![JR East Fruitea 101](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/JR_East_Fruitea_101.jpg)
The is a railway line in Japan operated by
East Japan Railway Company
The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...
(JR East). It connects
Kōriyama Station in
Kōriyama
is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 322,996 people in 141760 households, and a population density of 430 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Kōriyama is designated as a core city an ...
,
Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...
, and
Niitsu Station
is a railway station in Akiha-ku, Niigata, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Niitsu Station is served by the following three lines.
It is the terminus of the Uetsu Main Line and the Banetsu West Line. It is also ...
in
Akiha Ward,
Niigata,
Niigata Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...
. The name "Banetsu" is taken from the first
characters
Character or Characters may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk
* ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
of the names of the ancient
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
of and , which the
Banetsu East and Banetsu West lines connect. means "west" in Japanese.
The line's nickname is the .
Station list
* Local trains generally stop at all stations, but some trains skip stations marked "▽".
* The column marked "
*" refers to the unnamed rapid service between Kōriyama and Aizu-Wakamatsu/Kitakata using 719 series EMUs.
* Trains can pass one another at stations marked "◇", "∨", or "∧"; stations marked "◆" are switchback stations. Trains cannot pass at stations marked "|".
Rolling stock
, the following rolling stock is used on the Banetsu West Line.
Kōriyama—Kitakata
*
719 series EMUs (since June 2007)
*
E721-0 series EMUs (since 4 March 2017)
From 25 April 2015, a two-car
719 series set entered service on services on the line between Koriyama and Aizu-Wakamatsu. The train accommodates 36 passengers.
File:719 train at Aizuwakamatsu Station.jpg, A Banetsu West Line 719 series EMU in January 2008
File:719-700 Fruitea 20150425.jpg, The 719-700 series ''FruiTea'' trainset in April 2015
Aizu-Wakamatsu—Niitsu
*
KiHa 110 series DMUs
*
GV-E400 series
The is a diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU) train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) around Niigata and Akita areas of Japan from 2019.
Design
The GV-E400 series trains are the first diesel-electric multiple units (not ...
DEMUs (since August 2019)
JRNiigataUsage_Latest.svg, Operations in Niigata area
C57-180 Banetsu Monogatari 20061022.JPG, SL " Banetsu Monogatari"
Past
*
455 series EMUs (from 1967 until March 2008)
*
485 series
The (and the earlier 481 and 483 series variants) is a Japanese limited express electric multiple unit (EMU) type introduced in 1964 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and subsequently operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), ...
EMUs (''
Aizu Liner'' rapid services)
*
KiHa 40/47/48 DMUs (until March 2020)
* KiHa 52 DMUs (until 2009)
* KiHa 58 DMUs (until 2009)
*
KiHa E120
The is a single-car diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) since November 2008.
Operations
Eight cars (numbered KiHa E120-1 to 8) are based at Aizu-Wakamatsu Depot and were used on the following ...
DMUs (until March 2020)
JNR455(JR East) Banetsu West Line Akabe at Koriyama 2006 1224size.jpg, A Banetsu West Line 455 series EMU in December 2006
485-G55・G58 Aizu-LINER.JPG, 485 series '' Aizu Liner'' rapid service at Koriyama Station in March 2012
Tokusawa_1.JPG, KiHa 40/47/48 series at Tokusawa Station in June 2013
Gosen_Station_-E120.jpg, KiHa E120 and 110 at Gosen Station
is a railway station in the city of Gosen, Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Gosen Station is served by the Ban'etsu West Line, and is 165.7 kilometers from the terminus of the line ...
in December 2009
History
![Agano River Taima Bridge 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Agano_River_Taima_Bridge_001.JPG)
The private Ganetsu Railway opened the initial section from Kōriyama to Nakayamajuku on July 26, 1898, and extended the line to Aizu-Wakamatsu the following year.
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 ...
(JNR) started to modernize the line in the 1960s, introducing the line's first
limited express
A limited express is a type of express train service. It refers to an express service that stops at a limited number of stops in comparison to other express services on the same or similar routes.
Japan
The term "limited express" is a common ...
service (as a part of the Yamagata-bound ''Yamabata'') in 1965 between
Ueno Station
is a major railway station in Tokyo's Taitō ward. It is the station used to reach the Ueno district and Ueno Park—which contains Tokyo National Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo University of the Arts and other fam ...
in Tokyo and Aizu-Wakamatsu via the
Tōhoku Main Line
The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fukush ...
. In 1968 the train was renamed ''Aizu Yamabata'', but from 1993 onward it was renamed ''Viva Aizu'' and ran only between Koriyama and Aizu-Wakamatsu. The train was finally discontinued as a limited express service in 2003.
In 1967, JNR electrified the section between Kōriyama and Kitakata at 20 kV AC.
In 2011 the line was closed for 15 days in March following the
Tohoku earthquake, two days in April as a result of aftershocks, and for 10 weeks following torrential rain at the end of July.
A new station, called , opened on 1 April 2017 between and Kōriyama and Kikuta stations.
The railway bridge connecting Kitakata and Yamato collapsed due to heavy rain on 4 August 2022. All services are suspended between Kitakata and Nozawa.
See also
*
Aizu Liner
*
Banetsu Monogatari
References
External links
FruiTea Fukushima - JR East
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ban'etsu West Line
1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
Lines of East Japan Railway Company
Rail transport in Fukushima Prefecture
Rail transport in Niigata Prefecture
Railway lines opened in 1898