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The is a
commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
line in Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, operated by
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, ...
(JR West). The line was completed in 1974 by the former
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 ...
(JNR) to provide faster access from the
Kansai region The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropol ...
to the
Hokuriku region The is located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lies along the Sea of Japan and is part of the larger Chūbu region. It is almost equivalent to the former Koshi Province (Japan), Koshi Province and Hokurikudō are ...
. It originates at Yamashina Station in Yamashina-ku, Kyoto and ends at Ōmi-Shiotsu Station in
Nagahama, Shiga is a Cities of Japan, city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 116,043 in 46858 households and a population density of 120 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Nagahama is located ...
. Its name means "the line to the west of the lake," indicating that it approximately parallels the western shore of Biwako. Trains continue from Omi-Shiotsu Station to
Tsuruga Station is a joint-use railway station in the city of Tsuruga, Fukui, Japan, jointly operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and Hapi-Line Fukui. The station premises are managed by JR West. It is served by the Hokuriku Shinkansen, the Hokuri ...
on the
Hokuriku Main Line The Hokuriku Main Line () is a railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with Tsuruga Station in Tsuruga, Fukui. The line formerly extended as far as Naoetsu Station in ...
Yamashina to
Kyoto Station Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
on the
Tōkaidō Main Line The Tōkaidō Main Line () is one of the most important railway corridors in Japan, connecting the major cities of Tokyo and Kobe via Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. The line, with termini at Tokyo Station, Tokyo and Kōbe St ...
for convenient transfer to lines serving the
Kansai The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...
as well as the
Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the San'yō Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opening in 19 ...
. In addition to local, Rapid and Special Rapid services, limited express trains such as the '' Thunderbird'', as well as freight trains are frequently operated on the line. Only few of limited express trains stop at Katata or Omi-Imazu and others skip all stations on the line.


History

A direct Tsuruga – Kyoto line was included in the 1922 Railway Construction Act. In the meantime, the Kojaku Railway Co. opened a line from Hamaotsu on the Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line to Omi-Imazu between 1923 and 1929. Between 1947 and 1965 there was a connection between Zeze on the Tokaido Main Line and Hamaotsu, allowing direct connection to the Tokaido Line. The line was purchased by JNR and closed in 1969 so the Kosei line could be constructed over parts of the alignment, with the entire new line opening in 1974 as a dual track electrified line with CTC signalling. The section from Nagahara to Ōmi-Shiotsu, originally electrified with 20 kV AC, was re-electrified to 1,500 V DC on September 24, 2006 enabling DC-only EMUs used in Osaka-Kyoto region to operate, and the Special Rapid through train service from
JR Kyoto Line JR, J. R. or Jr. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' J R'', a 1975 novel by William Gaddis * J. R. Ewing, a ''Dallas'' television character * JR Chandler, an ''All My Children'' television character * '' Jornal da Record'', a Brazilian new ...
( Tokaido Main Line) was extended beyond Ōmi-Shiotsu to Tsuruga on the
Hokuriku Main Line The Hokuriku Main Line () is a railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with Tsuruga Station in Tsuruga, Fukui. The line formerly extended as far as Naoetsu Station in ...
.


Services and stations

Legends: *● : All trains stop *○ : Only ''"Kosei Leisure (湖西レジャー)"'' extra seasonal service (in winter) makes stop at Shiga *, : All trains skip Local (普通) trains stop at all stations, but they do not operate through services to the JR Kyoto Line. Rapid (快速) trains operate only in the mornings, which heads south to the JR Kyoto Line. 2 services are operated every weekday morning and 1 service is operated every weekend morning. Special Rapid (新快速) trains operate one train per hour for both directions, throughout daytime. Only 4-car trains are capable of going as far as Tsuruga at the moment, and the rear eight cars in a 12-car set are uncoupled at Omi-Imazu Station.


Rolling stock


Current


Passenger


=Local and Rapid

= *
221 series The is a suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) in the Kansai Region of Japan since March 1989. Operations * Tōkaidō Main Line (Biwako Line, JR Kyoto Line, JR Kobe Line) ( - , until ...
(mostly through rapid services to the Tokaido Main Line and the Sanyo Main Line, also some operate as local) * 223-2500 series (same as above) * 223-6000 series (same as above) *
225 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) on suburban services in the "Keihanshin" Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe area since December 2010. Design 226 vehicles were ordered, at a cost of approxima ...
* 521-0 series (only through services continuing to the Hokuriku Main Line)


=Special Rapid and Local

= * 223-1000/2000 series * 225-0/100 series


=Limited Express

= *
681 series The is a dual-voltage electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) on limited express services in Japan. Variants 681-0 series Four six-car sets (T01–T03, T06) and five three-car sets (T11–T13, ...
('' Thunderbird'' services) *
683 series The is a dual-voltage electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) on limited express services in Japan since 2001. Variants 683-0 series The first subseries consists of 54 cars composed of 6 6-ca ...
(''Thunderbird'' services)


Freight

* EF510


Former


EMU

* 113 series (within the line and to Kyoto only until April 2023) * 117 series (same as above) * 125 series (until March 2009) * 201 series *
205 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter train type introduced in 1985 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and inherited by JR East and JR West after JNR was privatised two years later. It is currently operated by East Japan Railway ...
* 207 series * 321 series (until March 2016) *
419 series The was an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced in 1985 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and later operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) on local services along the Japan Sea coast of Japan until March 2011. They we ...
(until October 2006) * 475 series (until October 2006) *
485 series The (and the earlier 481 and 483 series variants) was a Japanese limited express electric multiple unit (EMU) type introduced in 1964 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and later operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), West Jap ...
('' Raichō'' services, until March 2011)


DMU

* KiHa 20 series (until 1991) * KiHa 26 series (until 1991) * KiHa 48 (until 1991)


Electric locomotive

* EF81


See also

*
List of railway lines in Japan List of railway lines in Japan lists existing Rail transport, railway lines in Japan alphabetically. The vast majority of Japanese railways are classified under two Japanese laws, one for and another for . The difference between the two is a leg ...


References

{{West Japan Railway Company Lines Lines of West Japan Railway Company Railway lines opened in 1974 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan