The is a railway line 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, ...

(JR West) in

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

. It connects

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

on the

Yamatoji Line The is the common name of the western portion of the Kansai Main Line in Japan. The line is owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It starts at Kamo Station (Kyoto), Kamo Station in Kyoto Prefecture and ends at JR Namba Stat ...

to Takada on the Wakayama Line, with some services continuing on the Wakayama Line to Ōji Station, and then to JR Namba on the Yamatoji Line. Starting on March 13, 2010, it is referred to by the nickname " in reference to the large number of ancient landmarks along the line's route.

History

The Osaka Railway Co. opened the Takada - Sakurai section in 1893, and the Nara Railway Co. opened the Sakurai - Kyobate section in 1898, extending the line to Nara the following year. In 1900 the Osaka Railway Co. merged with the Kansai Railway Co., and the Nara Railway Co. did likewise in 1905. In 1907 the Kansai Railway Co. was nationalised. CTC signalling was commissioned in 1979, and the line was electrified in 1980. Freight services ceased in 1983.

Former connecting lines

* Sakurai station - The Osaka Electric Railway Co. operated a 6km line to Hatsuse between 1909 and 1938. The Yamoto Railway Co. line from Oji connected between 1923 and 1944, when that line closed beyond Tawaramoto station. * Unebi station - The Kintetsu Railway Osa line connected here between 1924 and 1945.

Stations

Rolling stock

103 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter train type introduced in 1963 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and currently operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). They were also operate ...

221 series The is a suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) in the Kansai Region of Japan since March 1989. Operations * Tōkaidō Main Line (Biwako Line, JR Kyoto Line, JR Kobe Line) ( - , until ...

* 227-1000 series (from Spring 2019)

Former

* 105 series (until 2020) * 113 series * 201 series (until 2023)

References