The Tosa Kuroshio Railway Asa Line (土佐くろしお鉄道阿佐線, Tosa Kuroshio Railway Asa-sen) is a 42.7 km Japanese railway line operated by the third-sector railway operator Tosa Kuroshio Railway. It connects Gomen Station in the city of Nankoku with Nahari Station in the city of Nahari in Kōchi Prefecture. The line is also commonly known as the Gomen-Nahari Line (ごめん・なはり線).[1]
Limited-stop "Rapid" services and some all-stations "Local" services inter-run over the JR Shikoku Dosan Line to and from Kochi Station.[1] Trains are formed of single or two-car diesel multiple units.[1]
A fleet of 11 9640 series ("9640" can be read as "Kuroshio" in Japanese) stainless steel-bodied diesel multiple unit cars are used on the line, including two cars, 9640-1S and 9640-2S with rounded front ends in a whale motif and an open observation balcony on one side.[2]
The Tosa Kuroshio Tetsudo was established on 8 May 1986 for the purpose of resuming construction of the Sukumo and Asa lines, which had been planned by Japanese National Railways but abandoned.[1] The company acquired a license to operate the Asa Line in January 1988, and commenced construction of the line, which opened on 1 July 2002.[1]
