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 ar ...

(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 Miyagi ...

, and Niitsu Station in Akiha Ward, Niigata,

Niigata Prefecture is a prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area at . Niigata Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture and ...

. The name "Banetsu" is taken from the first characters 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 ou ...

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 The is an AC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced in 1989 by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on services in the Miyagi, Yamagata, and Fukushima areas of Japan. Design Built jointly by Nippon Sharyo and Tokyu Car, the type ...

EMUs (since June 2007) * E721-0 series EMUs (since 4 March 2017) From 25 April 2015, a two-car

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 in ...

DEMUs (since August 2019) JRNiigataUsage_Latest.svg, Operations in Niigata area C57-180 Banetsu Monogatari 20061022.JPG, SL "

Banetsu Monogatari The is a locomotive-hauled set of "Joyful Train" railway coaches operated in Japan by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), normally between and . Operations The ''Banetsu Monogatari'' trainset is normally used on ''SL Banetsu Monogatari' ...

Past

455 series The is a Japanese dual-voltage (1,500 V DC and 20 kV AC 50 Hz) electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced by Japanese National Railways (JNR) on express services in 1965 and later operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), ...

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), We ...

EMUs (''

Aizu Liner The was a limited-stop "Rapid" train service in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) between and on the Banetsu West Line in Fukushima Prefecture. Service pattern Services consist of three trains in each direction dail ...

'' 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 ''

'' rapid service at Koriyama Station in March 2012 Tokusawa_1.JPG, KiHa 40/47/48 series at

Tokusawa Station is a railway station on the Ban'etsu West Line in the town of Nishiaizu, Yama District, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Tokusawa Station is served by the Ban'etsu West Line, and is locate ...

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 at ...

in December 2009

History

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 pre ...

(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 othe ...

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, Fuku ...

. 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.

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