The is a regional railway line in

Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasa ...

, Japan, owned and operated by

Kyushu Railway Company The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima S ...

(JR Kyushu). It connects in

Saga City is the capital city of Saga Prefecture, located on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Saga was the capital of Saga Domain in the Edo period, and the largest city of former Hizen Province. As of August 1, 2020, the city had an estimated population of ...

to in Karatsu City, both in

, Japan. The line was originally constructed to carry coal from the Karatsu coal fields to the Port of Karatsu for export and had many branch lines to coal mines which have since closed.

Operation

All trains running on the Karatsu Line stop at all stations along the line, including through services from both sections of the

Chikuhi Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, Japan, connecting Meinohama Station in Fukuoka, Fukuoka (and via a subway through service, Fukuoka itself) to Karatsu Station in Karatsu, Saga, and from Yamamoto Station in Karatsu to Imari Station in Imari, ...

. All trains that run to/from Kubota Station use the Nagasaki Main Line to terminate at

Saga Station is a railway station on the Nagasaki Main Line in Saga, Saga Prefecture, Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). Trains from this station also serve the Sasebo and Karatsu Lines. Layout This is an elevated station with two is ...

instead.

Station list

Station numbering has not been introduced for the Karatsu Line, but both and use the station numbering from the eastern section of the Chikuhi Line.

Rolling stock

*KiHa 40/47 DMUs * KiHa 125 DMUs * 103 series EMUs *

303 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter train type operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) on Chikuhi Line and Fukuoka Subway Kuko Line through-running services in Kyushu, Japan, since 22 January 2000. Design The 303 series ...

EMUs *

305 series 3 (three) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cu ...

EMUs

History

The Karatsu Kogyo Railway opened a line from (today to in 1898, on an alignment paralleling the west bank of the Matsuura River, and extended the line to Taku the following year. In 1902, the company merged with the Kyushu Railway Co., which extended the line to Kubota in 1903. The company was nationalised in 1907. From 1898 to 1912, a number of freight only branch lines were also built. The

from Higashi-Karatsu was extended to Yamamoto in 1929 on an alignment paralleling the east bank of the Matsuura River. In 1983, the Chikuhi line was rebuilt so it branched at Karatsu, with the Karatsu - Nishi-Karatsu section being electrified at 1,500 V DC at the same time in conjunction with the electrification of the Chikuhi line, together with CTC signalling from Nishi-Karatsu to Kubota. The last of the freight only branch lines closed in 1982. Freight services ceased in 1986.

References

{{Kyushu Railway Company Lines Lines of Kyushu Railway Company 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1898