Following the travel by Tobu N100 Series "SPACIA X" on the previous day, I travelled on Utsunomiya Light Rail Utsunomiya Haga Light Rail Line (also nicknamed "LIGHTLINE"), which opened on August 26th, 2023, which opened as a new tramway for the first time in 75 years in Japan.
Utsunomiya Haga Light Rail Line spreads between Utsunomiya Station East Stop and Haga Takanezawa Industrial Park Stop. Its nickname, "LIGHTLINE", comes after that of Utsunomiya City, "雷都", which means "The City has many claps of thunder" in Japanese. The body of the carriage on LIGHTLINE, HU300 Series, is coloured black and yellow, which comes after lightning.
The first plan of LIGHTLINE appeared in 2001 as a new transportation to solve traffic jams and car exhausts from Utsunomiya Station toward Kiyohara Industrial Park and Yuinomori residential area. In 2013, the plan for the extension to Haga Takanezawa Industrial Park was added. In the near future, LIGHTLINE will be extended to Ōhtani Smart Interchange (only for ETC-equipped vehicles) on Tohoku expressway via Utsunomiya Station West and Tobu-utsunomiya Station.
The electric power for LIGHTLINE is generated by biomass combustion at waste incineration plants or solar panels on the roofs of houses in Utsunomiya City.
From Utsunomiya University Yoto Campus Stop, the tram went into the reserved track section. Hiraishi Stop equips quadruple track with two platforms. The tram depot stands near Hiraishi Stop. Passing under the bypass of Route 4, LIGHTLINE crosses Kinu River between Hiraishi-chuo Elementary School Stop and Tobiyama Castle Site Stop.
From Seiryo High School Stop, LIGHTLINE runs on a roadside track in Kiyohara Industrial Park until before a cross-section at Nogoyamachi crossing between Green Stadium Stop and Yuinomoro West Stop.
Green Stadium Stop has an odd layout, each staggered double-track platform across a street. This layout was introduced to prepare for shuttle trams when in trouble or an event at Green Stadium.
Going over a cross-section and turning right, LIGHTLINE came to Yuinomori residential area, where three stops, Yuinomori West, Central, and East, stand. LIGHTLINE runs in the middle of Prefectural Road 69 Haga Ichikai Bypass.
Yuinomori is located between two Industrial Parks, Haga Takanezawa and Kiyohara. Since 2013, the number of residents in Yuinomori gradually increased because of LIGHTLINE.
Turning left at Management Centre crossing, LIGHTLINE went into Kashinomori Park Street, having a steep upbound slope before arriving Kashinomori Park Stop. Running along the Honda Motor Tochigi Laboratory, LIGHTLINE reaches Haga Takanezawa Industrial Park terminal near the north gate of the laboratory.
I felt LIGHTLINE has a variety of scenes and track layouts. I enjoyed my first travel on LIGHTLINE so much.