The is a
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...
line in
Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, 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). The line was completed in 1974 by the former
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 ...
(JNR) to provide faster access from the
Kansai region
The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...
to the
Hokuriku region. It originates at
Yamashina Station
is a train station in Yamashina-ku ward, city of Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.
The station has two separated sections: underground subway section and above-ground JR section. In addition, on the Keishin Line of Keihan Electric Railway is l ...
in
Yamashina-ku, Kyoto
is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It lies in the southeastern part of the city, and Yamashina Station is one stop away from Kyoto Station on the Tōkaidō Main Line (Biwako Line). The area of Yamash ...
and ends at
Ōmi-Shiotsu Station
is a junction passenger railway station located in the city of Nagahama, Shiga, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the northernmost station in Shiga Prefecture
Lines
Ōmi-Shiotsu Station is served by the Biwako L ...
in
Nagahama, Shiga
is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 116,043 in 46858 households and a population density of 120 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Nagahama is located on the northern ...
.
Its name means "the line to the west of the lake," indicating that it approximately parallels the western shore of
Biwako
is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13th o ...
. Trains continue from
Omi-Shiotsu Station to
Tsuruga Station
is a railway station in the city of Tsuruga, Fukui, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is served by the Hokuriku Main Line and the Obama Line. A freight-only branch Line known as the Tsuruga Port Line operated by JR Frei ...
on the
Hokuriku Main Line
The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwe ...
Yamashina to
Kyoto Station
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...
on the
Tōkaidō Main Line
The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...
for convenient transfer to lines serving the
Kansai as well as the
Tōkaidō Shinkansen
The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the Sanyo Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opened in 1964, ...
.
In addition to local, Rapid and Special Rapid services, limited express trains such as the ''
Thunderbird
Thunderbird, thunder bird or thunderbirds may refer to:
* Thunderbird (mythology), a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture
* Ford Thunderbird, a car
Birds
* Dromornithidae, extinct flightless birds ...
'', as well as freight trains are frequently operated on the line. Only few of limited express trains stop at Katata or Omi-Imazu and others skip all stations on the line.
History
A direct Tsuruga – Kyoto line was included in the 1922 Railway Construction Act.
In the meantime, the Kojaku Railway Co. opened a line from Hamaotsu on the
Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line
The is a railway line in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keihan Electric Railway.
Stations
History
The Otsu Railway opened the Hamaotsu to Awazu section in 1913, electrified at 600 V DC. The line was extend ...
51 km to Omi-Imazu between 1923 and 1929. Between 1947 and 1965 there was a connection between Zeze on the
Tokaido Main Line and Hamaotsu, allowing direct connection to the Tokaido Line.
The line was purchase by JNR and closed in 1969 so the Kosei line could be constructed over parts of the alignment, with the entire new line opening in 1974 as a dual track electrified line with CTC signalling.
The section from Nagahara to Ōmi-Shiotsu, originally electrified with 20 kV AC, was re-electrified to 1,500 V DC on September 24, 2006 enabling DC-only EMUs used in Osaka-Kyoto region to operate, and the Special Rapid through train service from
JR Kyoto Line
The is a commuter rail line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The name applies to the section of the Tōkaidō Main Line between Kyōto Station and Ōsaka Station.
The Kyot ...
(
Tokaido Main Line) was extended beyond Ōmi-Shiotsu to
Tsuruga on the
Hokuriku Main Line
The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwe ...
.
Services and stations
Legends:
*● : All trains stop
*○ : Only ''"Kosei Leisure (湖西レジャー)"'' extra seasonal service (in winter) makes stop at Shiga
*, : All trains skip
Local (普通) trains stop at all stations, but they do not operate through services to the JR Kyoto Line.
Rapid (快速) trains operate only in the mornings, which heads south to the JR Kyoto Line. 2 services are operated every weekday morning and 1 service is operated every weekend morning.
Special Rapid (新快速) trains operate one train per hour for both directions, throughout daytime.
Only 4-car trains are capable of going as far as Tsuruga at the moment, and the rear eight cars in a 12-car set are uncoupled at Omi-Imazu Station.
Rolling stock
Current
Passenger
=Local and Rapid
=
*
113 series
The is a Japanese suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced in 1963 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), currently operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) and Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku), and formerly also op ...
(within the line and to Kyoto only)
*
117 series
The is a Japanese suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced in 1979 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and currently operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West). The train type was operated by Central Japan Railway Com ...
(same as above)
*
207 series
*
221 series
The is a suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) in the Kansai Region of Japan since March 1989.
Operations
* Tōkaidō Main Line (Biwako Line, JR Kyoto Line, JR Kobe Line) ( - , unti ...
(mostly through rapid services to the Tokaido Main Line and the Sanyo Main Line, also some operate as local)
*
223-6000 series (same as above)
*
321 series
The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) in the Kansai Region of Japan.
Overview
The 321 series was developed from the earlier 207 series to replace the ageing 201 series an ...
*
521-0 series (only through services continuing to the Hokuriku Main Line)
=Special Rapid and Local
=
*
223-1000/2000 series
*
225-0/100 series
=Limited Express
=
*
681 series
__NOTOC__
Year 681 ( DCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 681 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...
(''
Thunderbird
Thunderbird, thunder bird or thunderbirds may refer to:
* Thunderbird (mythology), a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture
* Ford Thunderbird, a car
Birds
* Dromornithidae, extinct flightless birds ...
'' services)
*
683 series (''Thunderbird'' services)
Freight
*
EF81
*
EF510
Former
EMU
*
125 series (until March 2009)
*
201 series
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
*
419 series (until October 2006)
*
475 series
__NOTOC__
Year 475 ( CDLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Zeno without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1228 ...
(until October 2006)
*
485 series (''
Raichō
The was a limited express train operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between and in Japan until March 2011, using portions of the Tōkaidō Main Line, Kosei Line, and Hokuriku Main Line.
The characters 雷 鳥 literally ...
'' services, until March 2011)
DMU
*
KiHa 20 series (until 1991)
*
KiHa 26 series (until 1991)
*
KiHa 48
The is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type introduced by Japanese National Railways (JNR) in 1977 and operated by all Japan Railways Group companies on suburban and rural services in Japan. Since 2017, the train type has seen use by other ...
(until 1991)
See also
*
List of railway lines in Japan
References
{{West Japan Railway Company Lines
Lines of West Japan Railway Company
Railway lines opened in 1974
1067 mm gauge railways in Japan