Kansai Main Line

The Kansai Main Line (関西本線, Kansai-honsen, also called the "Kansai Line") is a railway line in Japan, which connects Nagoya Station with JR Namba Station in Osaka. It is jointly run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the boundary between both companies being located at Kameyama Station in Kameyama, Mie.

Kansai Main Line
KiHa 120 diesel car on a rural section in March 2007
Overview
Other name(s)Yamatoji Line (Kamo - JR Namba)
Native name関西本線
StatusIn operation
OwnerJR Central
JR West
Locale
Termini
Stations52
Service
TypeHeavy rail
Operator(s)JR Central, JR West
History
Opened1889; 135 years ago (1889)
Technical
Line length179.6 km (111.6 mi)
CharacterBoth urban and rural
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification1,500 V DC, overhead line
(Nagoya–Kameyama, Kamo–JR Namba)
Operating speed120 km/h (75 mph) (Nagoya–Kawarada, Nara–Tennoji)
95 km/h (59 mph)
(Kawarada–Nara, Tennoji–JR Namba)
Old Nara Station building in March 2007
A Kasuga express train in a rural section. The photo was taken in March 2006, shortly before the service was discontinued.

The section from Kamo Station west to JR Namba Station is electrified and a part of the JR West "Urban Network", and is nicknamed the Yamatoji Line. The JR Central section from Nagoya to Kameyama is also electrified.

Despite its name, for much of its length it is a very local line with mainly single track sections and no regular express services. The line was originally built in the 1890s by Kansai Railway (later under the Japanese Government Railways and Japanese National Railways) as an alternate route from south Osaka to Nara and Nagoya, but competition from the Kintetsu lines and declining ridership forced the line to operationally become two electric suburban lines for Osaka and Nagoya respectively, with a less-used unelectrified rural section in the middle.

Formerly a Kasuga express train ran from Nagoya to Nara, but this service was discontinued in March 2006.

History edit

The Osaka Railway Co. opened the Minatomachi (now JR Namba) to Nara section between 1889 and 1892. The company merged with the Kansai Railway Co. in 1900.

The Nara Railway Co. opened the Nara to Kizu section in 1896. It merged with the Kansai Railway Co. in 1905.

The Kansai Railway Co. opened the Nagoya to Kizu section between 1890 and 1897, completing the line. The company was nationalised in 1907.

Duplication edit

The Minatomachi to Tennoji section was duplicated in 1903 and extended to Kashiwara in 1908. The Nara to Kizu section was duplicated in 1914, and the Kashiwara to Nara section between 1923 and 1926. In 1944 the Oji to Nara section was returned to single track and the materials recycled for the Japanese war effort. The section was re-duplicated in 1961.

The Tomita to Kuwana section (except for the bridge over the Inabe River) was duplicated in 1973, and the Kuwana to Yatomi section between 1977 and 1980. The Yokkaichi to Tomidahama section was duplicated in 1993.

Electrification edit

The Minatomachi to Nara section was electrified in 1973, extended to Kizu in 1984, and to Kamo in 1988.

The Nagoya - Hatta section was electrified in 1979, and extended to Kameyama in 1982.

Other matters of note edit

CTC signalling was commissioned between Kizu and Kameyama in 1983, and extended to Nagoya in 2001.

Freight services ceased in 1987, and in 1994 Minatomachi Station was renamed JR Namba to coincide with the opening of the Kansai Airport Line to Kansai Airport. In 1996 Namba Station and the approach line were relocated underground to eliminate a number of level crossings. There are plans to extend the line from Namba to Osaka Station, with construction to begin within the next few years. (See Naniwasuji Line for information.)

Former connecting lines edit

  • Kamo Station - In 1898 the Kansai Railway Co. opened an 8 km (5.0 mi) branch to a station beside the Daibutsu (Great Buddha), and in 1899 extended the line 2 km (1.2 mi) to Nara. Following the nationalisation of the Kansai Railway Co. in 1907, the 10 km (6.2 mi) line was closed.
  • Horyuji Station - The 4 km (2.5 mi) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge Kintetsu line to Hirahata operated between 1915 and 1945.
  • Kyuhoji Station - A branchline to serve the Taisho airfield opened in 1942, and was extended to Sugimotocho Station on the Hanwa Line in 1952 to provide an electrified (1500 V DC) freight bypass between Wakayama and Nagoya. Passenger services were introduced in 1965 but ceased two years later, and the line closed in 2009 after being out of service for five years.
  • Tennoji Station - The 2.4 km (1.5 mi) Nankai line to Tengachaya, electrified at 1500 V DC, operated between 1901 and 1993.

Stations edit

JR Central (Nagoya–Kameyama) edit

  • S: Trains stop
  • |: Trains pass
  • Local trains stop at all stations.
No.StationJapaneseSemi RapidRapidRapid MieTransfersLocation
CJ00Nagoya名古屋SSSNakamura-ku, NagoyaAichi Prefecture
CJ01Hatta八田|||
CJ02Haruta春田|||Nakagawa-ku, Nagoya
CJ03Kanie蟹江S||Kanie, Ama District
CJ04Eiwa永和|||Aisai
CJ05Yatomi弥富S||Yatomi
CJ06Nagashima長島|||KuwanaMie Prefecture
CJ07Kuwana桑名SSS
CJ08Asahi朝日S||Asahi, Mie District
CJ09Tomida富田S||Yokkaichi
CJ10Tomidahama富田浜S||
CJ11Yokkaichi四日市SSS
CJ12Minami-Yokkaichi南四日市SS|
CJ13Kawarada河原田SS|
CJ14Kawano河曲SSIse Railway Ise LineSuzuka
CJ15Kasado加佐登SS
CJ16Idagawa井田川SSKameyama
CJ17Kameyama亀山SS

JR West (Kameyama–Kamo) edit

All stations between Kameyama and Kamo featured passing double tracks.

StationJapaneseTransfersLocation
Kameyama亀山JR Central:KameyamaMie Prefecture
Seki
Kabuto加太
Tsuge柘植 Kusatsu LineIga
Shindō新堂
Sanagu佐那具
Iga-Ueno伊賀上野Iga Railway Iga Line (Ninja Line)
Shimagahara島ヶ原
Tsukigaseguchi月ケ瀬口Minamiyamashiro, Soraku DistrictKyoto Prefecture
Ōkawara大河原
Kasagi笠置Kasagi, Soraku District
Kamo加茂( Q39  Yamatoji Line)Kizugawa

JR West (Kamo–JR Namba) edit

See the Yamatoji Line article for the train types and stopping patterns on this section.
Stations on this section

Rolling stock edit

JR Central edit

EMU edit

DMU edit

JR West edit

EMU edit

DMU edit

Former edit

In popular culture edit

The Kansai Main Line is the home course of Takumi Fujiwara in Densha de D, a parody of Initial D where the main characters race with trains instead of cars.

References edit

  1. ^ "JR東海315系(4両編成)関西本線で6/1運行開始、画像認識技術を検証" [JR Tokaido 315 series (4-car train) to begin operation on the Kansai Main Line on 1 June, verifying image recognition technology]. Mynavi News (in Japanese). Japan: Mynavi Corporation. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2024.