History and Present State of Railway Tunnels in Japan (3rd report)

Between Nagahama and Kobe, Tokaido Line of Former IMPERIAL JAPANESE RAILWAYS

Abstract

The section betweeh Nagahama and Kobe on Tokaido Line is a very important one for tunnel history, because it includes the first railway tunnel ever bored in Japan, and the first railway tunnel completed solely by the force of Japanese engineers. But many of the original tunnels in this territory have been abandoned for repeated relocation or track addition works. This paper describes the history and present state of these tunnels based on field surveys and historical records. For instance, the first Osakayama Tunnel was replaced with a new tunnel following a new route taken Otu and Kyoto in Taisyo Era, and added wuth next tunnels to meet the traffic increase in Syowa Era. This case study reveals that the tunnels was built with various inside shape reflecting the age of their construction.