to Fusamoto by 25 August 1933 and to its present terminus at Kazusa-Nakano on 26 August 1934. As its name implies, the Kihara line was originally intended to connect Ōhara with Kisarazu. However, it was never extended further than Kazusa-Nakano.

In 1954, the first JNR diesel railbus, the KiHa 10000, was introduced on the Kihara Line. Four additional stations were added on 20 June 1960 (Nishi-Ōhara, Nittano, Koyamatsu, and Kugahara). However, on 4 September 1968 the line was listed as one of 83 money-losing local lines recommended for closure. The line problems were compounded in the summer of 1970, when heavy rains washed out a portion of the track, causing a suspension of operations from 1 July through 1 October. Scheduled freight operations were suspended from 1 October 1974. On 18 September 1981, the line was again recommended for closure.

After the breakup and privatization of the JNR on 1 April 1987, the line came under the control of the JR East.

The Isumi Line came into being on 24 March 1988 following the transfer of the assets of the former Kihara Line to the newly formed third sector operator Isumi Railway Company.

The Isumi Railway has attempted to increase revenues by selling naming rights to stations to local industries, leading to some confusion on the correct station names.