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
- Operators, distances: 537.1 km / 333.7 mi.
- *West Japan Railway Company
- **From Kobe to Shimonoseki: 528.1 km / 328.1 mi.
- **From Hyōgo to Wadamisaki: 2.7 km / 1.7 mi.
- *Kyushu Railway Company
- **From Shimonoseki to Moji: 6.3 km / 3.9 mi.
- *Japan Freight Railway Company
- **From Kobe to Kitakyushu Freight Terminal: 534.4 km / 332.1 mi.
- Gauge:
- Stations:
- *Passenger stations: 124
- *Freight terminals: 5
- Track:
- *Quadruple-track line:
- **From Kobe to Nishi-Akashi: 22.8 km / 14.1 mi.
- **From Kaitaichi to Hiroshima: 6.4 km / 4.0 mi.
- *Double-track line:
- **From Nishi-Akashi to Kaitaichi: 275.5 km / 171.2 mi.
- **From Hiroshima to Moji: 208.0 km / 129.2 mi.
- *Single-track line:
- **From Hyōgo to Wadamisaki
- Electric supply: Whole the line
- Railway signalling:
- *From Kobe to Moji: Automatic
- *From Hyōgo to Wadamisaki: Special Automatic ; a simplified automatic system.
- Maximum speed at service:
- *From Kobe to Himeji: 130 km/h
- *From Himeji to Okayama: Tilting trains 130 km/h, others 120 km/h
- *From Okayama to Shimonoseki: 120 km/h
- *From Shimonoseki to Moji: 85 km/h
- *From Hyōgo to Wadamisaki: 85 km/h
- CTC centers:
- *From Kobe to Kamigōri: Shin-Ōsaka Operation Control Center
- *From Kamigōri to Itozaki: Okayama Transportation Control Room
- *From Itozaki to Shimonoseki: Hiroshima Operation Control Center
- *From Shimonoseki to Moji: Hakata Operation Control Center
- CTC system:
- *From Kobe to Kamigōri: Safety Urban Network Traffic System
Stations
From Kobe to Himeji (JR Kobe Line)
From Himeji to Itozaki
- All trains stop at stations signed "+". Some trains stop at "*". No trains stop at "-".
- Rapid trains coming from Osaka/Kobe area become local trains from Akashi and westward.
- Rapid Sun Liner becomes a local train except between Okayama and Fukuyama.
- Rapid trains from Hiroshima City Network stop at all the stations in this section. They become local trains from Okayama and eastward.
From Itozaki to Tokuyama (Hiroshima City Network)
- All trains stop at stations signed "+". No trains stop at "-".
- Rapid Service runs from suburbs to Hiroshima on morning.
Tokuyama to Moji
- Hiroshima City Network Rapid trains stop at all the stations in this section.
Wadamisaki Line
Rolling stock
JR West
Limited Express
- 285 series EMUs
- 381 series EMUs
- KiHa 187 series DMUs
- Chizu Express HOT7000 series
Local trains
- 103 series EMUs
- 105 series EMUs
- 113 series EMUs
- 115 series EMUs
- 117 series EMUs
- 123 series EMUs
- 207 series EMUs
- 213 series EMUs
- 221 series EMUs
- 223-1000/2000/6000 series EMUs
- 225-0/100 series EMUs
- 321 series EMUs
JR Kyushu
- 415 series EMUs
History
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
- Hyogo station - A 5km lne to the Hyogo Port operated between 1911 and 1984.
- Tsuchiyama station - A 4km line to Befu-Ko operated between 1923 and 1984. It connected to the Sanyo Electric Railway Main Line at Befu.
- Kakogawa station - The Banshu Railway Co. opened an 8km line to Takasago-Minato in 1913/14. The line was nationalised in 1943, and closed in 1984.
- Himeji station - The Bantan Railway Co. built a 16km line east to Shikama-Kou, opened in 1895 and closed in 1986.
- Aboshi station -
A 6km line to Hamadako operated between 1943 and 1989.
- Une station - The Ako Railway operated a 13 km gauge line to Banshu-Ako on the Ako Line between 1921 and 1951.
- Wake station - The Dowa Mining Co. opened a 34 km line between Nishi-Katakamito on the Ako Line and Yanahara, to haul iron sulphide ore, between 1923 and 1931. Passenger services commenced in 1931, freight services ceased in 1988 and the line closed in 1991.
- Takashima station - The Saidaiji Railway Company operated a 915mm gauge line between its namesake town and Korakuen between 1911 and 1962.
- Kasaoka station - The Ikasa Railway Co. operated a 19km 762mm gauge line to Ihara between 1913 and 1971. It had a 6km branch from Kitagawa to Yakage that operated between 1921 and 1967. At Ihara it connected to the company's line to Kannabe on the Fukuen Line.
- Fukuyama station - The Tomo Light Railway Co. operated a 13km 762mm gauge line to its namesake town between 1913/14 and 1954.
- Onomichi station - The Hiroshima Prefectural Government opened a 17 km line electrified at 600 VDC to Shoharachi in 1925/26. It closed between 1957 and 1964.
- Hiroshima station -
The Kirin Brewery operated a 2km line to its complex between 1937 and 1986.
- Iwakuni station - The Iwakuni Electric Railway Co. opened a 6km line to Shinmachi, electrified at 600 VDC, between 1909 and 1912. The line closed in 1929 when the parallel Gantoku Line opened.
- Hofu station - A 19km line to Hori operated 1919/20 to 1964.
- Shin-Yamaguchi station - The Dainippon Railway Co. opened a 13km line from Ogori to Yamaguchi in 1908, which closed in 1913 when the JGR opened its parallel line.
- Ube station - The Funaki Railway Co. opened a 6km 762mm gauge line in 1916. The line was converted to 1067mm gauge in 1922, and extended 12km to Kibe in 1926. The last 8km closed in 1944, and the balance of the line in 1961.
- Ozuki station - The Nagato Railway Co. opened an 18km line to Nishi-Cho in 1918. JGR assumed control of the line as a wartime measure in 1942, a situation which continued until 1949. The line closed in 1956.
- Hatabu station - The Choshu Railway Co. opened a 27km line from Higashi-Mozeki to Kogushi in 1914. A proposed extension to Nagato was not built due to funding constraints, but the line was electrified at 600 VDC in 1926. The company merged with the Sanyo Electric Railway in 1928, and the line closed in 1971.