Railway map around Kyoto City (Sagano Line)

The is the popular name for a portion of the

Sanin Main Line The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...

in the suburbs of

Kyoto 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 ci ...

, Japan. The electrified and double-tracked railway is a

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, owned and 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 starts at

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 city ...

and ends at

Sonobe Station 260px, Sonobe Station platforms, October 2010 is a passenger railway station located in then city of Nantan, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is a stop of limited express trains - " Kinosaki", "Hash ...

. The Sagano Line forms part of JR West's "Urban Network". This name has been in use since 1988.

Sagano Scenic Railway

The is a sightseeing railway that uses an abandoned section of the Sanin Main Line originally built in 1897. In 1989, the Sanin Main Line was rerouted between the present day Saga-Arashiyama Station to Umahori to accommodate track duplication and electrification. However the old route which ran along the

Hozu River The is a part of Katsura River in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The river begins in the mountains near Kameoka, a town northwest of Kyoto City. It snakes into the Arashiyama section of western Kyoto before changing its name to Katsura River. The H ...

, had been popular with tourists. The Sagano Scenic Railway, an affiliate of JR West and developed jointly with the city of

Kameoka is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 87,518 in 29,676 households and a population density of 390 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kameoka abuts Kyoto to the east and is loca ...

, was founded, and the Sagano Scenic Line began operation in 1991. The track and stations were all formerly used by the Sanin Main Line and still owned by JR West, while the train is composed of a former JR West

Class DE10 The is a class of Japanese C-B wheel arrangement diesel-hydraulic locomotives. 708 locomotives were built between 1966 and 1978. , 138 locomotives remained in operation. Variants DE10-0 subclass 158 DE10-0 locomotives were built with steam ...

diesel locomotive and ''torokko'' open-sided cars (derived from the English "

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

") converted from former freight

gondola The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull ...

cars.About the Sagano Romantic Train
/ref> The Sagano Scenic Line stations are as follows (Sagano Line station in parentheses): :Torokko Saga (Saga Arashiyama) - Torokko Arashiyama - Torokko Hozukyo (Hozukyō) - Torokko Kameoka (Umahori)

Stations

*All stations on the Sagano Line are located in Kyoto Prefecture *Rapid services stop at Kyoto, Nijo, Emmachi, Saga-Arashiyama, and every station from Kameoka to Sonobe.

References

{{Osaka transit, state=collapsed Lines of West Japan Railway Company Sanin Main Line 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1897