The Ueda Electric Railway (Ueda Dentetsu) is a part of the broader Ueda Kotsu company, wich manages mainly bus lines and amusement parks, itself a subsidiary of Tokyu Corporation.

It owns only the Bessho Line, an 11.6 Km single-track line opened in 1923 wich connects Ueda city to the hotsprings of Bessho (Bessho-Onsen) and was nearly closed in 1977.

Even if it survived a potential closure, Ueda Dentetsu is still economically struggling, altough in recent years passenger numbers have started to rise, a glimpse of a maybe brighter future.

As it’s a subsidiary of Tokyu Corp. it’s not surprising that Ueda Dentetsu has been using exclusively second-hand Tokyu Railway stock ever since the line’s voltage was raised from 600v to 1500v in 1986.

Electric Multiple Units