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Private company

Kyushu Railway

Logo: Maxima m, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Former railway company encompassing Kyushu

Kyushu Railway (九州鉄道, Kyūshū Tetsudō) was a company that built and operated railways in Kyushu, one of four main islands of Japan. Most of its lines came under the control of Japanese Government Railways following nationalization in 1907, and many are now operated by Kyushu Railway Company.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Jun 1888Founded1
  • IndustryTRANSPORT1
  • HeadquartersMoji-ku1
  • Legal formkabushiki gaisha1

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Kyushu Railway (九州鉄道, Kyūshū Tetsudō) was a company that built and operated railways in Kyushu, one of four main islands of Japan. Most of its lines came under the control of Japanese Government Railways following nationalization in 1907, and many are now operated by Kyushu Railway Company.2

The story

History

The company was incorporated on August 15, 1888 in Fukuoka, Fukuoka.

The first 22 miles (35 km) of the railway, between Hakata Station in Fukuoka and Chitosegawa temporary station in Asahi, Saga (near Kurume, Fukuoka), opened on December 11, 1889 as the first railway in Kyushu.

The company expanded the railway by means of both construction and acquisition of other companies. As of 1907, it operated 442.8 miles (712.6 km) of railways in Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Ōita and Saga prefectures in northern Kyushu.

On July 1, 1907, the entire operation of the company was purchased by the government of Japan under the Railway Nationalization Act. Consequently, the company was dissolved.

Kyushu Railway History Museum

The Kyushu Railway History Museum was established near Mojikō Station in Kitakyūshū in 2003. The red-brick main building of the museum is the former headquarters of Kyushu Railway.

From Wikipedia’s article on Kyushu Railway, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. Jun 1888Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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