is a 10.8 km railway line owned by the Kumamoto Electric Railway, serving Kumamoto City and Kōshi,

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...

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 ...

. The line runs northward from

Kami-Kumamoto Station is a railway station in Nishi-ku, Kumamoto, Japan. It is on the Kagoshima Main Line of JR Kyushu and the Kikuchi Line of Kumamoto Electric Railway. In front of the station is a tram stop of the tram operated by Kumamoto City Transportation Bur ...

on the

Kagoshima Main Line The is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) between Mojikō in Kitakyushu, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima City, at the southern end of Kyushu. Until March 13, 2004, it extended 393 km between its two ...

, operated by

JR Kyushu 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 Strait ...

, terminating at Miyoshi Station. Previously, the line ran as far as

Kikuchi, Kumamoto is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. The city was founded on August 1, 1958. As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 49,455 and a population density of 180 persons per km2. The total area ...

, an

onsen In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...

resort town. However, ticket sales were replaced with road traffic on

Japan National Route 387 National Route 387 is a national highway of Japan connecting Usa, Ōita and Kita-ku, Kumamoto is one of the five wards of Kumamoto City, Japan. Meaning literally "north ward," it is bordered by the Nishi-ku, Chūō-ku, Higashi-ku and al ...

, and the section between Miyoshi and Kikuchi ceased operations on February 16, 1986.

Operations

The line is electrified with

overhead lines An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipmen ...

and is single-tracked for the entire line.

Passing loops Passing may refer to: Social identity * Passing (sociology), presenting oneself as a member of another sociological group ** Passing (gender), presenting oneself as being cisgender ** Passing (racial identity), presenting oneself as a member of ...

are located at

Horikawa Station is a train station in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is on the Kikuchi Line, operated by the Kumamoto Electric Railway. Trains arrive every thirty minutes. One of the Kikuchi Line's two passing loops are located here. Lines * K ...

and Kuroishi Station.

Kita-Kumamoto Station is a railway station in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is on the Kikuchi Line and is the northern terminus of the Fujisaki Line, operated by the Kumamoto Electric Railway. Trains arrive every thirty minutes. Lines * Kumamoto El ...

has a passing loop for trains continuing on the Fujisaki Line Two types of passenger services run on the line. The first runs between

and

, while the second runs between

Fujisakigū-mae Station is a railway station in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is on the Fujisaki Line, operated by the Kumamoto Electric Railway. Trains arrive every thirty minutes. This station is located near Fujisaki Hachimangū, where its name ori ...

on the Fujisaki Line to Miyoshi Station, running through Kita-Kumamoto. Both types of services stop at every station. Busses operated by the Kumamoto Electric Railway connect Miyoshi with Kikuchi along the abolished track.

Stations

Current stations

Terminated stations

References

{{Kumamoto Electric Railway Kikuchi Line Kumamoto Electric Railway Kikuchi Line Railway lines in Japan Rail transport in Kumamoto Prefecture Railway lines opened in 1913 Japanese third-sector railway lines