The is a railway line in south-eastern

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

, Japan, 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 Strait ...

(JR Kyushu). It connects

Minami-Miyazaki Station is a railway station in Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by of JR Kyushu and is the junction between the Nippō Main Line to in the southwest and the Nichinan Line to in the south of Kyushu. Lines The station is se ...

Miyazaki, Miyazaki is the capital city of Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1924. As of July 2022, the city had an estimated population of 399,788 and a population density of 621 persons per km2. The total area ...

Shibushi Station is a terminal train station of JR Kyushu Nichinan Line in Shibushi, Kagoshima, Japan. Lines * Kyushu Railway Company **Nichinan Line The is a railway line in south-eastern Kyushu, Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It ...

Shibushi, Kagoshima is a city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. As of October 31, 2021, the city has an estimated population of 30,231, with 15,366 households and a population density of 104 persons per km2. The total area is 290.28 km2. The modern city ...

History

The Miyazaki Prefectural Government opened the first section of the line from Obi - Aburatsu in 1913, the same year that the Miyazaki Light Railway was opened from the port of Miyazaki to Uchiumi. The lines were linked in 1932, and nationalised in 1935. The extension to Kitago opened in 1941, and to Shibushi (as a passenger only section) in 1963. Steam locomotives were withdrawn from the line in 1973. Freight services to Kitago ceased in 1982, and in 1990 the Shibushi station was relocated 100m closer to Miyazaki. The Minami Miyazaki - Tayoshi section was electrified in 1996 in conjunction with the opening of the

Miyazaki Airport line Miyazaki may refer to: People * Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese animator * Hidetaka Miyazaki, video game director * Gorō Miyazaki, Japanese film director and landscaper, and son of Hayao Miyazaki. * For others, see Miyazaki (surname) Places * Miyazaki ...

. Subsequently, the line has been electrified as far as Kodomonokuni.

Former connecting lines

Shibushi station - * The 39 km line to Nishi Miyakonojo (known as the Shibushi Line) opened between 1923 and 1925, connecting to the

Nippo Main Line Nippo may refer to: Companies and organizations * Nippo, colloquial name for * Nippo Batteries, an Indian battery manufacturer * Nippo Corporation, a Japanese construction company and sponsor of cycling teams ** EF Education–Nippo, a cycling tea ...

. Freight service ended in 1983 and the line closed in 1987. * The 98 km line to Kokubo (known as the Osumi Line), also connecting to the Nippo Main Line, was not completed until 1972. The first section was opened by the Osumi Light Railway Co. as a 762mm gauge line from Funama to Kushira, via a reversing station at Kanoya, between 1915 and 1923. The line was nationalised in 1935, the same year the Shibushi - Higashikushira section was opened by JR. The 1 km connection to Kushira opened the following year, and in 1938 the Kushira - Funama section was regauged, with a new station at Kanoya removing the need to reverse direction there. The Funama - Kaigata section opened in 1961 as a passenger only line, and the Kaigata - Kokubu section also opened without freight service. The rest of the line lost freight service in 1982, and the entire line closed in 1987.

Stations

:•: Stops :, : Non-stop

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia {{Authority control Lines of Kyushu Railway Company Rail transport in Miyazaki Prefecture Rail transport in Kagoshima Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1913 1913 establishments in Japan