The is a railway line in Kyushu, Japan, connecting Meinohama Station in

Fukuoka, Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anci ...

(and via a subway through service, Fukuoka itself) to

Karatsu Station is a railway station in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by JR Kyushu and is on the Karatsu and Chikuhi lines. It is the main station of Karatsu City. Lines *JR Kyushu ** Chikuhi Line ** Karatsu Line Layout It is an elevated ...

Karatsu, Saga is a city located in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Its name, formed from the Japanese word roots 唐 ''kara'' (China, or continental East Asia in general), and 津 ''tsu'' (port), signifies its historical importance as a ...

, and from Yamamoto Station in Karatsu to Imari Station in Imari, Saga. Trains from Karatsu to Imari use the

Karatsu Line The is a regional railway line in Saga Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects in Saga City to in Karatsu City, both in Saga Prefecture, Japan. The line was originally constructed to carry co ...

to Yamamoto.

Route data

*Operators and distances **

JR Kyushu 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 St ...

***From Meinohama to Karatsu: ***From Yamamoto to Imari: *

Track gauge In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many ...

: *Stations: 29 *Double-track: From Meinohama to Chikuzen-Maebaru *Electrified track: Meinohama to Nishi-Karatsu only; Yamamoto to Imari is unelectrified

Station list

Eastern section

:●: Stops, ｜: Does not stop :Rapid Service: Stops at every station on the Kūkō Line

Western section

All trains running on this section stop at all stations.

Rolling stock

103-1500 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 (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...

six-car EMUs (since 1982) *

303 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter train type operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) on Chikuhi Line and Fukuoka Subway Kuko Line through-running services in Kyushu, Japan, since 22 January 2000. Design The 303 series t ...

six-car EMUs (since 22 January 2000) *

305 series 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

six-car EMUs (since February 2015) A fleet of six new

six-car electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter trains was introduced on the Chikuhi Line from February 2015. File:JR kyushu 103-1500 E17 1.jpg, 103-1500 series set E17 in August 2008 File:JRKyushu-303-K02-20091102.jpg, 303 series set K02 in November 2009 File:JR Kyushu 305 series W1.jpg, A 305 series set on the Chikuhi Line in January 2016

History

The Kita-Kyushu Railway opened the Fukuyoshi to Hamasaki section in 1923, extending it west to Higashi-Karatsu (situated on the east bank of the Matsuura River, opposite the

on the west bank) by 1925 and east to Hakata by 1926. The line was again extended west to Yamamoto where it junctioned with the Karatsu line (establishing Higashi-Karatsu as a reversing station in the process) in 1929, and to Imari in 1935. The company was nationalised in 1937 after which

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 Ra ...

(JGR) designated the track as the Chikuhi Line. In 1983, the Hakata to Meinohama section was closed and replaced by a link to the Fukuoka City Subway Airport Line. A new line from Nijinomatsubara to Karatsu opened (including a new station called Higashi-Karatsu, situated about southeast of the original station of that name) and the entire section was electrified at 1,500 V DC to allow through running to Fukuoka via the subway. At the same time, the original Nijinomatsubara to Yamamoto section closed.

References

{{Kyushu Railway Company Lines Lines of Kyushu Railway Company 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan