The is a railway line in

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

, Japan, 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 it ...

(JR Shikoku). It connects Station, Shimanto, Takaoka District in

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and ...

and

Uwajima 270px, Uwajma City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Uwajma city center 270px, Japan National Route 320 in Uwajma city center is a city located in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 70,440 in 35429 households and a pop ...

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...

. Its name comes from the ancient

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

of (now Ehime Prefecture) and (now Kōchi Prefecture), which the line connects.

Route Description

The Yodo line is a quiet, rural single track line with passing places at some stations. The line, which is also known as ''Shimanto Green Line'', is one of the most scenic in Japan running adjacent to the picturesque

Shimanto River The is a river in western Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. 196 km in length, it has a watershed of 2,270 km². Its name is written with kanji meaning "forty thousand and ten". Since the river is remote from major cities and does not have an ...

inland until Ekawasaki. It then winds its way across

Kubokawa Station on the Dosan Line serves as the departure point for nearly all trains heading west. The first part of the line, to Kawaoku Junction just after Wakai, is not owned by JR but by the

Tosa Kuroshio Railway The is a Public-Private_Partnerships_In_Japan, third-sector railway company in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. The name comes from the former Tosa Province and the Kuroshio Current. The company was founded in 1986, and operates three lines: a former J ...

. This section makes up a part of the

Tosa Kuroshio Railway Nakamura Line The is a 43.0 km Japanese railway line operated by the third-sector railway operator Tosa Kuroshio Railway. It connects Kubokawa Station in the town of Shimanto with Nakamura Station in the city of Shimanto in Kōchi Prefecture. Stations ...

, not a JR line and therefore attracts an additional fare. Passengers, especially those using the

Seishun 18 Kippu The is a special discount ticket issued in Japan that allows holders one-day unlimited rides on the local trains of Japan Railways Group (JR) during limited periods of the year. One ticket is valid for five (not necessarily continuous) days (mid ...

, are reminded of this by conductor announcements. After Wakai, the Nakamura Line turns off and the Yodo Line officially begins. The Yodo line ends at a junction with the

Yosan Line The is the principal railway line on the island of Shikoku in Japan, connecting the major cities of Shikoku, and via the Honshi-Bisan Line, with Honshu. It is operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku), and is aligned approximately pa ...

just before and trains continue on the Yosan Line into Uwajima.

Services

The Yodo Line has only one sort of service, local trains that stop at every station. In April 2020 there were five trips in each direction between Kubokawa and Uwajima and an additional three trips each way between Uwajima and Ekawasaki & Chikanaga. Most services are ''wanman'' (driver-only) operated.

Stations

* All trains run through to on the

Dosan Line is a railway line in Shikoku, Japan, operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects Tadotsu Station in Tadotsu, Kagawa, and Kubokawa Station in Shimanto, Kōchi. The line links the city of Kōchi with northern Shikoku and t ...

and on the

. * All trains on the Yodo Line are local trains and stop at all stations. * None of the intermediate stations along the line have a staffed ticket office. * Trains can pass one another at stations marked "◇" and "^" and cannot pass at those marked "｜".

History

In 1914, the Uji Light Railway Co. opened a gauge line 18 km between Uwajima and Chikanaga. In 1923, the line was extended 7 km from Chikanaga to Yoshino. In 1931 the Uwajima Railway began operating a single gasoline-powered locomotive. The Uwajima Railway was nationalised by

Japanese Government Railways The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the Japanese Ministry of Railways ( ja, 鉄道省, Tetsudō-shō, ) until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Rai ...

in 1933, becoming the Uwajima Line; Miyanoshita Station was renamed Iyo-Miyanoshita Station, Nakano became Futana, and Yoshino was renamed Yoshinobu. Yodo Line-1989-02

In 1941, the line was re-gauged to , the section between Uwajima and Muden replaced by a new route, Kita-Uwajima became the line's starting point and Takagushi and Mitsuma stations on the old section were closed. The 10 km Yoshinobu - Ekawasaki section opened in 1953, and the 43 km Ekawasaki - Wakai section opened in 1974, linking to the

with the line renamed as the Yodo Line. In the same year, CTC signalling was commissioned, and freight operations ceased.

References

External links

JR Shikoku official website
{{Authority control Lines of Shikoku Railway Company Rail transport in Ehime Prefecture Rail transport in Kōchi Prefecture Railway lines opened in 1914 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan 1914 establishments in Japan