Kurobe Gorge Railway on May 13

I am going to Unazuki on May 13 2024 and plan to take a trip on the Kurobe Gorge Railway I have read that due to the recent Noto earthquake, some of the bridges on the line are damaged and the railway is only partially operating. Will the entire line be operating by May 13? If not, what section will be operating?

I believe it is just a single bridge!

Through September the train will operate only as far as Nekomata. But note that passengers cannot get off or on at Nekomata. The only station that passengers can actually get on and off will be Kuronagi. You can see a map of the situation on the following page:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7575.html

With only Kuronagi available as a stop I wouldn’t go to Kurobe gorge. I have been and stayed in an onsen in Kuronagi and liked it, but if the entire train gets off at Kuronagi station and starts walking around there it will be quite crowded.

Keiyakidaira is made for walking around and the crowds somehow get smaller. But Kuronagi isn’t.

Can I ask why we are not able to get off Nekomata station and walk around? What about getting off Kuronagi station to walk around?

I tried to book the trolley bus round tickets but couldn't select the time I want to take the next bus to the next station. Why is it so?

The round bus has a fixed timing to come back to Unazuki within one hour.

Thanks

At nekomata you are simply not allowed to get off the train. It’s a wild mountainous area. So probably there are simply no safe paths around to walk.

At Kuronagi as said you can get off. And there is 1!!! path that leads to the onsen. As said I probably wouldn’t walk there because I would fear there are too many people on that one small path. It wasn’t made for a lot of people to walk along. Plus it isn’t really spectacular. You could walk in a lot of other places in very similar landscape. You are not walking there in the actual gorge. Look up pictures online.

Regarding the ticket I understand that you would need to buy 2 one way tickets if you want to get off.

As said with those closures and knowing how difficult it is to even get there I would spend that day elsewhere

Can I ask why we are not able to get off Nekomata station and walk around?

No. It is an area with an electric power plant where tourists are not allowed.

What about getting off Kuronagi station to walk around?

You can walk to Kuronagi Ryokan, which has an absolutely spectacular rotenburo. Unlike LikeBike, I also found the trail there to be beautiful along the edge of a gorge surrounded by nature. But with Kuronagi being the only station served, I would also be worried about more people than usual around there this year.

I tried to book the trolley bus round tickets but couldn't select the time I want to take the next bus to the next station. Why is it so?

Because you can't. The only means of transport you can book is the bus FROM Ogizawa and the cable car FROM Tateyama. The rest is first-come first-board. I assume you refr to the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route, which is - despite its similar name - very far away from the Kurobe Gorge Railway.