The is a local railway line in

Iwate Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture (behind Hokkaido) at , with a population of 1,165,886 (as of July 1, 2023). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Pre ...

, Japan, operated by the

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

(JR East). It originally connected Ichinoseki Station in Ichinoseki to Sakari Station in

Ōfunato is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 35,452, and a population density of 110 persons per km2 in 14,895 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Ōfunato is located in southeastern ...

, on the Tohoku coast. The eastern section of the line was significantly damaged by the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

on 11 March 2011. In January 2012, services resumed on the western 62.0 km (38.5 mi) portion of the route between Ichinoseki and

Kesennuma is a city in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 59,803 and a population density of in 26,390 households. The total area of the city is . Large sections of the city were destroyed by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake an ...

. The eastern section between Kesennuma and Sakari remains closed, and in February 2012, JR East officially proposed that this section of the line be scrapped and the right-of-way used as a bus rapid transit (BRT) route. The section was routinely replaced by BRT, and this section of the line was formally closed as a railway on 1 April 2020. The line connects with the

Kesennuma Line The is a local railway line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connected Maeyachi Station in the city of Ishinomaki, Ishinomaki, Miyagi to Kesennuma Station in the city of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, Miyagi. Th ...

at Kesennuma Station and formerly connected with the privately owned Sanriku Railway's Minami-Riasu Line at Sakari Station in

History

The Ichinoseki – Kesennuma section opened in stages between 1925 and 1929, with the Kesennuma – Sakari section opening between 1932 and 1935. Freight services ceased in 1983/4. Following the 2011 disaster, services resumed on the Ichinoseki – Kesennuma section on 1 April, but were suspended again between 7–18 April due to aftershocks. The first section of the busway replacing the Kesennuma – Sakari section opened in March 2013.

Operations

In April 2005, there were 27 services daily using this line (14 eastbound, 13 westbound). Following the 2011 disaster, operations were reduced to ten eastbound local trains and one ''Super Dragon'' rapid service, with westbound services consisting of nine local trains and one rapid. In March 2013 the rapid services were withdrawn. On 22 December 2012, a special ''

Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...

With You'' train began running on the line. The train operates on selected days, departing eastbound at 11:01am and returning westbound at 2:37pm. The train stops at most stations on the way for between six and thirteen minutes. All seats are reserved and a seat fee is payable in addition to the basic fare. file:DC @ Rikuzen-Takata (2862527607).jpg, KiHa 100 series diesel multiple unit file:JR-East "Pokemon With You Train" Kiha100.jpg, ''Pokémon With You'' Train file:BRT-Sakari-stn01.jpg, Hino Blue Ribbon City bus used on BRT services file:JR-East-Ofunato-line-BRT-1824.jpg, Isuzu Erga bus used on BRT services

Station list

Stations in greyed out cells have been closed since the

References

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

External links

Article on Tohoku railways
Link is broken {{DEFAULTSORT:Ofunato Line Lines of East Japan Railway Company Rail transport in Iwate Prefecture Rail transport in Miyagi Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1925 1925 establishments in Japan Bus rapid transit in Japan