Overview edit

The passenger rail network in Fukuoka-Kitakyushu metropolitan area (see also Northern Kyushu) is dense around the cities of Fukuoka and Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki, declining in density between and around the two primary cities. Passenger railway usage and density is lower than that of Greater Tokyo or Keihanshin, with the region having a little less than 6 million people. Similar to other areas of Japan, few free maps exist of the entire network; only stations of a particular company are shown, along with key transfer points. The Sanyō Shinkansen serves as the backbone of intercity rail transport connecting Hakata and Kokura Stations to Honshu. Kyūshū Shinkansen lines are completed on March 12, 2011, running to Kagoshima.

There are 33 operating passenger rail lines and a tourist-oriented cable car line in the Fukuoka-Kitakyushu area .

List of passenger railway lines in operation edit

• JR Kyushu and JR West
  • high-speed rail
    • Sanyō Shinkansen
    • Kyūshū Shinkansen
  • Intercity
    • Fukuhoku Yutaka Line (Sasaguri Line and Chikuho Main Line)
    • Gotōji Line
    • Kagoshima Main Line
    • Nippo Main Line
    • Hitahikosan Line
    • Kashii Line (Uminonakamichi Line)
    • Chikuhi Line
    • Hakata Minami Line
• Nishi-Nippon Railroad (Nishitetsu)
  • Tenjin Ōmuta Line
  • Kaizuka Line
• Fukuoka City Subway
  • Kūkō Line
  • Hakozaki Line
  • Nanakuma Line
• Amagi Railway Amagi Line
• Chikuhō Electric Railroad Line
• Heisei Chikuhō Railway
• Kitakyūshū Monorail

List of cable car systems in operation edit

• Hobashira Cable

The bridge over the Kanmon Straits plays an important connectivity role in the region, supporting automobile, rail, and ferry traffic between Honshu and Kyushu islands.

Local and regional highways edit

Expressways edit

Major area expressways include:

• Fukuoka Urban Expressway
• Kitakyūshū Urban Expressway
• Kyūshū Expressway
• Nagasaki Expressway
• Ōita Expressway
• Nishi-Kyūshū Expressway
• Higashi-Kyūshū Expressway
• Chugoku Expressway
• Sanyō Expressway

Buses edit

Several private and public bus companies operate with hundreds of routes throughout the region. Most local bus routes complement existing rail service to form an effective intermodal transit network.

Primary edit

Fukuoka Airport is the busiest airport in the region, serving international and domestic flights. Kitakyushu Airport is an international airport built on an artificial island in the Inland Sea, and serves as a major cargo hub for Kityakyushu area factories as well as a relief airport for Fukuoka.

Secondary edit

Saga Airport also provide air services to the region. Just outside the region is Oita Airport and Kumamoto Airport.

There are also a number of Japan Air Self-Defense Force airfields.

Major area seaports include:

• Port of Hakata
• Port of Shimonoseki
• Port of Kokura
• Port of Shin Moji

Passenger ferries edit

See List of ferry operators in Japan.

International edit

Because of its geographic proximity to Korea and China, the region is the major hub in Japan for international passenger ferries. Pukwan Ferry, Camelia Line, and high-speed ferry Beetle (JR Kyushu), Kobee operate out of both Hakata and Shimonseki, there are also ferry services to Shanghai and Dalian in China, Busan, Ulsan in Korea.

Regional Domestic edit

There are ferry services to Tsushima Island as well as major Japanese cities (such as Hiroshima, Osaka, Matsuyama, Tokushima, Kōbe and Tokyo) from Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, and Shimonoseki ports.

Cross Strait/Local edit

Within the Kanmon-Kitakyūshū area, there are three commuter ferry lines: the Wakato Ferry, the Kanmon Straits Ferry, and the Kanmon Straits Liner. There are services to some small islands near Kitakyushu and Fukuoka from their respective cities as well.

Shipping edit

Shipping plays a major role moving freight in and out of the Fukuoka-Kitakyushu area. Finished automobiles for export are handled by ports in the region. With just-in-time requirements of automobile manufacturers and suppliers, Kitakyūshū Airport plays an important role as a hub for cargo and logistics.

The region is home to three regasification LNG terminals.

Greater Fukuoka is little different from the rest of Japan in the other modes of transport.

• Transport in Greater Tokyo
• Transport in Keihanshin
• Transport in Greater Nagoya

• Fukuoka-Kitakyushu Railway Network Map (in English)