The is a railway line in

Hokkaido is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

operated by

Hokkaido Railway Company The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a s ...

(JR Hokkaido), between

Oshamambe Station is a railway station in Oshamambe, Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). Lines Oshamambe Station is served by the Hakodate Main Line from to and the Muroran Main Line The is a railway line in Hokkaido ope ...

in Oshamambe and Iwamizawa Station in Iwamizawa, approximately paralleling the coast of

Iburi Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Geography Located in south-central Hokkaido, Iburi stretches East-West and North-South. Iburi covers an area of . Iburi borders Oshima Subprefecture to the West, Shiribeshi, Ishikari, ...

. There also is a branch line within

Muroran is a city and port located in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Iburi Subprefecture. As of February 29, 2012, the city has an estimated population of 93,716, with 47,868 households and a population density of . The ...

, between Higashi-muroran and

Muroran Station is a railway station on the Muroran Main Line in Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan, operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). Lines Muroran Station forms the terminus of the Muroran Main Line branch from . Station layout The station cons ...

. The section between Shiraoi and Numanohata is the longest straight railway section in Japan. On 19 November 2016, JR Hokkaido's President announced plans to rationalise the network by up to 1,237 km, or ~50% of the current network, including the proposed conversion to Third Sector operation of the Tomakomai - Iwamizawa section of the Muroran Main Line. However, if local governments do not come up with an agreement, the section may face closure.

Basic data

*Operators, distances **

(Services and tracks) ***From Oshamambe to Iwamizawa: 211.0 km ***From Higashi-Muroran to Muroran: 7.0 km **

Japan Freight Railway Company , or , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It provides transportation of cargo nationwide throughout Japan. Its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo near Shinjuku Station. The Japan Railways Group was fou ...

(Services) ***From Oshamambe to Iwamizawa: 211.0 km *Track: **Double: 181.8 km ***From Oshamambe to Tōya: 41.5 km ***From Usu to Nagawa: 4.9 km ***From Mareppu to Mikawa: 118.2 km ***From Yuni to Kuriyama: 5.1 km ***From Muroran to Higashi-Muroran: 7.0 km **Single: the remainder *Electric supply: **From Muroran, via Higashi-Muroran to Numanohata: 74.9 km (20,000 V AC) **Other sections are not electrified. *Block system: Automatic

Services

The section between Oshamambe and Numanohata is the part of the main link route between

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

and

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

. As such, the limited express trains '' Super Hokuto'' and ''Hokuto'' run between two cities once per 1 to 2 hours, as well as '' Suzuran'' between Sapporo and

. As for the local service, the line is roughly divided into four sections, namely the section between Oshamambe and Higashi-Muroran, between Higashi-Muroran and Muroran, between Higashi-Muroran and Tomakomai, and between Tomakomai and Iwamizawa. The last section was once an important freight route, but became a quiet local line after coal mines closed.

Former services

Prior to the opening of the

Hokkaido Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line that links up with the Tōhoku Shinkansen in northern Aomori Prefecture in Honshu and continues on into the interior of Hokkaido through the undersea Seikan Tunnel. Construction started in May ...

, there were also

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car. The first such cars ...

trains between

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island s ...

and

, such as the ''

Hokutosei The was a limited express sleeping car train service in Japan which operated between Ueno Station in Tokyo and Sapporo Station in the northern island of Hokkaido, taking approximately 16½ hours. It was operated jointly by East Japan R ...

'', '' Cassiopeia'', '' Twilight Express'', and ''

Hamanasu ''Rosa rugosa'' (rugosa rose, beach rose, Japanese rose, Ramanas rose, or letchberry) is a species of rose native to eastern Asia, in northeastern China, Japan, Korea and southeastern Siberia, where it grows on beach coasts, often on sand ...

''.

Stations

Some local trains may skip Koboro (marked "◌").

Branch Line

Rolling stock

Local

KiHa 40 series The is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type introduced by Japanese National Railways (JNR) in 1977 and operated by all Japan Railways Group companies on suburban and rural services in Japan. Since 2017, the train type has seen use by other ...

DMUs * KiHa 143 DMUs (Oshamambe to Numanohata) *

KiHa 150 The is a single-car diesel multiple unit operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) in Japan. Variants A total of 27 cars were built, with the class divided into two sub-classes: KiHa 150-0 (17 cars) and KiHa 150-100 (10 cars). * KiHa ...

DMUs (Oshamambe to Tomakomai) * 711 series EMUs (until 26 October 2012) * 737 series EMUs (Tomakomai to Muroran, from spring 2023)

Limited express

; ''Suzuran'' : 785 series AC EMUs : 789 series AC EMUs ; ''Super Hokuto'' : KiHa 281 series DMUs : KiHa 261-1000 series DMUs ; ''Hokuto'' : KiHa 183 series DMUs

History

In 1892, the

Hokkaido Colliery and Railway Company was a company engaged in coal mining, railway operation and shipping in Hokkaidō, Japan. The company was established in 1889 when the state-owned and Horonai Railway were sold to the company. The company developed coal mines and transported ...

opened the line from Muroran (now Higashi-Muroran) to Iwamizawa. The line was built to link

coal mines Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...

in the Iwamizawa-Asahikawa region and Muroran Port. The line was extended to the current Muroran in 1897. The Japanese Government nationalised the Hokkaido Colliery Railway in 1906, and the Higashi-Muroran - Muroran section was double-tracked in 1910. The section between Oshamambe and Higashi-Muroran was opened between 1923-28 as the by the

Imperial Japanese Government Railways The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national rail transport, 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 ...

, which later became the

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

(JNR). The line was built to bypass the mountainous section of the

Hakodate Main Line The is a railway line connecting the cities of Hakodate and Asahikawa via Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan. It is one of the trunk lines operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The Sawara Line, a 35 km loop line from Ōnuma to Mo ...

, as well as to link the inland Iburi to the Muroran Port. The two lines were merged into one in 1931, and renamed the Muroran Main Line, with the Higashi-Muroran - Muroran section becoming known as the branchline. In 1935, a rail motor service was established on the branchline. Initially, the line mainly functioned as a freight line. However, with the reduction in coal being mined, from the 1960s the line's main traffic shifted to passengers. At present, all the

intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

express trains between Sapporo and Hakodate operate over the Chitose and Muroran lines to Oshamambe, bypassing the north section of the

route. The last steam locomotive hauled regular service ran between Iwamizawa and Muroran in 1975.

Duplication

Growing coal traffic on the Iwamizawa - Muroran section resulted in the double-tracking of the 101 km Higashi-Muroran - Mikawa section in stages between 1920 and 1958. The 7 km Iwamizawa - Shibun section was double-tracked in 1961, but returned to single track in 1994. The 9 km Yuni - Kurioka section was doubled between 1968 and 1969, but the 4 km Kuriyama - Kurioka section became single track in 1990 as a result of the collapse of a tunnel. The 42 km Oshamambe - Toya section was double-tracked between 1964 and 1975, involving the construction of ten new tunnels and realignments that reduced the route length by 1.7 km. Several of the abandoned single-track tunnels can be seen in this section. The Usu - Nagawa section was double-tracked in 1968, and the Mareppu - Higashi-Muroran section was doubled in stages between 1968 and 1978, with five new tunnels and realignments shortening the route by 0.8 km.

Electrification

The Numanohata - Muroran section was electrified in 1980 in conjunction with the electrification of the Chitose Line to Sapporo.

Former connecting lines

* Toya station - A 9 km private line electrified at 600 V DC connected to Toyako, operating from 1929 until 1941. * Date Monbetsu station - The Ibura line from Kutchan on the

was extended to Date Monbetsu between 1940 and 1941, and closed in 1986. * Noboribetsu station - In 1915, a gauge horse-drawn line opened to an ''

onsen In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...

'' hot spring resort 9 km away. A steam locomotive was introduced in 1918, halving the journey time to 1 hour. The line was converted to gauge and electrified at 600 V DC in 1925, reducing the journey to 35 minutes, but the line closed due to the economic depression in 1933. * Tomakomai station - The Oji Paper Co. built a gauge line a total distance of 35 km from 1908 to construct a series of hydro-electric power stations which opened in 1910, 1916, 1918, and 1919. In 1922, a summer-only tourist service was introduced, patronised by the Japanese Emperor. In 1934, the 8 kg/m rail was replaced with 10 kg/m rail, and in 1936 the passenger service became year-round. A fifth power station was opened in 1941, and the line was replaced by buses in 1951. * Numanohata station - The Hokkaido Coal Co. opened a 70 km line to a coal mine near Hobetsu between 1922 and 1923. The line was nationalised in 1943, and a 3.6 km connecting line built from Mukawa to the line, with the

Hidaka Main Line The is a railway line in Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), between Tomakomai Station in Tomakomai and Samani Station in Samani, running along the coast of Hidaka Subprefecture. Services on the 116.0 km ...

becoming the route to the Muroran Port, and the initial 24 km section to Numanohata closing. * Hayakita station - A horse-drawn timber tramway was opened to Atsuma (8 km) in 1904, and extended a further 10 km to Horonoi in 1927. Petrol locomotives were introduced in 1931. The Horonoi - Atsuma section closed in 1948, with the remainder closing in 1951. * Kuriyama station - The Hokkaido Colliery and Steamship Co. built a 34 km line from Kuriyama (including a bridge over the line) to Yubari in 1926, including a switch-back (or zig-zag) section at Nishikisawa. A 23 km extension opened from Kuriyama - Nopporo (on the

18 km east of Sapporo) in 1930. At its peak in 1965, the line carried 1.5 million tonnes of coal and another 0.5 million tonnes of general freight annually, as well as 2 million passengers. The entire line closed in 1975 after the closure of the mine in 1972. A 4.7 km branch to the Tsunoda mine operated from 1927 until 1970. * Shibun station - A 24 km line to a coal mine at Manjitanzan opened in 1914, with passenger services provided from 1924. The mine closed in 1978, and the line closed in 1985. A 3 km horse-drawn line opened to the Hokusei coal mine in 1920, with a steam locomotive and passenger carriages introduced in 1946. The line and mine closed in 1967.

References

{{Authority control Rail transport in Hokkaido Railway lines opened in 1892