Gonō Line

The Gonō Line (五能線, Gonō-sen^?) is a railway line in Japan linking Higashi-Noshiro Station in Akita Prefecture with Kawabe Station in Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of Honshū. The line stretches 147.2 km along the Sea of Japan coast with a total of 43 stations. The Gonō Line is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).

Basic data

• Operators, services:
  • East Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks)
    • Higashi-Noshiro— Kawabe: 147.2 km (91.5 mi)
• Gauge: 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Cape gauge
• Stations: 43
• Double-tracked section: None
• Electrification: None
• Railway signalling: Automatic Block Signal
• CTC center: Akita Operations Control Center

History

The Gonō Line began operations in Akita on July 1, 1908 as a part of the Japanese Government Railways (JGR) connecting what is now Higashi-Noshiro with Noshiro. When every railway line of JGR was assigned a line name on October 12, 1909, this short railway was named the Noshiro Line (能代線, Noshiro-sen^?). It continued to expand operations, and by October 14, 1932 had connected Higashi-Noshiro with Mutsu-Iwasaki.

The private capital Mutsu Railway (陸奥鉄道, Mutsu-tetsudō^?) began operations in Aomori on September 25, 1918 linking Kawabe with Goshogawara. The line was extended from Goshogawara to Mutsu-Morita on October 21, 1924 with the extension called the Goshogawara Line (五所川原線, Goshogawara-sen^?). The line was extended to Ajigasawa by May 15, 1925. The Goshogawara Line was absorbed into the Mutsu Railway in 1927, and the line nationalized. It was extended to Mutsu-Akaishi by November 26, 1929 and connected to the Gonō Line on July 30, 1936.

A CTC system was installed in 1986. With the privatization of the Japanese National Railways (successor of JGR) on April 1, 1987, the Gonō Line came under the control of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).

Station list

• All trains, including Fukaura rapid services, stop at every station. For the Resort Shirakami limited express service, please see its article.
• Trains may pass at stations marked "◇", "v", or "^".

Rolling stock

• KiHa 40 series
• KiHa 48 series

See also

• List of railway lines in Japan

References

• Harris, Ken and Clarke, Jackie. Jane's World Railways 2008-2009. Jane's Information Group (2008). ISBN 0-7106-2861-7

External links

• JR East home page (Japanese)