The is the nickname used by the operator of the
West Japan Railway Company
, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...
(JR West) to refer to the portion of the
Tōkaidō Main Line
The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...
(between
Maibara Station
is an interchange passenger railway station located in the city of Maibara, Shiga, Japan. On the border between West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), it is jointly operated by both companies, alon ...
and
Kyoto Station
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...
) and the
Hokuriku Main Line
The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwe ...
(between Maibara Station and
Nagahama Station
is a passenger railway station located in the city of Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West).
Lines
Nagahama Station is served by the Hokuriku Main Line, and is 7.7 kilometers from the terminus of th ...
). The section, along with
JR Kyoto Line
The is a commuter rail line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The name applies to the section of the Tōkaidō Main Line between Kyōto Station and Ōsaka Station.
The Kyot ...
and
JR Kobe Line
The is the nickname of portions of the Tokaido Main Line and the Sanyo Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture. The line, along with the JR Kyoto Line and the Biwako Line, ...
, forms a contiguous service that is the main trunk of JR West's "Urban Network" commuter rail network in the
Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area.
Overview
The line is named after , which the route runs along. Line nicknames were introduced when the newly privatized JR West intended to use "familiar" names over official line names, such as Tōkaidō Main Line and
Fukuchiyama Line. Biwako Line did not appear on the first list, and instead The JR Kyoto Line was to be called up to Maibara. A move in Shiga Prefecture opposed the name, claiming that the name of Kyoto Line in Shiga sounds like an auxiliary, requiring its own name in the prefecture. Biwako Line was thus made to refer to the section between Maibara and Kyoto.
The section of the name was extended to Nagahama, on the alteration of electric supply from 20 kV AC to 1,500 V DC, which enabled through operation to Kyoto and Osaka.
Although the "Biwako Line" nickname is used by the operator JR West for passenger announcements, the official status of Tōkaidō Main Line has not been changed or discussed. The counterpart for the line,
Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) uses its official name "Tōkaidō Main Line" for the section of JR West, at the connections of Kyoto and Maibara. The "Biwako Line" nickname appears in some local newspapers and real estate advertisements. Frequent passengers understand that the Biwako, JR Kyoto, JR Kobe lines are in fact one line, however, public recognition of the name is still in question, especially among non-users along the line.
Trains
*Special Rapid Service (新快速):
** Trains terminate at Nagahama, Maibara and Yasu (some trains continue on
Hokuriku Line
The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwee ...
to
Omi-Shiotsu and
Tsuruga). Stops at Nagahama, Tamura, Sakata, Maibara, Hikone, Notogawa, Omi-Hachiman, Yasu, Moriyama, Kusatsu, Minami-Kusatsu, Ishiyama, Otsu, Yamashina, and Kyoto. Continues on
JR Kyoto Line
The is a commuter rail line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The name applies to the section of the Tōkaidō Main Line between Kyōto Station and Ōsaka Station.
The Kyot ...
to Osaka and beyond.
* Local trains (普通)
**Operated as rapid service trains when running in the west of Takatsuki (Kyoto in the morning) (3 doors par car)
***These local trains are mainly operated on the Biwako Line and make every stop on the line. They terminate at Maibara and Yasu.
**JR Kyoto Line local trains (4 doors par car)
***JR Kyoto Line local service extends to Yasu during rush hour on weekdays.
Stations
Stations are listed from east to west. The distance of Tokyo – Maibara is 445.9 km, and that of Tokyo – Kyoto is 513.6 km. Historically, the
Tōkaidō Main Line
The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...
continued from Tokyo to Kyoto and beyond, through Maibara. In the Japanese timetable books, the distances from Tokyo are still shown in the table, although the Biwako Line's officially begins at Maibara.
*●: Trains stop.
*○: Limited stop, early morning and late night only
*
, : Trains pass.
*Local (4-door Commuter trains): JR Kyoto Line local trains
*Local (3-door Suburban trains): Operated as Rapid service trains west of Takatsuki (west of Kyoto in the morning)
Rolling stock
Local
*
113 series (Kusatsu – Kusatsu – Kyoto, through service with
Kusatsu Line
The is a railway line in western Japan operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It connects Tsuge on the Kansai Main Line with Kusatsu on the Biwako Line
The is the nickname used by the operator of the West Japan Railway Compa ...
and
Kosei Line
The is a commuter rail line in Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line was completed in 1974 by the former Japanese National Railways (JNR) to provide faster access from the Kansai region t ...
)
*
117 series (Kusatsu – Kusatsu – Kyoto, through service with Kusatsu Line and Kosei Line)
*
125 series (Nagahama – Maibara, through service with Hokuriku Line)
*
207 series (Yasu – Kusatsu – Kyoto, through service with Kosei Line)
*
221 series (through service with Kosei Line)
*
223-6000 series (through service with Kosei Line)
*
321 series (Yasu – Kusatsu – Kyoto, through service with Kosei Line)
*
521-0 series (Nagahama – Maibara, through service with Hokuriku Line)
Special Rapid and Local
*
223–1000 series (through service with Kusatsu Line, Kosei Line, Hokuriku Line)
*
223-2000 series (through service with Kusatsu Line, Kosei Line, Hokuriku Line)
*
225-0 series (through service with Kusatsu Line, Kosei Line, Hokuriku Line)
*
225-100 series (through service with Kusatsu Line, Kosei Line, Hokuriku Line)
Limited Express
*
271 series
The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) on '' Haruka'' limited express services to and from Kansai International Airport.
Design
The trains inherit some of design elements of the 281 s ...
(''
Haruka'' service, from Spring 2020)
*
281 series (''Haruka'' service)
*
285 series (''
Sunrise Izumo
The is an overnight sleeping car train service in Japan operated jointly by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) since July 1998.
Operations
The ''Sunrise Izumo'' runs daily between and in Shima ...
''/''
Sunrise Seto
The is an overnight sleeping car train service in Japan operated jointly by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) since July 1998.
Operations
The ''Sunrise Seto'' runs daily between and in Kagawa ...
'' service, from 1998)
*
681 series
__NOTOC__
Year 681 ( DCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 681 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...
(''
Biwako Express'' service)
*
683 series (''Biwako Express'' service)
*
KiHa 189 series
The is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) on '' Hamakaze'' limited express services between and since November 2010 and '' Biwako Express'' services between Osaka and since March 2014. ...
(''Biwako Express'' service, from March 2014)
*
KiHa 85 series
The is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) on '' Hida'' and ''Nanki'' limited express services in Japan.
Technical specifications
The trains use stainless steel car bodies, consist o ...
(JR Central) (''
Hida'' service)
Former
*
485 series (''Biwako Liner'' rapid service until June 2003)
*
583 series (Express ''
Kitaguni'' until January 2013)
*
383 series (
JR Central
is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical ...
) (Limited Express ''
Shinano'' until 26 March 2016)
{{Osaka transit
Lines of West Japan Railway Company
Tōkaidō Main Line
Railway lines opened in 1988
1067 mm gauge railways in Japan