The Temiya Line was a local freight narrow gauge railroad in Otaru, Hokkaidō

Otaru, Hokkaido

is a city and port in Shiribeshi, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces the Ishikari Bay, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular tourist destination...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, connecting Minami-Otaru Station

Minami-Otaru Station

is a railway station on the JR Hokkaido Hakodate Main Line. It is located in Otaru, Hokkaidō, Japan.-Station structure:* 2-way, 2-track, 1-Island Platform, below-ground station.Platforms...

 and Temiya Station. The line was a state-owned enterprise, originally established in the late 19th century to transport coal and marine products, and disestablished in 1985.

The line was originally constructed as a part of the Horonai Railway

Horonai Railway

The Horonai Railway was a Japanese government-managed railway which was among the first to be built in Hokkaidō. Established in 1869, it was sold off to the private sector twenty years later...

, the first railway in Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

, and began operations in 1880. Like many other Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

 railroad enterprises, the line uses gauge track over its 2.8 km route, in order to lower the cost of the original project. Though it was originally intended to extend from the seashore to the colliery at Temari-mura Kayanuma, this was deemed inefficient, as ships could do the same work. The Horonai Railway was sold to the Hokkaidō Colliery and Railway Company

Hokkaido Colliery and Railway Company

was a company engaged in coal mining, railway operation and shipping in Hokkaidō, Japan.The company was established in 1889 when the state-owned and Horonai Railway were sold to the company...

 in 1889, and by 1906 the Temiya Line had come under government control, officially inaugurated under that name three years later. It carried both cargo and passengers, for nearly a century. Elements of service in the area, on the Temiya Line and other related lines, were discontinued in 1962, and the line formally disestablished in 1985.

For the majority of its time in service, the line only stopped at Temiya and Minami-Otaru Stations, where it connected with the Hakodate Main Line

Hakodate Main Line

is a railway line between the cities of Hakodate and Asahikawa in Hokkaido, Japan. It is one of the trunk lines operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company ....

.

Today, parts of the line still remain, along with signage in some places. The local Otaru Memorial Museum makes use of what remains of it, and proposals to revive the line have been discussed.