Kansai Main Line
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Kansai Main Line | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Other name(s) | Yamatoji Line (‹See TfM›Kamo - ‹See TfM›JR Namba) |
Native name | 関西本線 |
Status | In operation |
Owner | JR Central JR West |
Locale | |
Termini | |
Stations | 52 |
Service | |
Type | Heavy rail |
Operator(s) | JR Central, JR West |
History | |
Opened | 1889 |
Technical | |
Line length | 179.6 km (111.6 mi) |
Character | Both urban and rural |
Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
Electrification | 1,500 V DC, overhead line (Nagoya–Kameyama, Kamo–JR Namba) |
Operating speed | 120 km/h (75 mph) (Nagoya–Kawarada, Nara–Tennoji) 95 km/h (59 mph) (Kawarada–Nara, Tennoji–JR Namba) |
The Kansai Main Line (関西本線, Kansai-honsen, also called the "Kansai Line") is a railway line in Japan, which connects Nagoya Station with JR Namba Station in Osaka. It is jointly run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the boundary between both companies being located at Kameyama Station in Kameyama, Mie.
The section from Kamo Station west to JR Namba Station is electrified and a part of the JR West "Urban Network", and is nicknamed the Yamatoji Line. The JR Central section from Nagoya to Kameyama is also electrified.
Despite its name, for much of its length it is a very local line with mainly single track sections and no regular express services. The line was originally built in the 1890s by Kansai Railway (later under the Japanese Government Railways and Japanese National Railways) as an alternate route from south Osaka to Nara and Nagoya, but competition from the Kintetsu lines and declining ridership forced the line to operationally become two electric suburban lines for Osaka and Nagoya respectively, with a less-used unelectrified rural section in the middle.
Formerly a Kasuga express train ran from ‹See TfM›Nagoya to ‹See TfM›Nara, but this service was discontinued in March 2006.
History
[edit]The Osaka Railway Co. opened the Minatomachi (now JR Namba) to Nara section between 1889 and 1892. The company merged with the Kansai Railway Co. in 1900.
The Nara Railway Co. opened the Nara to Kizu section in 1896. It merged with the Kansai Railway Co. in 1905.
The Kansai Railway Co. opened the Nagoya to Kizu section between 1890 and 1897, completing the line. The company was nationalised in 1907.
Duplication
[edit]The Minatomachi to Tennoji section was duplicated in 1903 and extended to Kashiwara in 1908. The Nara to Kizu section was duplicated in 1914, and the Kashiwara to Nara section between 1923 and 1926. In 1944 the Oji to Nara section was returned to single track and the materials recycled for the Japanese war effort. The section was re-duplicated in 1961.
The Tomita to Kuwana section (except for the bridge over the Inabe River) was duplicated in 1973, and the Kuwana to Yatomi section between 1977 and 1980. The Yokkaichi to Tomidahama section was duplicated in 1993.
Electrification
[edit]The Minatomachi to Nara section was electrified in 1973, extended to Kizu in 1984, and to Kamo in 1988.
The Nagoya - Hatta section was electrified in 1979, and extended to Kameyama in 1982.
Other matters of note
[edit]CTC signalling was commissioned between Kizu and Kameyama in 1983, and extended to Nagoya in 2001.
Freight services ceased in 1987, and in 1994 Minatomachi Station was renamed ‹See TfM›JR Namba to coincide with the opening of the Kansai Airport Line to Kansai Airport. In 1996 Namba Station and the approach line were relocated underground to eliminate a number of level crossings. There are plans to extend the line from Namba to Osaka Station, with construction to begin within the next few years. (See Naniwasuji Line for information.)
Former connecting lines
[edit]- Kamo Station - In 1898 the Kansai Railway Co. opened an 8 km (5.0 mi) branch to a station beside the Daibutsu (Great Buddha), and in 1899 extended the line 2 km (1.2 mi) to Nara. Following the nationalisation of the Kansai Railway Co. in 1907, the 10 km (6.2 mi) line was closed.
- Horyuji Station - The 4 km (2.5 mi) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge Kintetsu line to Hirahata operated between 1915 and 1945.
- Kyuhoji Station - A branchline to serve the Taisho airfield opened in 1942, and was extended to Sugimotocho Station on the Hanwa Line in 1952 to provide an electrified (1500 V DC) freight bypass between Wakayama and Nagoya. Passenger services were introduced in 1965 but ceased two years later, and the line closed in 2009 after being out of service for five years.
- Tennoji Station - The 2.4 km (1.5 mi) Nankai line to Tengachaya, electrified at 1500 V DC, operated between 1901 and 1993.
Stations
[edit]JR Central (Nagoya–Kameyama)
[edit]- S: Trains stop
- |: Trains pass
- Local trains stop at all stations.
JR West (Kameyama–Kamo)
[edit]All stations between Kameyama and Kamo featured passing double tracks.
Station | Japanese | Transfers | Location | |
---|---|---|---|---|
‹See TfM›Kameyama | 亀山 | JR Central:
|
Kameyama | Mie Prefecture |
‹See TfM›Seki | 関 | |||
‹See TfM›Kabuto | 加太 | |||
‹See TfM›Tsuge | 柘植 | Kusatsu Line | Iga | |
‹See TfM›Shindō | 新堂 | |||
‹See TfM›Sanagu | 佐那具 | |||
‹See TfM›Iga-Ueno | 伊賀上野 | Iga Railway Iga Line (Ninja Line) | ||
‹See TfM›Shimagahara | 島ヶ原 | |||
‹See TfM›Tsukigaseguchi | 月ケ瀬口 | Minamiyamashiro, Soraku District | Kyoto Prefecture | |
‹See TfM›Ōkawara | 大河原 | |||
‹See TfM›Kasagi | 笠置 | Kasagi, Soraku District | ||
‹See TfM›Kamo | 加茂 | ( Q39 Yamatoji Line) | Kizugawa |
JR West (Kamo–JR Namba)
[edit]- See the Yamatoji Line article for the train types and stopping patterns on this section.
- Stations on this section
- ‹See TfM›Kamo - ‹See TfM›Kizu - ‹See TfM›Narayama - ‹See TfM›Nara - ‹See TfM›Kōriyama - ‹See TfM›Yamato-Koizumi - ‹See TfM›Hōryūji - ‹See TfM›Ōji - ‹See TfM›Sangō - ‹See TfM›Kawachi-Katakami - ‹See TfM›Takaida - ‹See TfM›Kashiwara - ‹See TfM›Shiki - ‹See TfM›Yao - ‹See TfM›Kyūhōji - ‹See TfM›Kami - ‹See TfM›Hirano - ‹See TfM›Tōbu-shijō-mae - ‹See TfM›Tennōji - ‹See TfM›Shin-Imamiya - ‹See TfM›Imamiya - ‹See TfM›JR Namba
Rolling stock
[edit]JR Central
[edit]EMU
[edit]- 211 series
- 313 series
- 315 series (since 1 June 2023)[1]
DMU
[edit]- KiHa 75 series
- HC85 series
- Ise Railway Ise type III
JR West
[edit]EMU
[edit]DMU
[edit]- KiHa 120 series
Former
[edit]- 101 series
- 113 series
- 165 series
- 213-5000 series
- KiHa 17
- KiHa 35
- KiHa 50
- KiHa 51
- KiHa 55
- KiHa 58
- KiHa 65
- KiHa 81
- KiHa 82
- Ise Railway Ise I
- Ise Railway Ise II
- KiHa 85
In popular culture
[edit]The Kansai Main Line is the home course of Takumi Fujiwara in Densha de D, a parody of Initial D where the main characters race with trains instead of cars.
References
[edit]- ^ "JR東海315系(4両編成)関西本線で6/1運行開始、画像認識技術を検証" [JR Tokaido 315 series (4-car train) to begin operation on the Kansai Main Line on 1 June, verifying image recognition technology]. Mynavi News (in Japanese). Japan: Mynavi Corporation. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- Kansai Main Line
- Rail transport in Aichi Prefecture
- Rail transport in Mie Prefecture
- Rail transport in Kyoto Prefecture
- Rail transport in Nara Prefecture
- Rail transport in Osaka Prefecture
- Lines of West Japan Railway Company
- Lines of Central Japan Railway Company
- Railway lines opened in 1889
- 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
- 1500 V DC railway electrification
- 1889 establishments in Japan