Kansai Main Line

Old Nara Station building

A Kasuga limited express train in a rural section. The photo was taken in March 2006, shortly before the service was canceled.

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.

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 become two commuter lines to Osaka and Nagoya respectively, with a less-used section in the middle.

Formerly a Kasuga limited express train went the whole of the Kansai Main Line, but this service was discontinued in March 2006.

History

The Osaka Railway Co. opened the Minato-Machi (now Namba) - Nara section between 1889 and 1892. The company merged with the Kansai Railway Co. in 1900.

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

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

Duplication

The Minato-Machi - Tennoji section was duplicated in 1903 and extended to Kashiwabara in 1908. The Nara - Kizu section was duplicated in 1914, and the Kashiwabara - Nara section between 1923 and 1926. In 1944 the Oji - 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 - Kuwana section (except for the bridge over the Inabegawa) was duplicated in 1973, and the Kuwana - Yatomi section between 1977 and 1980. The Yokkaichi - Tomidahama section was duplicated in 1993.

Electrification

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

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

Other matters of note

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

Freight services ceased in 1987, and in 1994 Minato-Machi station was renamed JR Namba to coincide with the opening of the JR line to Kansai Airport. In 1996 Namba station and the approach line were relocated underground to eliminate a number of level crossings. Plans to extend the line from Namba to Osaka station have not eventuated as yet.

Former connecting lines

• Kamo station - In 1898 the Kansai Railway Co. opened an 8km branch to a station beside the Daibutsu (Great Buddha), and in 1899 extended the line 2km to Nara. Following the nationalisation of the Kansai Railway Co. in 1907, the 10km line was closed.

• Horyuji station - The 4km 1435mm 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 VDC) 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 2.4km Nankai line to Tengachaya, electrified at 1500 VDC, operated between 1901 and 1993.

Stations

JR Central (Nagoya - Kameyama)

• S: Trains stop
• |: Trains pass
• Local trains stop at all stations.

JR West (Kameyama - Kamo)

All stations between Kameyama and Kamo featured passing double tracks.

JR West (Kamo - JR Namba)

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

Stations on this section

• Kamo - Kizu - Narayama - Nara - Kōriyama - Yamato-Koizumi - Hōryūji - Ōji - Sangō - Kawachi-Katakami - Takaida - Kashiwara - Shiki - Yao - Kyūhōji - Kami - Hirano - Tōbu-shijō-mae - Tennōji - Shin-Imamiya - Imamiya - JR Namba

Rolling stock

JR Central

EMU

• 211 series
• 313 series

DMU

• KiHa 75
• KiHa 85
• Ise Railway Ise III

JR West

EMU

DMU

• KiHa 120

Former

• 101 series
• 113 series
• 165 series
• 213-5000 series
• KiHa 17
• KiHa 35
• KiHa 50
• KiHa 51
• KiHa 55
• KiHa 58
• KiHa 65
• KiHa 81
• KiHa 82
• Ise Railway Ise I
• Ise Railway Ise II

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kansai Main Line.

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JR Central lines Shinkansen Tōkaidō Main Chūō Kansai Kisei Takayama Tōkaidō Local Gotemba Jōhoku Iida Meishō Minobu Sangū Taita Taketoyo Past Akechi Etsumi-Nan Futamata Okata

JR West lines Shinkansen Sanyō (Hakata-Minami) Hokuriku Main Hokuriku Kansai Kisei San'in San'yō Takayama Tōkaidō Local Akō Bantan Etsumi-Hoku Fukuchiyama Fukuen Gantoku Geibi Hakubi Hanwa Himi Honshi-Bisan Inbi Jōhana JR Tōzai Kabe Kakogawa Kansai Airport Katamachi Kibi Kishin Kisuki Kosei Kure Kusatsu Maizuru Mine Nanao Nara Obama Ōito Onoda Osaka Higashi Osaka Loop Sakai Sakurai Sakurajima Sankō Tsuyama Ube Uno Wakayama Yamaguchi Other Biwako JR Kyoto JR Kobe Sagano Past Gannichi Hokuriku Main Ishikawa Ainokaze Toyama Echigo Tokimeki Nihonkai Hisui Kajiya Miki Miyafuku Miyazu Noto Shigaraki Taisha Toyamakō Wakasa