The is

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

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 between

Sōja Station is a station jointly operated by JR West and Ibara Railway on the Hakubi, Kibi, and Ibara Lines. The station is in Kiyone, Kami-Nakajima, Sōja, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Sōja Station is the terminus of the Kibi Line, and the beginning ...

Sōja is a city located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. As of 2020, the city has an estimated population of 69,343 and a population density of 322 persons per km2. The total area is 211.90 km2. History In the 7th century, Ki Castle was built atop ...

and Kannabe Station, Fukuyama. This is the only railway line operates.

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 line in 1966, but financial constraints halted work in 1980. The Ibara Railway Co. was established in 1986 and construction resumed under the newly founded third sector company, and the line opened on January 11, 1999, dual track and electrified as far as Kiyone.

Basic data

*Operators, distances: Sōja — Kannabe; 41.7 km / 25.9 mi. **Ibara Railway ( Category-1) ***Kiyone — Kannabe: 38.3 km / 23.8 mi. **Ibara Railway ( Category-2),

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 ...

(Category-1),

Japan Freight Railway Company , or , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It provides transportation of cargo nationwide throughout Japan. Its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo near Shinjuku Station. The Japan Railways Group was foun ...

(Category-2) ***Sōja — Kiyone: 3.4 km / 2.1 mi. (Shared with

Hakubi Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in the mountainous area of the Chūgoku region of Japan. It begins at the south end of Okayama Prefecture at Kurashiki Station in Kurashiki, passing through Niimi Station on ...

.) *

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: 15 *Double-track line: Sōja — Kiyone *Electric supply: Sōja — Kiyone (1500 V DC) **All the Ibara Railway trains are

DMUs A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

. *

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 ...

**Kiyone — Kannabe: Simplified automatic **Sōja — Kiyone: Automatic

Stations

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

External links

Official website
Railway lines in Japan Rail transport in Okayama Prefecture Rail transport in Hiroshima Prefecture Railway lines opened in 1999 Japanese third-sector railway lines 1999 establishments in Japan {{Japan-rail-line-stub

History

Basic data

Stations

See also

References

External links