The is a Japanese

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line connecting Kaifu Station, Kaiyō and Kannoura Station, Tōyō. Together with JR Shikoku's Mugi Line, it has the official nickname . This is the only railway line operated by . The company's name is abbreviated to the

portmandeau In linguistics, a blend (sometimes called blend word, lexical blend, portmanteau or portmanteau word) is a word formed from parts of two or more other words. At least one of these parts is not a morph (the realization of a morpheme) but instead ...

. Since the line goes through a relatively sparsely populated area, it is under severe business stress, to the point where closure of the line has been proposed. The railway company commenced operating road–rail vehicles, known as DMV ( dual-mode vehicle) in Japan, on the Asato Line from 25 December 2021. The vehicles, 3 heavily-modified Toyota Coasters, are claimed to be the first in the world, will allow

through service A through service is a concept of passenger transport that involves a vehicle travelling between lines, networks or operators on a regularly specified schedule, on which the passenger can remain on board without alighting. It may be in form of eith ...

to areas without rail track laid. In preparation, the rail line was disconnected from the Mugi Line since summer 2019.

History

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...

started the construction of the eastern section of the Asa Line in 1959, proposed to reach Muroto, where it would connect with the planned extension of the western section of the Asa line from Kochi. The first 12 km section to Kaifu opened in 1973, and further construction was undertaken until work was suspended in 1980. In 1988 construction work south of Kaifu was re-started by the Asa Kaigan Railway, the newly founded third-sector company. The Kaifu - Kannoura section, now called the Asatō Line, opened in 1992. The western portion of the planned Asa Line opened as the Tosa Kuroshio Railway Asa Line to Nahari in 2002. The Kannoura - Nahari section of the proposed Asa line has not been constructed. The proposed stations were None, Muroto, Kiragawa and Tosa-Hane. Awa-Kainan Station has been transferred to Asa Seaside Railway since 1 November 2020 for the purpose of constructing the required changeover facilities for the DMV. The railway line was suspended from 1 December 2020 with

bustitution A rail replacement bus service uses buses to replace a passenger train service on a temporary or permanent basis. The train service that is replaced may be of any type such as light rail, tram, streetcar, commuter rail, regional rail or heavy ...

services running until the completion of the DMV facilities on 25 December 2021. File:Asa Kaigan Tetsudo.jpg, ASA-101 series which withdrew in 30 November 2020

DMV

The development of DMV started in 2011 as an alternative to traditional, more expensive, DMU trains for rail lines with limited passengers. In February 2016, Tokushima Prefecture announced its intentions of introducing DMV in commercial operations in the next 10 years.

Construction

On 10 January 2019, in preparation for the construction of DMV changeover facilities, the parking area and bus terminal near Kannoura Station was relocated 50 m south. On 1 December 2020,

services operated by JR Shikoku Bus commenced between

Mugi Station is a passenger railway station located in the town of Mugi, Kaifu District, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by JR Shikoku and has the station number "M24". Lines Mugi Station is served by the Mugi Line and is located 67.7 km ...

and Kannoura Station while the facilities were being constructed. On 1 February 2021,

services was revised to operate from

to Awa-Kainan Station. On 4 November 2021, the Railway Bureau of the MLIT announced the completion of safety inspections and tests of the DMV conducted on the Asato Line. As such, on 10 November 2021, Asa Seaside Railway announced the date for the planned introduction of DMV services - on 25 December 2021, DMV services commenced operating between Awa-Kainan Station and Kannoura Station.

Services

Weekday services run from Awa-Kainan Station to Kannoura Station before turning around and traveling down to Shishikui Onsen Roadside Station. The journey is long and takes around 35 minutes to complete. On weekends, services instead run toward

Cape Muroto is a headland at the southeastern tip of the Japanese island of Shikoku, in the city of Muroto, Kōchi Prefecture. Extending into the Pacific Ocean and situated in within Muroto-Anan Kaigan Quasi-National Park, the cape has been designated a ...

along the Asato Line and bus routes. The journey is long and takes around 2 hours to complete. File:阿波海南駅 JR四国ホーム側の線路終端の車止め（2021年1月11日、立ち入り禁止区域外から撮影）.jpg, The end of Awa-Kainan Station File:阿佐東線側のDMV（デュアル・モード・ビークル）モードチェンジ箇所。舗装工事前（2021年1月11日立ち入り禁止区域外から撮影）.jpg, Changeover facilities of DMV File:JR四国牟岐線側の線路終端部の車止めと阿佐海岸鉄道阿佐東線側のDMVモードチェンジ箇所。DMV開業に先立ち、線路が分断された（2021年1月11日立ち入り禁止区域外から撮影）.jpg, The Asato Line was disconnected from the JR Shikoku Mugi Line in 2019 due to the construction of DMV facilities

Basic data

*Distance: 10.0 km / 6.2 mi. *

Gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...

: 1,067 mm / 3 ft. 6 in. *Stations: 4 *Double-track line: None *Electric supply: Not electrified *

Railway signalling Railway signalling (), also called railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormou ...

: Simplified automatic

Stations

References

External links

Asa Kaigan Railway official website
Railway lines in Japan Rail transport in Tokushima Prefecture Rail transport in Kōchi Prefecture Japanese third-sector railway lines Railway lines opened in 1992 Rail and road vehicle 1992 establishments in Japan {{Japan-rail-line-stub