The is a railway line in southeastern
Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by
Shikoku Railway Company
The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has i ...
(JR Shikoku). It connects the
prefectural capital
A prefectural capital is a city where a prefectural government and assembly is located.
Japan
In Japan, a prefectural capital is officially called , but the term is also used ().
List of Japanese prefectural capitals
Notes: ¹
Non-capital ...
of
Tokushima
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the nort ...
with the town of
Kaiyō in
Kaifu District. The line's official nickname is , but this is rarely used by local residents as it does not directly service
Muroto, the intended destination of the line.
Services
The ''
Muroto'' is a limited express service on the Mugi Line, which runs between Tokushima and Kaifu, once a day. In the past, the ''Home Express Anan'' ran between Tokushima and Anan.
Between Mugi and Kaifu, all limited express trains are operated as local services. Until 2019, all ''
Tsurugisan'' and some ''Muroto'' trains had through service on the
Tokushima
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the nort ...
and
Dosan lines to/from . On the New Year's holiday, the seasonal ''
Yakuōji-gō'' limited express provides service to/from .
Although there are local trains that run the entire length of the Mugi Line, most services are divided at . There are trains that serve the Tokushima – Mugi, Tokushima – Kaifu, and Mugi – Kaifu sections, as well as a single round-trip between Tokushima and Anan. Some local trains have through service onto the
Kōtoku, Tokushima, and
Naruto
''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...
lines.
Driver-only operation
One-person operation (OPO), also known as driver-only operation (DOO), one-man operation (OMO), single person train operation (SPTO), or one-person train operation (OPTO), similarly to Driver Controlled Operation, is operation of a train, bus ...
is in effect for most daytime trains when there are few passengers.
Station list
* All stations are located in
Tokushima Prefecture.
* Local trains stop at all stations. For the ''
Muroto'' and ''
Tsurugisan'' limited express services, see their respective articles.
* Trains can pass one another at stations marked "◇" and cannot pass at those marked "|".
* Although the Tokushima and Naruto lines do not officially begin at Tokushima, most trains travel through on the Kōtoku Line to Tokushima.
History
The Awa Steamship Company, which operated a service between Honshu and Shikoku, first built an 11 km line from a port at Komatsushima to Tokushima which opened in 1913. In 1916, the line was extended by 10 km from Nakata to Furusho, resulting in the creation of the 2 km Komatsushima to Nakata branch line. The lines were nationalised the following year.
In 1936, the line was extended south from Hanoura 17 km to Kumano, and the 2 km Hanoura to Furusho section became a freight-only branch, which closed in 1961. The line was extended a further 35 km to Mugi in three stages opening between 1937 and 1942.
In 1959, it was decided to extend the line to Muroto, where it would connect with the planned extension of the
Asa line from Kochi. The first 12 km section to Kaifu opened in 1973, and further construction undertaken until work was suspended in 1980.
The Chūden to Komatsushima branch closed in 1985.
In 1987, with the privatization of
JNR
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 pre ...
, the line became part of the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku).
In 1988 construction work south of Kaifu was recommenced by a private company underwritten by the Tokushima Prefectural Government, and the next section opened in 1992 as the
Asa Kaigan Railway Asato Line
ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent
* Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin
* Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery
* Anterior spinal ar ...
.
Other significant dates
*April 1, 1988: ''
Muroto'' express service renamed ''Asa''
*November 3, 1990: Bunkanomori Station opens
*November 21, 1990: Track upgrade allowing speeds up to 110 km/h completed; Three round-trip ''
Uzushio'' limited express trains begin operation; ''Asa'' express service abolished
*March 14, 1998: ''
Tsurugisan'' limited express begins through operation onto the Mugi Line
*March 13, 1999: Portion of ''Uzushio'' limited express operation separated, renamed ''Muroto''
*1 November 2020:
JR Shikoku
The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has it ...
transferred a section in between
Kaifu Station and
Awa-Kainan Station
is a junction passenger railway station located in the town of Kaiyō, Kaifu District, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. It is operated jointly by JR Shikoku and the third-sector Asa Seaside Railway and has the station number "M27".
Lines
Awa-Ka ...
to
Asa Seaside Railway
ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent
* Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin
* Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery
* Anterior spinal ...
.
See also
*
List of railway lines in Japan
References
This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.
External links
JR Shikoku official website
{{Shikoku transit
Mugi Line
The is a railway line in southeastern Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects the prefectural capital of Tokushima with the town of Kaiyō in Kaifu District. The line's official nic ...
Rail transport in Tokushima Prefecture
Railway lines opened in 1913
1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
1913 establishments in Japan