The is a railway line in

Fukuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the southwest, Kumamo ...

, Japan, operated by

Kyushu Railway Company The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima S ...

(JR Kyushu). It connects

Wakamatsu Station is a railway station on the Kyūshū Railway Company (JR Kyūshū) Chikuhō Main Line (also known as the Wakamatsu Line) located in Wakamatsu-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Station layout There is a single island platform curr ...

Kitakyushu is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fukuoka. It is one of ...

with Haruda Station in Chikushino. Between

Orio Station is a railway station in Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Japan, operated by the JR Kyushu. Lines Orio Station is served by the Kagoshima Main Line and Chikuho Main Line. Station layout The two lines serving the station intersect at Orio, and the ...

and Haruda Station, as well as from

Keisen Station is a railway station on the Chikuho Main Line and Sasaguri Line operated by JR Kyushu in Keisen, Kaho District, Fukuoka, Japan. History The privately run Chikuho Kogyo Railway had opened a track from to on 30 August 1891 and, after sev ...

via the Sasaguri Line to Yoshizuka Station, the line functions as an alternate route to the

Kagoshima Main Line The is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) between Mojikō in Kitakyushu, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima City, at the southern end of Kyushu. Until March 13, 2004, it extended 393 km between its t ...

Line data

As of 2021, the Chikuho Main Line is the third shortest of all

Japan Railways Group The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as the or simply JR, consists of seven for-profit stock companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. Most ...

lines named Main (or trunk) Line (not counting the

JR Shikoku The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has it ...

main lines, which were stripped of their designation after JR Shikoku started operating). For comparison, the shortest is

Hidaka Main Line The is a railway line in Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), between Tomakomai Station in Tomakomai and Samani Station in Samani, running along the coast of Hidaka Subprefecture. Services on the 116.0 km ( ...

(30.5 km), after the closure of 116.0 km due to storm damage in 2015. The line is divided into three sections. Each section has an alias. ;Wakamatsu Line: Wakamatsu–Orio, 10.8 km ; Fukuhoku Yutaka Line: Orio–Keisen, 34.5 km ;Haruda Line: Keisen–Haruda, 20.8 km

Stations

Wakamatsu–Orio (Wakamatsu Line)

Orio–Keisen (Fukuhoku Yutaka Line)

Some rapid trains pass the stations marked "X".

Keisen–Haruda (Haruda Line)

Rolling stock

A pre-series two-car

BEC819 series The , branded "DENCHA" (Dual Energy Charge Train), is a two-car battery electric multiple unit (BEMU) train operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) on inter-running services over the Fukuhoku Yutaka Line and Chikuhō Main Line in Fukuoka ...

battery electric multiple unit A battery electric multiple unit (BEMU), battery electric railcar or accumulator railcar is an electrically driven multiple unit or railcar whose energy is derived from rechargeable batteries driving the traction motors. Prime advantages of these ...

(BEMU) was tested on the line from April 2016, and entered revenue service on 19 October 2016. This will be followed by six more trainsets, entering service in spring 2017.

History

The 39 km Wakamatsu to Iizuka section was built by the Chikuho Kogyo Railway, opening between 1891 and 1893, with the 12 km extension to Chikuzen Uchino opening in 1895. The company was nationalised in 1907, with the 15 km Chikuzen Uchino to Harada section opening in 1929. The 25 km section from Wakamatsu to Nogata was double-tracked between 1893 and 1896, with the 4 km Nogata to Kotake section double-tracked between 1904 and 1906. The 8 km Kotake to Iizuka section was double-tracked between 1942 and 1944. The 35 km Orio to Keisen section was electrified in 2001.

Former connecting/transfer lines

*Orio Station: the Nishitetsu Kitakyushu Line, a gauge line electrified at 600 V DC was opened from Orio - Moji (29 km) between 1911 and 1914. It connected to a 10 km loop line opened between 1912 and 1929, and closed in 1985. The Moji - Sunatsu section closed in 1985, the Sunatsu - Kurosaki section closed in 1992, and the remainder (except for the 1 km Kurosaki - Kumanishi section, which is part of the Chikuho Electric Railway line) closed in 2000. *Nakama Station: the 3.5 km Katsuki Line opened in 1908, with passenger services being introduced in 1912. Freight services ceased in 1974, and the line closed in 1985. A 3.8 km line from Katsuki hauled coal from 1915 until the mine closed in 1954. *Nogata Station: A 14 km gauge line to Fukumaru operated from 1914 until 1938. *Katsuno Station: the 5 km Miyata Line opened in 1902. Freight services ceased in 1982, and the line closed in 1989. A 2 km branch to Sugamuta served the Kajima coal mine from 1904 until 1977. *Kotake Station: the 8 km Kōbukuro Line to Futase opened in 1894 as a horse-drawn line servicing the Tetsuji mine. Steam locomotion was introduced in 1912, and passenger services in 1913. The line closed in 1969. *Iizuka Station: the 26 km Kamiyamada Line opened to Shimoyamada in 1898, extended to Kamiyamada in 1929, and to Buzenkawasaki (as a passenger-only section) in 1966. Freight services ceased in 1980, and the line closed in 1988. A 2 km gauge line from Okuma - Okumamachi operated from 1924 until 1933.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chikuho Main Line Lines of Kyushu Railway Company 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1891