The is a regional railway line in

Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasa ...

, Japan, owned and operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects in Saga City to in Karatsu City, both in

, Japan. The line was originally constructed to carry coal from the Karatsu coal fields to the Port of Karatsu for export and had many branch lines to coal mines which have since closed.

Operation

All trains running on the Karatsu Line stop at all stations along the line, including through services from both sections of the Chikuhi Line. All trains that run to/from Kubota Station use the

Nagasaki Main Line The , or simply Nagasaki Line, is a railway line owned by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) connecting Tosu Station in Saga Prefecture to Nagasaki Station in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. There is a separate branch of this line from Kikitsu S ...

to terminate at Saga Station instead.

Station list

Station numbering has not been introduced for the Karatsu Line, but both and use the station numbering from the eastern section of the Chikuhi Line.

Rolling stock

*KiHa 40/47 DMUs * KiHa 125 DMUs *

103 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 of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

EMUs *

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 ...

EMUs *

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 ...

EMUs

History

The Karatsu Kogyo Railway opened a line from (today to in 1898, on an alignment paralleling the west bank of the Matsuura River, and extended the line to Taku the following year. In 1902, the company merged with the Kyushu Railway Co., which extended the line to Kubota in 1903. The company was nationalised in 1907. From 1898 to 1912, a number of freight only branch lines were also built. The Chikuhi Line from Higashi-Karatsu was extended to Yamamoto in 1929 on an alignment paralleling the east bank of the Matsuura River. In 1983, the Chikuhi line was rebuilt so it branched at Karatsu, with the Karatsu - Nishi-Karatsu section being electrified at 1,500 V DC at the same time in conjunction with the electrification of the Chikuhi line, together with CTC signalling from Nishi-Karatsu to Kubota. The last of the freight only branch lines closed in 1982. Freight services ceased in 1986.

References

{{Kyushu Railway Company Lines Lines of Kyushu Railway Company 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1898