The is a railway line in

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). ...

, Japan, operated by the

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 connects Ube-Shinkawa Station in Ube and Onoda Station in San'yō-Onoda. The , which runs from Suzemeda to Motoyama, is part of this line.

Stations

All stations are in

Main Line

Motoyama Branch Line

Rolling stock

105 series The is a direct current, DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type formerly operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and currently operated on local services by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Japan since 1981. They were also form ...

2-car EMUs * 123 series single-car EMUs

History

The Onoda Light Railway Co. opened the Onoda – Minami-Onoda section in 1915 to service a cement plant. The Ube Electric Railway Co. opened the Ino – Shin-Okiyama station (since closed) section in 1929, electrified at 600 VDC. The branch to Motoyama opened in 1937, also electrified at 600 VDC. Both companies were nationalised in 1943, and in 1947 the lines were connected, resulting in the closure of Shin-Okiyama station, the replacement for which was nearby Minami-Onoda station. In 1950 the Onoda – Minami-Onoda section was electrified and the voltage increased to 1500 VDC on the balance of the line. CTC signalling was commissioned in 1983, and freight services ceased in 1986. "One-man"

driver only operation One-person operation (OPO), also known as driver-only operation (DOO), one-man operation (OMO), single person train operation (SPTO), or one-person train operation (OPTO), similarly to driver-controlled operation, is operation of a train, bus, ...

commenced on the branch line between and on 11 March 1989, using KuMoHa 42 EMUs. Driver only (conductorless) operation commenced on the main line between and on 1 June 1990, using 105 series EMUs.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=May 2022 Rail transport in Yamaguchi Prefecture Lines of West Japan Railway Company 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1915