Meitetsu Kōwa Line

Before Meitetsu ownership

In the Taishō era, the only railway line connecting eastern Chita peninsula and Nagoya was the Taketoyo Line, which was inconvenient at the time due to its low number of trains.^[3][4] Following petitions from local residents,^[5] Aichi Electric Railways [ja] gained approval in December 1912 to build a railway line from Owari Yokosuka Station to Handa.^[6] However, the approval expired at the end of 1915 without the construction even beginning due to the economic depression at the time affecting the company.^[7][8] In 1924, several influential people in the Handa and Kōwa regions planned to establish a company named Chita Electric Railways. The group of people requested technical help from Aichi Electric Railways, and approval to construct a railway line from Ōtagawa Station to Kōwa was gained in 1926. The company was renamed to Chita Railways in 1927, with Kiyonari Aikawa as the first CEO.^[9] The construction for the section between Ōtagawa and Narawa Station began in December 1929. The construction was able to continue despite the Wall Street crash of 1929 thanks to financial and technical aid from the Aichi Electric Railways.^[4]

Chita Railway opened the 15.8 km Ōtagawa – Narawa section for passenger services, electrified at 1500 V DC,^[10] in 1931. The 10.0 km section between Narawa and Kōwaguchi Station opened in 1932.^[11] Sumiyoshichō Station, Aoyama Station, and Urashima Station [ja] opened in 1933. The 3.0 km extension to Kōwa Station opened in August 1935 due to delays in land acquirement.^[10] The company merged into Meitetsu on February 1, 1943^[11], with all trains, infrastructure and employees transferred to Meitetsu. The line was initially named Chita Line from 1943, although the name changed to the current name in 1948.^[12]

Under Meitetsu ownership

Tatsumigaoka Station was opened on July 10, 1955.^[13] In 1969, Kagiya Station [ja] between Takayokosuka and Minami Kagiya, Urashima Station between Chita Taketoyo and Fuki, and Tokishi Station [ja] between Kōwaguchi and Kōwa, which had all been suspended during World War II, were abolished.^[14] In 1972, Shikainami Station [ja] was merged into Futto Station [ja] and was abolished.^[15] The section from Ōtagawa to Kōwaguchi was gradually duplicated from 1960 to 1974. Agui Station was opened on July 21, 1983.^[13] Futto Station and Mukuoka Station [ja] were closed on December 16, 2006, due to low ridership. Kagiya-nakanoike Station was built between Takayokosuka and Minami Kagiya,^[16] and opened from the start of the revised timetable implemented on 16 March 2024.^[17]

Services

Prior to the March 2023 timetable revision, many trains provided through service to Utsumi Station via the Chita New Line, which was reduced after March 2023.^[18] Five different types of service are operated on the line.^[19] Most trains provide through service to Kanayama Station via the Tokoname Line. Meitetsu Limited Express [ja] services to Nagoya Station depart from Kōwa every 30 minutes. Rapid Express trains are limited to the morning of weekdays, one bound for Kōwa Station and two in the direction of Ōtagawa Station.^[20]

More information No., Name ...

No.	Name	Local[19]	Semi Express[19]	Express[19]	Rapid Express[19]	Limited Express[19]
	Ōtagawa	●	●	●	●	●
	Takayokosuka	●	｜	｜	｜	｜
	Kagiya-Nakanoike	●	｜	｜	｜	｜
	Minami Kagiya	●	●	●	●	｜
	Yawata-shinden	●	｜	｜	｜	｜
	Tatsumigaoka	●	●	●	●	｜
	Shirasawa	●	｜	｜	｜	｜
	Sakabe	●	｜	｜	｜	｜
	Agui	●	●	●	●	●
	Uedai	●	｜	｜	｜	｜
	Handaguchi	●	｜	｜	｜	｜
	Sumiyoshichō	●	●	●	●	｜
	Chita Handa	●	●	●	●	●
	Narawa	●	●	●	●	｜
	Aoyama	●	●	●	●	●
	Age	●	●	●	●	｜
	Chita Taketoyo	●	●	●	●	●
	Fuki	●	●	●	●	●
	Kōwaguchi	●	●	●	●	●
	Kōwa	●	●	●	●	●

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Operators

The line is currently operated by Meitetsu, although it was operated by Chita Railways with the help of Aichi Electric Railways before it merged to form Meitetsu.^[21]

Route

Meitetsu Kōwa Line branches off Ōtagawa Station to head southeast, running west of Taketoyo Line from Chitahanda to Chita-Taketoyo. The line continues south of the Chita peninsula. Meitetsu Chita New Line branches off southwest into Utsumi Station from Fuki Station. Most of the line is double-tracked, although the section between Kōwaguchi and Kōwa is single-tracked.^[22]

Stations

The line serves 20 stations (19 excluding Ōtagawa) across the length of the line.^[19] Several stations on the line have been upgraded to feature ramps, lifts, and elevators due to requests from passing municipalities.^[23]

More information No., Name ...

No.	Name	Japanese	Between (km)	Distance (km)	Connections	Location
	Ōtagawa	太田川	-	0.0	Tokoname Line (TA09)	Tōkai
	Takayokosuka	高横須賀	1.3[14]	1.3
	Kagiya-Nakanoike	加木屋中ノ池	1.4[24]	2.7[24]
	Minami Kagiya	南加木屋	1.4[14]	4.1
	Yawata-shinden	八幡新田	1.8[14]	5.9
	Tatsumigaoka	巽ヶ丘	1.2[13]	7.1		Chita
	Shirasawa	白沢	0.8[13]	7.9		Agui, Chita District
	Sakabe	坂部	1.6[13]	9.5
	Agui	阿久比	1.1[13]	10.6
	Uedai	植大	1.6[25]	12.2
	Handaguchi	半田口	1.0[25]	13.2		Handa
	Sumiyoshichō	住吉町	0.8[26]	14.0
	Chita Handa	知多半田	0.8[26]	14.8	Taketoyo Line (Handa: CE07)
	Narawa	成岩	1.0[26]	15.8
	Aoyama	青山	1.0[26]	16.8	Taketoyo Line (Higashi-Narawa: CE08)
	Age	上ゲ	2.2[26]	19.0		Taketoyo, Chita District
	Chita Taketoyo	知多武豊	0.8[26]	19.8	Taketoyo Line (Taketoyo: CE09)
	Fuki	富貴	2.5[27]	22.3	Chita New Line (KC17)
	Kōwaguchi	河和口	3.5[27]	25.8		Mihama, Chita District
	Kōwa	河和	3.0[27]	28.8

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