Kururi Line

Kururi Line
Kururi Line E130 series DMUs
Overview
Native name	久留里線
Status	In operation
Owner	JR East
Locale	Chiba Prefecture
Termini	Kisarazu Kazusa-Kameyama
Stations	14
Service
Operator	JR East
Depot	Kisarazu
Rolling stock	KiHa E130 series DMU
History
Opened	28 December 1912; 113 years ago (28 December 1912)
Technical
Line length	32.2 km (20.0 mi)
Num of tracks	Entire line single tracked
Character	Rural
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	65 km/h (40 mph)
Route map Legend Uchibō Line km 0.0 Kisarazu 2.6 Gion 4.2 Kazusa-Kiyokawa Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line Expressway 6.1 Higashi-Kiyokawa Tateyama Expressway Obitsu River 9.3 Yokota 10.8 Higashi-Yokota Obitsu River tributary Obitsu River tributary 13.9 Makuta Obitsu River tributary Nanamagarigawa 15.2 Shimogōri 16.6 Kazusa- Yamamoto ( closed 1956 ) 18.2 Obitsu Oharagawa 20.0 Tawarada Obitsu River tributary 22.6 Kururi Obitsu River tributary 25.7 Hirayama Obitsu River Obitsu River 28.3 Kazusa-Matsuoka 32.2 Kazusa-Kameyama km This diagram: view talk edit

The Kururi Line (久留里線, Kururi-sen) is a railway line in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Kisarazu Station in Kisarazu to Kazusa-Kameyama Station in Kimitsu. The railway route extends through three cities, Kimitsu, Kisarazu, and Sodegaura. It has no double-track section and is not electrified. Trains can pass at only two stations, Yokota Station and Kururi Station.

The line runs mostly through a rural area and operates at a huge loss. JR East held consultations regarding the replacement of the line between Kururi and Kazusa-Kameyama with a bus service due to a ~75% decrease in ridership since 1987.^[1] This resulted in an announcement in February 2026, stating that this section of the line would be closed from April 2027.^[2]

Currently, Suica and other IC cards are not accepted for travel on the Kururi Line^[3], however the section to remain open is set to receive IC card support from spring 2027.^[4]

Kururi Line services are operated by a fleet of 10 KiHa E130-100 DMU traincars which entered service on December 1, 2012.^[5]

Trains operate as 1, 2, or 3-car sets using one-man operation (ワンマン/"wanman"), with no conductor onboard.

All services on the Kururi Line are Local trains, stopping at every station.^[6]

Services between Kisarazu and Kururi operate approximately hourly, with a running time of around 45 minutes.^[6]

The outer section of the line between Kururi and Kazusa-Kameyama only received 9 up services and 8 down services each day, with a running time of 18 minutes. Trains only ran on this section during the morning and evening peaks, leaving large gaps between departures, up to 5½ hours in the afternoon.^[6]

The Chiba Prefectural Government opened the 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge section from Kisarazu to Kururi as a light railway on 28 December 1912.

In 1922, the Railway Construction Act was amended by the Diet, and a new rail line connecting Kisarazu Station to Ōhara Station on the Sotobō Line via Kururi and Ōtaki, to transect the Bōsō Peninsula, appeared on the list as compensation for the underdeveloped network of roads in the area at that time.

On 1 September 1923, the Kisarazu to Kururi Line was nationalised, and the line was named the Kururi Line under the Japanese Government Railways (JGR) system. On 20 August 1930, the track gauge was widened to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in), and on 25 March 1936, the line was extended to Kazusa-Kameyama Station.

The private Kihara Line from Ōhara Station was extended to Kazusa-Nakano Station in 1934, and it was planned that the Kururi Line and the Kihara Line would be connected to form a single route across the Bōsō Peninsula (which would have been named the Kihara Line). However, due to World War II, the plan was abandoned, and Kururi Line was never to be extended into the most mountainous area of the peninsula. Services on the section from Kururi Station to Kazusa-Kameyama Station were suspended from 1944 to 1947.

New KiHa E130-100 series DMU trains were introduced from 1 December 2012, replacing the ageing KiHa 30/37/38 DMUs.^[7]

In February 2026, JR East announced the discontinuation of the final 3.6km of the line between Kururi and Kazusa-Kameyama stations, with final closure in April 2027. At the same time it was announced that the remaining section of the line would receive IC card support after the final sections closure.^[8]

In late September 2026, the line suffered damage due to a typhoon in Chiba prefecture, resulting in the closure of the entire line. The line was re-opened up to Kururi by early October,^[9]but the remaining section up to Kazusa-Kameyama was calculated to take up to half a year to reopen by JR East due to more extensive damage. The company then announced on 23 October that they will not be reopening the section.^[10][11]