The Kansai Main 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 and West Japan Railway Company, 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 as an alternate route from south Osaka to Nara and Nagoya, but competition from the Kintetsu lines and declining ridership forced the line to become two commuter lines to Osaka and Nagoya respectively, with a less-used section in the middle. Formerly a Kasugaexpress train ran from to, but this service was discontinued in March 2006.
History
The Osaka Railway Co. opened the Minato-Machi 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
The Minato-Machi to Tennoji section was duplicated in 1903 and extended to Kashiwabara in 1908. The Nara to Kizu section was duplicated in 1914, and the Kashiwabara 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 was duplicated in 1973, and the Kuwana to Yatomi section between 1977 and 1980. The Yokkaichi to Tomidahama section was duplicated in 1993.
Electrification
The Minato-Machi to Nara section was electrified in 1973, and extended to Kizu in 1984, and Kamo in 1988. The Nagoya - Hatta section was electrified in 1979, and extended to Kameyama in 1982.
Other matters of note
CTC signalling was commissioned between Kizu and Kameyama in 1983, and extended to Nagoya in 2001. Freight services ceased in 1987, and in 1994 Minato-Machi Station was renamed to coincide with the opening of the JR line to Kansai Airport. In 1996 Namba Station and the approach line were relocated underground to eliminate a number of level crossings. Plans to extend the line from Namba to Osaka Station have not eventuated as yet.
Former connecting lines
Kamo Station - In 1898 the Kansai Railway Co. opened an 8 km branch to a station beside the Daibutsu, and in 1899 extended the line 2 km to Nara. Following the nationalisation of the Kansai Railway Co. in 1907, the 10 km line was closed.
Horyuji Station - The 4 km 1435mm 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 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 Nankai line to Tengachaya, electrified at 1500 V DC, operated between 1901 and 1993.
Stations
JR Central (Nagoya–Kameyama)
S: Trains stop
|: Trains pass
Local trains stop at all stations.
JR West (Kameyama–Kamo)
All stations between Kameyama and Kamo featured passing double tracks.
