HIROSHIMA TRANSPORT

Hiroshima Transport - Guide to public transport in Hiroshima and surrounding areas. Hiroshima Transport including street cars

Local public transportation in Hiroshima is provided by a streetcar (tram) system, operated by Hiroshima Electric Railway called "Hiroden" (広電) for short. Hiroden also operates buses in and around Hiroshima Prefecture. Hiroshima Electric Railway was established on June 18, 1910 in Hiroshima.

Hiroshima Street Car

While many other Japanese cities abandoned the streetcar system by the 1980s, Hiroshima retained it because the construction of a subway system was too expensive for the city to afford, as it is located on a delta. During the 1960s, Hiroshima Electric Railway, or Hiroden, bought extra streetcars from other Japanese cities. Although streetcars in Hiroshima are now being replaced by newer models, most retain their original appearance. Thus, the streetcar system is sometimes called a "Moving Museum" by railroad buffs. Of the four streetcars that survived the war, two are still in operation as of July 2006 (Hiroden Numbers 651 and 652). There are seven streetcar lines, many of which terminate at Hiroshima Station.

Modern Hiroshima Street Car

The Astram Line opened for the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, with one line from central Hiroshima to Seifu Shinto and Hiroshima Big Arch, the main stadium of the Asian Games. Astram uses rubber-tyred metro cars, and provides service to areas towards the suburbs that are not served by Hiroden streetcars. The Skyrail Midorizaka Line is a monorail that operates between Midoriguchi and Midori-Chūō, serving three stops.

The JR West Hiroshima Station offers inter-city rail service, including Sanyō Shinkansen which provides high speed service between Shin-Osaka and Fukuoka. Sanyō Shinkansen began providing service to Hiroshima in 1975, when the Osaka-Hakata extension opened. Other rail service includes the Sanyō Main Line, Kabe Line, Geibi Line, and Kure Line.

Ferries are operated by JR Miyajima Ferry and Miyajima Matsudai Kisen to Miyajima. Hiroden provides service to Miyajimaguchi Station, which is located near the ferry terminal for service to Miyajima. Hiroshima Port is the main passenger ferry terminal for Hiroshima, with service to Etajima, Matsuyama, and other destinations. There is also an international ferry terminal which has service to Busan and Ulsan in South Korea, Shanghai, Dalian, Qingdao and Ningbo in China, Keelung and Kaohsiung in Taiwan, as well as Hong Kong. There is also a boat taxi service that runs along the ota-gawa channels into the city center.

Hiroshima Airport, located nearby in the city of Mihara, provides air service within Japan to Tokyo, Sapporo, Okinawa, and Sendai. International air service is provided to Seoul, Guam, Bangkok, Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing, and Dalian. Commuter air service is also available at Hiroshima-Nishi Airport.

(Article based on Wikipedia article and used under the GNU Free Documentation License)