Yokosuka line is a suburban railway in Kanagawa Prefecture, which is 24 km (15 miles) long. It technically connects Ofuna and Kurihama stations, but most trains are extended to Tokyo (including Shonan-Shinjuku line services). The line was once one of the most important railway in Japan as there was Yokosuka Naval District. Today, Yokosuka is known for having the headquarter of the U.S. Seventh Fleet.
As Yokosuka line had been important for military purposes for more than 100 years, there were a few military installations until recently. Once of them remains near Taura station. Taura is approximately 64 km (40 miles) south of Tokyo and it is now a small station with just around 2,000 daily users. There are only three trains per hour on each direction at the daytime, with only one to and from Yokohama or Tokyo.
An industrial railway branched off until 2006. The railway was owned by Sagami Transportation & Warehouse Co., Ltd. and it was extensively constructed at Nagaura port. There are three tunnels on the western edge of the platform: the disused railway on the left, down main line (towards Yokosuka and Kurihama) in the middle and up main line (towards Zushi, Yokohama and Tokyo) on the right.
The industrial railway was constructed by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1889, five years earlier than Taura station itself. The railway was strictly controlled by the Navy so that there is little information about its history, but it is said that not only military supplies but also goods including Japan Tobacco and Salt Public Corporation (now JT) products were also transported from here to Tokyo.
The railway was requisitioned by the U.S. Navy after the Second World War. Nagaura port was used by Americans as a major port hub in the region. One of the most important facility here is Azuma Storage Area, which is still controlled by the United States even today. Freight trains carrying jet fuel had been despatched frequently to Naval Air Facility Atsugi. The freight trains were managed by Japanese National Railways until 1984 and by JR Freight from 1987 to 1998. The industrial railway was officially closed in 2006.
There were disused bridges, level crossings and even English signboards until around 2010, but most of them have been removed by JR East and the local authorities, but tracks still remain on the pavement today. There are two disused diamond crossings, which are extremely rare in Japan.
The disused tracks disappear near the petrol storage of the Self Defence Forces. The tracks went further and it looked like a tram track in the tunnel (in other words, cars and trains ran together) in the past, but there was no trace of them today.
This is a rough sketch of the disused railway. A blue line shows Yokosuka line tracks that are operational today. Yellow lines show how extensive the industrial railway was, and the red line shows the tracks accessible without permission (i.e. on the public road).
Unlike in Europe, disused railways in Japan are often removed shortly after they were permanently closed. However, the one here in Taura still remains though nearly 20 years have passed since its closure. The ruins of the railway are likely to remain for a while as this area is mostly abandoned, but those who are interested in them should consider visiting the area before it is too late, as the ruins may suddenly disappear one day.
