Yodo Line

Yodo Line
JR Shikoku KiHa 32 series DMU at Ekawasaki Station
Overview
Type	Heavy rail
Locale	Kōchi, Ehime Prefectures
Termini	Wakai Kita-Uwajima
Stations	20
Operation
Opened	1914
Operator(s)	JR Shikoku
Rolling stock	KiHa 32 series, KiHa 54 series, KiHa 185 series DMUs
Technical
Line length	76.3 km (47.4 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	110 km/h (70 mph)
Route map

The Yodo Line (予土線, Yodo-sen) is a railway line in Shikoku, Japan, operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects Shimanto in Kōchi Prefecture and Uwajima in Ehime Prefecture. Its name comes from the ancient provinces of Iyo (伊予) (now Ehime Prefecture) and Tosa (土佐) (now Kōchi Prefecture), which the line connects.

Services

Trains follow the Shimanto River between Kubokawa and Ekawasaki

The Yodo Line is a quiet, rural line with only local trains providing service. Except for a single round-trip between Ekawasaki and Uwajima, all trains are wanman driver-only operated.

Kubokawa Station on the Dosan Line serves as the departure point for nearly all trains, which travel over the Tosa Kuroshio Railway Nakamura Line to Wakai before entering the Yodo Line proper. Since this section is not owned by JR Shikoku, customers are required to pay an additional 200 yen fare. Passengers, especially those using the Seishun 18 Kippu, are reminded of this by conductor announcements.

In addition to trains between Kubokawa and Uwajima, other trains between Uwajima and Ekawasaki & Chikanaga are operated approximately once every one to three hours.

Stations

• All trains run through to Kubokawa on the Dosan Line and Uwajima on the Yosan Line.
• All trains on the Yodo Line are local trains and stop at all stations.
• Trains can pass one another at stations marked "◇" and "^" and cannot pass at those marked "｜".

History

In 1914, the Uji Light Railway Co. opened a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge line 18 km between Uwajima and Chikanaga. In 1923, the line was extended 7 km from Chikanaga to Yoshino. In 1931 the Uwajima Railway began operating a single gasoline-powered locomotive.

The Uwajima Railway was nationalised by Japanese Government Railways in 1933, becoming the Uwajima Line; Miyanoshita Station was renamed Iyo-Miyanoshita Station, Nakano renamed Futana, and Yoshino renamed Yoshinobu.

In 1941, the line was re-gauged to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in), the section between Uwajima and Muden replaced by a new route, Kita-Uwajima became the line's starting point and Takagushi and Mitsuma stations on the old section were closed.

The 10 km Yoshinobu - Ekawasaki section opened in 1953, and the 43 km Ekawasaki - Wakai section opened in 1974, linking to the Dosan Line with the line renamed as the Yodo Line. In the same year, CTC signalling was commissioned, and freight operations ceased.

References

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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yodo Line.

• JR Shikoku official website (Japanese)

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