The is a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line between Sōja Station,

Sōja file:Bitchu Kokubunji, zenkei.jpg, 270px, Bitchū Kokubun-ji is a Cities of Japan, city located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 69,428 and a population density of 330 persons per km2. The total area of the ...

and Kannabe Station,

Fukuyama Fukuyama may refer to: People * Francis Fukuyama, Japanese-American philosopher and political economist * Fukuyama (surname), other people with the name Places *Fukuyama, Hiroshima, city in Japan *Fukuyama, Kagoshima was a town located in Aira D ...

. It is the only railway line operated by the .

History

Japanese National Railways The , abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

started the construction of the line in 1966, but financial constraints halted work in 1980. The Ibara Railway Co. was established in 1986 and construction resumed under the newly founded

third-sector railway In Japan, , sometimes translated as semi-public sector railways, are railways operated by a joint corporation that has been invested in by both public and private sectors, and which maintain a public–private partnership. These lines are most of ...

company. The line opened on January 11, 1999, dual track and electrified as far as Kiyone.

Basic data

*Operators, distances: Sōja — Kannabe; 41.7 km / 25.9 mi. **Ibara Railway ( Category-1) ***Kiyone — Kannabe: 38.3 km / 23.8 mi. **Ibara Railway ( Category-2),

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, ...

(Category-1),

Japan Freight Railway Company , or , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It provides transportation of cargo nationwide throughout Japan. Its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo near Shinjuku Station. The Japan Railways Group was foun ...

(Category-2) ***Sōja — Kiyone: 3.4 km / 2.1 mi. (Shared with

Hakubi Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in the mountainous area of the Chūgoku region of Japan. It begins at the south end of Okayama Prefecture at Kurashiki Station in Kurashiki, passing through Niimi Station ...

.) *

Gauge Gauge ( ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, especia ...

: 1,067 mm / 3 ft. 6 in. *Stations: 15 *Double-track line: Sōja — Kiyone *Electric supply: Sōja — Kiyone (1500 V DC) **All the Ibara Railway trains are

DMUs A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

. *

Railway signalling Railway signalling (), or railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormous weight ...

**Kiyone — Kannabe: Simplified automatic **Sōja — Kiyone: Automatic

Stations

References

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

External links

Official website
Railway lines in Japan Rail transport in Okayama Prefecture Rail transport in Hiroshima Prefecture Railway lines opened in 1999 Japanese third-sector railway lines 1999 establishments in Japan {{Japan-rail-line-stub

History

Basic data

Stations

See also

References

External links