Eizan Electric RailwayCo., Ltd. is a Japanese privaterailway company whose two lines run entirely in Sakyō-ku in the city ofKyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. The name of this small railway network is abbreviated as Eiden, and is derived from the name of its predecessor, the Eizan Electric Railway Division of the Keifuku Electric Railroad. The present company was founded in 1985 as a subsidiary of Keifuku. The purpose of reorganization was to reduce the huge deficit of the Eiden lines, which had been completely isolated from the main Keifuku network since the abandonment of the Kyoto City Tramways in 1978. The split-off was considered to be an urgent matter, awaiting the completion of a long-awaited rail connection between the two networks of Eiden and Keihan. The Keihan Electric Railway was at that time constructing the Ōtō Line to the Eiden terminal at Demachiyanagi. The opening of the Ōtō Line significantly reduced the deficit of Eiden. Later on, in 2002, all shares of Keifuku were transferred from Keifuku to Keihan, of which Eiden became a wholly owned subsidiary. This railway accepts the Surutto Kansai card for payment, but not the PiTaPa card. The line is featured in the Japanese Rail Sim 3D: Journey to Kyototrain simulation game for the Nintendo 3DS.
History
The Kyoto Electricity Co. opened the - present-day Eizen Main Line in 1925, dual track 1435mm gauge electrified at 600 VDC. Its purpose was primarily to serve as a tourist line to Mount Hiei. The Takarakaike - Yase-Hieizan-guchi section was reduced to single track in 1944 and the rails recycled for the Japanese war effort. The section was re-duplicated in 1951. The Kurama Line was built by the jointly owned company Kurama Electric Railway in order to provide access to Kurama temple and Kibune shrine in the hills north of Kyoto, from present-day to. The first section, present-day Takaragaike to was opened in 1928, with the extension to the following year, 1435mm gauge electrified at 600 VDC and dual track to Nikenchaya. The dual track section was reduced to single track in 1939, and reduplicated in 1958.
