Mugi Line

The is a railway line in southeastern Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects the prefectural capital of Tokushima with the town of Kaiyō in Kaifu District. The line's official nickname is , but this is rarely used by local residents as it does not directly service Muroto, the intended destination of the line.

History

The Awa Steamship Company, which operated a service between Honshu and Shikoku, first built an 11 km line from a port at Komatsushima to Tokushima which opened in 1913. In 1916, the line was extended by 10 km from Nakata to Furusho, resulting in the creation of the 2 km Komatsushima to Nakata branch line. The lines were nationalised the following year. In 1936, the line was extended south from Hanoura 17 km to Kumano, and the 2 km Hanoura to Furusho section became a freight-only branch, which closed in 1961. The line was extended a further 35 km to Mugi in three stages opening between 1937 and 1942.

In 1959, it was decided to extend the line to Muroto, where it would connect with the planned extension of the Asa line from Kochi. The first 12 km section to Kaifu opened in 1973, and further construction undertaken until work was suspended in 1980. The Chūden to Komatsushima branch closed in 1985.

In 1987, with the privatization of JNR, the line became part of the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku).

In 1988 construction work south of Kaifu was recommenced by a private company underwritten by the Tokushima Prefectural Government, and the next section opened in 1992 as the Asa Kaigan Railway Asato Line.

Services

Although there are local trains that run the entire length of the Mugi Line, most services are divided at . There are trains that serve the Tokushima – Mugi, Tokushima – Awa-Kainan, and Mugi – Awa-Kainan sections, as well as a single round-trip between Tokushima and Anan. Some local trains have through service onto the Kōtoku, Tokushima, and Naruto lines. Driver-only operation is in effect for most daytime trains when there are few passengers.

Over the New Year's holiday, the seasonal '' Yakuōji-gō'' limited express provides service to/from .

Between 1962 and 2025, the Mugi Line was serviced by the '' Muroto, a'' limited express service which ran between Tokushima Mugi, continuing into Awa-Kainan as a local service, operating one round trip per day. It was discontinued in March 2025.

Until 2019, the ''Home Express Anan'' ran between Tokushima and Anan along the Mugi Line, a service which began in 2006. Likewise, prior to this time, some ''Muroto'' trains (and all '' Tsurugisan'' services) provided through service on the Tokushima and Dosan lines to/from .

Station list

* All stations are located in Tokushima Prefecture.
* Local trains stop at all stations.
* Trains can pass one another at stations marked "◇" and cannot pass at those marked "｜".

See also

* List of railway lines in Japan

References

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

External links

JR Shikoku official website

{{Shikoku transit

Mugi Line
Rail transport in Tokushima Prefecture
Railway lines opened in 1913
1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
1913 establishments in Japan