The Kitakyushu Monorail ( 北九州モノレール , Kitakyūshū monorēru ) is a monorail system in the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture , Japan, operated by Kitakyushu Urban Monorail Co. Ltd. ( 北九州高速鉄道株式会社 , Kitakyūshū Kōsoku Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha , literally "Kitakyūshū Rapid Railway Stock Company") , which is wholly owned by the Kitakyushu municipal government.
4-455: The Kokura Line ( 小倉線 , Kokura-sen ) is the only line. It runs the 8.8 km (5.5 mi) between Kokura station and Kikugaoka station in Kokura Minami ward in about 18 minutes. It was opened on January 9, 1985, between the station now called Heiwadori and Kikugaoka, and at the time was the first monorail in the world with high level platforms and trains with floors entirely above
8-661: Is the main railway station in Kitakyushu , Japan. It is part of the JR Kyushu network and the San'yō Shinkansen stops here. It is the second largest station in Kyushu with 120,000 users daily. In the late 1990s, the Kokura station area was expanded and remodelled. Kokura). In fiscal 2016, the station was used by an average of 35,431 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), and it ranked 2nd among
12-435: The bogies. This increased available floor space and now all but one of Japan's surviving Alweg monorails have high level platforms and employ podium-free trains. This line was extended about 300 metres (1000 ft) to Kokura station from Heiwadori on April 1, 1998. The monorail is owned by the city of Kitakyushu, and did not begin to make a profit until the extension to Kokura station was completed. This had been resisted by
16-529: The businesses in Uomachi shopping district who feared they would lose customers, but that did not happen. Once a year, there are beer and wine parties held on the monorail, with bookings made in advance. Santa Claus boards the train on December 24. ( University of Kitakyushu ) ( Kokura Racecourse ) (北九州市立大学前) (小倉競馬場) Kokura station Kokura Station ( 小倉駅 , Kokura-eki ) in Kokurakita-ku
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