The is a railway line run by
Central Japan Railway Company
is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and occasionally as JR Tokai (). The term ''Tōkai'' refers to the southern portion of Central Japan, ...
(JR Central), connecting
Taki Station (
Taki, Mie) with
Toba Station (
Toba, Mie
is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 17,741 in 8328 households and a population density of 170 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Toba is located on the northeastern tip o ...
) in Japan.
The line connects with the
Kisei Main Line at Taki Station. From Taki, the line runs parallel to the
Kintetsu Yamada Line and
Toba Line
The is a railway line operated by the Rail transport in Japan#Major private railways, Japanese private railway company Kintetsu Railway, connecting Ujiyamada Station in Ise, Mie with Toba Station in Toba, Mie. The line runs parallel to JR Centr ...
. These lines all serve the
Ise-Shima
The region of Japan, also called the , refers to the areas of eastern Mie Prefecture in or around Ise-Shima National Park, which include the cities Ise, Toba, Shima, and parts of the town of Minami-Ise. The area thrives on tourism, with many ...
tourist region.
The name of the line, "Sangū", was chosen because that word is a
kanji
are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...
abbreviation of a phrase in Japanese that roughly translates to "a pilgrimage to
Ise Grand Shrine
The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the solar goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami and the grain goddess Toyouke-hime (Toyouke Omikami). Also known simply as , Ise Shrine is a shrine complex composed of many Shi ...
", and making the pilgrimage to the Shrine easier is exactly why the line was built.
Service
LO Local (普通 ''futsū'')
:

For ,
:

For ,
:Locals stop at every station.
:Almost all trains are ''wanman'' driver-only services.
:Trains run approximately once an hour in each direction.
MR ''
Mie'' Rapid (快速みえ ''kaisoku-mie'')
:

For ; via and
:

For ,
:Seat reservations can be made.
:Trains run approximately once an hour in each direction.
Competition with Kintetsu
Kintetsu and JR Central have parallel lines running all the way from Nagoya to Toba that compete heavily. For Kintetsu, this includes their
Nagoya Line,
Yamada Line, and
Toba Line
The is a railway line operated by the Rail transport in Japan#Major private railways, Japanese private railway company Kintetsu Railway, connecting Ujiyamada Station in Ise, Mie with Toba Station in Toba, Mie. The line runs parallel to JR Centr ...
, and on the JR side it includes parts of the
Kansai Main Line
The is a railway line in Japan, which connects Nagoya Station with JR Namba Station in Osaka. It is jointly run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the boundary between both compan ...
, the
Ise Railway,
Kisei Main Line and the Sangū Line.
Stations
* Key
: ● Trains stop here
: ○ Some trains stop here
Formerly, there was a station named between Matsushita and Toba. However, the station was permanently closed on 14 March 2020, owing to declining passenger numbers over several years.
Rolling stock
*
KiHa 25 series diesel multiple units (DMUs) (since 1 August 2015)
*
KiHa 75 series DMUs
History
Overview
The Sangū Line is one of the oldest railway lines in
Mie Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture an ...
and was the first railway built to provide passage to
Ise Grand Shrine
The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the solar goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami and the grain goddess Toyouke-hime (Toyouke Omikami). Also known simply as , Ise Shrine is a shrine complex composed of many Shi ...
. Though mostly built by a private company, the line was owned and operated by the Japanese national government for 80 years before becoming part of
JR Central
is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and occasionally as JR Tokai (). The term ''Tōkai'' refers to the southern portion of Central Japan, ...
. Since it was the original train route to Ise Grand Shrine, it historically saw more frequent trains and passengers than it does today. However, competition with rival
Kintetsu hurt ridership on the line over the years to the point that some even proposed selling or abandoning the line at times.
Sangū Railway
The line was originally conceived and partially built by the in the late 19th century during the
Meiji era
The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...
. During the
Edo era, Ise Grand Shrine in what is now
Ise, Mie Prefecture became an extremely popular place for
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
s due to its special significance within Shinto. When Japan started construction of its major railway lines during the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
, there was a call to build a branch line that would connect Ise Grand Shrine with the rest of Japan. Sangū Railway was formed for this purpose, and they began building what is now one of the oldest railroads in Mie Prefecture. The line was built as far as Yamada Station (now ) under Sangū Railway but was then acquired by the national government under the
Railway Nationalization Act of 1906.
Government ownership
Under ownership of the government, the line was extended to its present endpoint of
Toba Station. In the first quarter of the 20th century, before the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Sangū Line came to be considered a major line due to its importance in providing transportation for pilgrims to Ise Grand Shrine. Express trains providing direct service to and from Tokyo, Osaka, and as far away as
Uno Station
is a passenger railway station located in the city of Tamano, Okayama, Tamano, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The station was formerly the start of a Japanese National Railways, Japan National R ...
in
Okayama Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture ...
were running at this time, and dual tracks were added to many parts of the line to allow for an increase in the frequency of trains. However, through the ownership of the government, these dual tracks were dug up near the end of the war and were used as emergency scrap metal for military operations.
After the war, the Sangū Line saw its first rival railway line which was owned by
Kintetsu who offered express service from Osaka and
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
. However, the Sangū Line maintained its competitive edge in the 1940s and 1950s because Kintetsu was, at the time, not yet able to offer direct service from Nagoya due to differences in
track gauge
In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges ...
, so passengers that were coming to Ise Grand Shrine via Nagoya were forced to change trains during the journey if they took Kintetsu, thus many people opted to take the government-owned
Kokutetsu option instead since it was direct.
In the 1960s, there was a plan to rebuild the dual tracks that had been taken away by the government during the war but the plan encountered some problems. By 1960, Kintetsu had altered its
Nagoya Line to utilize the same gauge as the rest of its lines and therefore direct Kintetsu service was now available. A few years later, Kintetsu acquired its
Kyoto Line and thus it was now offering direct service from Kyoto as well as Osaka and Nagoya. Finally, Kintetsu built its
Toba Line
The is a railway line operated by the Rail transport in Japan#Major private railways, Japanese private railway company Kintetsu Railway, connecting Ujiyamada Station in Ise, Mie with Toba Station in Toba, Mie. The line runs parallel to JR Centr ...
, which created competition along the only remaining section of the Sangū Line that had previously had no rival. All this combined led to reduced ridership which in turn led Kokutetsu to revoke the Sangū Line's status as a major line; the line became classified as a local line and the plan to rebuild the dual tracks was abandoned. Kokutetsu was even advised in 1968 to permanently close the Iseshi to Toba section of the line, however they opted instead to discontinue direct express service from various major cities in the following years. This issue of permanently closing the line arose again in the early 1980s, however after a close inspection of the daily number of riders on the line it narrowly avoided being re-classified as a
third sector railway and survived the transition to
JR in 1987.
''Mie'' Rapid
In 1988, under new ownership by
JR Central
is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and occasionally as JR Tokai (). The term ''Tōkai'' refers to the southern portion of Central Japan, ...
, direct services from Nagoya were resumed for the first time in twenty years to compete with Kintetsu. This train was originally called the ''Mie Home Liner'' and, at the time, was only offered seasonally. Direct services were only provided as far as on the
Kisei Main Line. However in 1991, the train was renamed to its current name of ''Mie'' Rapid and services were extended to the Sangū Line to serve , and . Historically, direct services from Nagoya were considered expresses and therefore passengers were subject to additional fees. But the ''Mie'' Rapid is officially classified as a "rapid" and thus there are no extra fees above the standard fare; this was done to compete with the Kintetsu Limited Express trains, which require extra fees. The ''Mie'' Rapid has been successful at making JR a more viable option for tourists visiting the
Ise-Shima
The region of Japan, also called the , refers to the areas of eastern Mie Prefecture in or around Ise-Shima National Park, which include the cities Ise, Toba, Shima, and parts of the town of Minami-Ise. The area thrives on tourism, with many ...
area, though Kintetsu still maintains superior passenger numbers.
2007 closure proposal
In May 2007, the chairman of the
Akafuku group, Masutane Hamada, suggested that the Sangū Line be closed and the train inspection depot at Iseshi Station be transformed into a parking lot. This plan was put forth in hopes of alleviating traffic jams caused by pilgrims coming to Ise in 2013 to celebrate the rebuilding of
Ise Grand Shrine
The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the solar goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami and the grain goddess Toyouke-hime (Toyouke Omikami). Also known simply as , Ise Shrine is a shrine complex composed of many Shi ...
. Hamada has tried to point out to other leaders in the area, including the Mayor of
Ise, that "the Sangū Line is a large-scale obstruction and the Iseshi Station depot could hold 1000 cars if turned into a parking lot". The Mayor of Ise decided to request a year-long serious study of ridership on the line before making any decisions. JR Central, opposes Hamada's proposal and the company president has said he has not heard widespread demand for the line to be closed. Hamada himself has even admitted that the proposal is unlikely to be realized.
[Akafuku Chairman: "Close the Sangū Line, make it a parking lot". '']Asahi Shimbun
is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan.
The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...
'', May 26, 2007.
Archive copy
Timeline

*December 12, 1893 - Tsu to Miyagawa section opens. Trains are operated by Sangū Railway.
*November 11, 1897 - Miyagawa to Yamada (now Iseshi) sections opens.
*October 1, 1907 - Line sold to Japanese national government under the
Railway Nationalization Act.
*February 21, 1909 - Second track opens on the Sujikaibashi (now Yamada-Kamiguchi) to Yamada section.
*October 12, 1909 - Origin of the line changes from Tsu to Kameyama. Kameyama to Yamada officially named Sangū Line.
*December 30, 1909 - Second track opens on the Ōka (now Taki) to Miyagawa section.
*July 21, 1911 - Yamada ~ Toba extension opens. Toba becomes terminus of the line.
*October 10, 1917 - Sujikaibashi Station officially renamed Yamada-Kamiguchi Station.
*March 20, 1923 - Ōka Station officially renamed Ōka-guchi Station.
*August 1, 1944 - Second track closes on all sections. Metal given to the military for war efforts.
*July 15, 1959 - Ōka-guchi Station officially renamed Taki Station. Yamada Station officially renamed Iseshi Station. Kameyama to Taki section, originally part of the Sangū Line, is reclassified as part of the Kisei Main Line. Sangū Line becomes only the Taki to Toba section.
*April 1, 1963 - Tokida, Isuzugaoka, and Matsushita stations open.
*July 1, 1969 - Ise to Toba freight service ends.
*October 1, 1982 - Miyagawa to Ise freight service ends.
*December 21, 1983 -
Centralized traffic control signaling system activated.
*April 1, 1986 - Taki to Miyagawa freight service ends.
*April 1, 1987 - Kokutetsu becomes JR Group. Line becomes part of JR Central.
*March 11, 1989 - ''Wanman'' driver-only train service begins.
*March 21, 1990 -
Ikenoura Seaside Station opens.
*March 16, 1991 - ''
Mie'' Rapid service begins.
*March 14, 2020 - Ikenoura Seaside Station closes, due to low passenger numbers.
Former connecting lines
* Iseshi station - The 39km Kintetsu Ise line to Edobashi on the
Kintetsu Nagoya Line opened in 1917, and was electrified at 1500 VDC in 1926. The last 19km closed in 1942, and the remainder of the line closed in 1961.
References
This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.
External links
Hisakyu - JR Sangū Line
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sangu Line
Lines of Central Japan Railway Company
Rail transport in Mie Prefecture
1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
Railway lines opened in 1911
1911 establishments in Japan