The is a railway line operated by

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) in western Japan, connecting

Iwakuni Station is a railway station in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Iwakuni Station is served by the Sanyō Main Line and the Gantoku Line. Additionally, trains from the Nishikigawa Seiryū Line ...

Iwakuni, Yamaguchi is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. History Iwakuni was formerly the castle town of the Iwakuni han, which was formed by Lord Hiroie Kikkawa after he was banished there for supporting the defeated shōgun. The Kikkawa clan rule ...

, and Kushigahama Station in Shūnan, Yamaguchi. The line was originally built as a more direct route between its termini than the original

Sanyo Main Line , stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiaries and affiliates, and was founded b ...

(see History section below) and the

Sanyo Shinkansen , stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiaries and affiliates, and was founded by ...

is more closely aligned to this line than the Sanyo Main Line in this section.

Operations

Trains operating on this line continue from Kushigahama Station to

Tokuyama Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Shūnan, Yamaguchi, Japan. It is operated by JR West. It is located in central Shūnan, with the Tokuyama Port and the city office within walking distance. Lines Tokuyama Station is serve ...

on the

Stations

Morigahara Junction

between Kawanishi and Hashirano Stations is the point where the

Nishikigawa Seiryū Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Kawanishi and Nishikichō stations, all within Iwakuni, Yamaguchi. As the name suggests, the line parallels the Nishiki River (''Nishiki-gawa''). This is the only railway line operates. The third-sect ...

diverges from the Gantoku Line. Between this junction and Kawanishi Station, the two lines share the same track.

History

The line was originally built to shorten the

along the old

San'yōdō is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. The San'yōdō corresponds for the most part with the modern conception of the San'yō region. This name derives from the id ...

. The 3.7 km Iwakuni to Marifu (now Nishi-Iwakuni) section opened in 1929, and the 3.9 km Kushigahama to Suo-Hanaoka section opened in 1932. The remaining 36 km section, including the 3,149 m Kinmeiji tunnel (and six others) opened in 1934, at which time the line became part of the Sanyo Main Line, at that time being the only remaining single line section. In 1944, the original Sanyo alignment via Yanai was double-tracked and reinstated as the Sanyo Main Line, at which time this line became formally known as the Gantoku Line. Freight services ceased in 1974, and CTC signalling was commissioned on the entire line in 1982.

References

{{West Japan Railway Company Lines

Gantoku Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in western Japan, connecting Iwakuni Station in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, and Kushigahama Station in Shūnan, Yamaguchi. The line was originally built as a more direct route betw ...

Lines of West Japan Railway Company Rail transport in Yamaguchi Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1929 1929 establishments in Japan