San'yō Main Line


The San'yō Main Line is a major railway line owned by JR Group companies in western Japan, connecting Kōbe Station and Moji Station, largely paralleling the coast of the Inland Sea, in other words the southern coast of western Honshu. The San'yō Shinkansen line largely parallels its route. The name Sanyō derived from the ancient region and highway San'yōdō, the road on the sunny side of the mountains.
The Sanyō Main Line is operated by the two JR companies West Japan Railway Company and Kyushu Railway Company. The Wadamisaki Line, a short section of line in length of 2.7 km between Hyōgo and Wadamisaki stations in Kobe is technically part of the Sanyō Main Line. A short section connecting Kitakyushu Freight Terminal also forms part of the Sanyō Main Line.

Basic data

From Kobe to Himeji (JR Kobe Line)

From Himeji to Itozaki

Rolling stock

JR West

Limited Express

New 2- and 3-car 227-0 series electric trains are scheduled to be introduced in the Hiroshima area on the Sanyo Main Line during fiscal 2014, replacing older 115 series trains.

JR Kyushu

The entire line between Kobe Station and Shimonoseki Station was originally opened by the private Sanyō Railway company. The section between Hyōgo Station and Akashi Station opened first in 1888. In 1889 the line was extended to the east to Kobe Station and Tatsuno Station to the west. The Sanyō Railway was progressively extended to the west, reaching Okayama and then Fukuyama in 1891, Hiroshima in 1894 and in 1901 it reached Bakan Station. Under the Railway Nationalization Act of 1906 it was purchased by the Japanese government and renamed Sanyō Main Line.

Duplication

The Hyogo - Himeji section was duplicated in 1899, and the Hiroshima - Kaitaichi section in 1903. After the line was nationalised, further duplications occurred between Kamigori - Yoshinaga in 1910/11, Hatabu - Shimonoseki in 1915 and Himeji - Agaho in 1917. Work to duplicate the remainder of the line commenced in 1921, and opened in stages until completed in 1930, with the exception of the section between Iwakuni and Kushigahama, where construction of a new direct line had commenced. This direct line, which bypassed the coastal section via Yanai involved significant tunnelling, and unexpected geological instability delayed completion of the line until 1934, and then as a single track. Although the new line became the Sanyo Main Line at that time, in 1944 the original coastal alignment was duplicated and returned to the formal Sanyo Main Line, with the former bypass line becoming the Gantoku Line.

Electrification

The Kobe - Akashi section was electrified in 1934, extended to Himeji in 1958, Hiroshima in 1962 and the entire line was electrified in 1964, to coincide with the opening of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka the same year.

Deviation/extension

The Sanyō Main Line approximately parallels the Inland Sea but some sections could be shortened by tunnels. In 1934, the Gantoku Line between Iwakuni and Tokuyama was opened and replaced the former line which traverses Yanai adjacent to the Inland Sea. In 1944, this new alignment was replaced again by the previous coastal alignment because the coastal line was upgraded to dual tracks.
The Sanyō Main Line was connected to Kyushu by ferry from Shimonoseki and Shimonosekiko Station. In 1942, the Kanmon Tunnel under the Kanmon Straits was completed and the Sanyō Main Line was extended to Moji Station. A second tunnel duplicating the section opened in 1944.

Service variations

Prior to the opening of the Sanyo Shinkansen, many expresses operated on the Sanyō Main Line and it serves as a major transport corridor through Western Honshu and connecting to Kyushu. The Shinkansen was extended as the Sanyō Shinkansen line, first to Okayama Station in 1972, and then to Hakata Station in 1975. On both occasions many express services on the Sanyo Main Line were withdrawn, and since 1972, the line has been mainly used by local and freight services. CTC signalling was commissioned between Mihara and Shimonoseki in 1984.

Service disruptions

The section between Kobe and Nishi Akashi was severely damaged by the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake, and took ten weeks to repair.
The 2018 Japan floods resulted in the Okayama - Shimonoseki section closing on 6 July 2018. The majority of services were restored between 8 July - 18 July, but the Yanai - Tokuyama section remains out of service.

Former connecting lines

The Tatsuno Electric Railway Co. opened a 17km 1435mm gauge line electrified at 600 VDC from Shingu-Cho to Aboshiko between 1909 and 1915 which connected at this station. The line closed in 1934.
A 6km line to Hamadako operated between 1943 and 1989.
The Sanyo Railway Co. was commissioned by the Japanese Army to build a 6km line to Ujina Port following the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894. In 1897 the company leased the line from the Army and commenced a passenger service, and when the company was nationalised in 1906, ownership of the line transferred from the Army to JGR. The Army leased the line in 1915 for use during WW1 and subsequent hostilities in China, and passenger services were suspended between 1919 and 1930. The line was not damaged by the atomic bomb attack, but was damaged by Typhoon Marurazaki which hit the area 6 weeks later. Passenger service ceased in 1972, and the line closed in 1986.
The Kirin Brewery operated a 2km line to its complex between 1937 and 1986.