Ibusuki Makurazaki Line

Ibusuki Makurazaki Line

Nishi-Ōyama Station with Kaimondake volcano in the background, and a post marking it as the southernmost railway station in Japan
Overview
Locale Kagoshima Prefecture
Termini Kagoshima-Chūō
Makurazaki
Stations 36
Operation
Opened 1930
Owner JR Kyushu
Rolling stock KiHa 40/47/140, KiHa 200 series
Technical
Line length 87.8 km (54.6 mi)
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Operating speed 85 km/h (55 mph)
(Kagoshima-Chūō–Yamakawa)
65 km/h (40 mph)
(Yamakawa–Makurazaki)
Route map
Nanohana rapid service

The Ibusuki Makurazaki Line (指宿枕崎線 Ibusuki Makurazaki-sen) is a railway line in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Kagoshima-Chūō Station in Kagoshima, to Makurazaki Station in Makurazaki, paralleling the eastern and southern coasts of Satsuma Peninsula. Excluding the Okinawa Monorail in Okinawa, this is the southernmost railway line in Japan, with Nishi-Ōyama Station being the southernmost station overall.

Services

The line is operationally divided into two sections. The section between Kagoshima-Chūō and Yamakawa functions as a commuter rail of Kagoshima. As such, there are relatively many local trains. From Kagoshima-Chūō, there is roughly one train per 20 minutes to Goino, one per 20 to 40 minutes to Kiire, and one per one hour to Ibusuki or Yamakawa. The Ibusuki no Tamatebako limited express and Nanohana (なのはな) rapid services operate on this section. The limited express train runs three times a day, and the rapid train runs southward three times a day, northward four times a day.

The section between Yamakawa and Makurazaki is an extremely quiet local line. During the daytime, there is no train service for six hours. In this section, all but Nishi-Ei are unmanned stations, including Makurazaki, the terminus.

The Nanohana DX (なのはなDX) rapid service was discontinued from the start of the revised timetable on March 12, 2011.

Stations

The Ibusuki Makkurazaki Line is entirely in Kagoshima Prefecture.

1 All trains stop at stations marked "+". Some trains stop at "*". No trains stop at "-".
Station Nanohana:1 Location
Kagoshima-Chūō 鹿児島中央 + Kagoshima
Kōrimoto 郡元 +
Minami-Kagoshima 南鹿児島 +
Usuki 宇宿 +
Taniyama 谷山 +
Jigenji 慈眼寺 +
Sakanoue 坂之上 +
Goino 五位野 *
Hirakawa 平川 *
Sesekushi 瀬々串 *
Nakamyō 中名 -
Kiire 喜入 +
Maenohama 前之浜 -
Nukumi 生見 -
Satsuma-Imaizumi 薩摩今和泉 * Ibusuki
Miyagahama 宮ヶ浜 *
Nigatsuden 二月田 *
Ibusuki 指宿 +
Yamakawa 山川 +
Ōyama 大山  
Nishi-Ōyama 西大山
Satsuma-Kawashiri 薩摩川尻
Higashi-Kaimon 東開聞
Kaimon 開聞
Irino 入野
Ei 頴娃 Minamikyūshū
Nishi-Ei 西頴娃
Goryō 御領
Ishikaki 石垣
Mizunarikawa 水成川
Ei-Ōkawa 頴娃大川
Matsugaura 松ヶ浦
Satsuma-Shioya 薩摩塩屋
Shirasawa 白沢 Makurazaki
Satsuma-Itashiki 薩摩板敷
Makurazaki 枕崎

History

The 14 km Nishi-Kagoshima (now Kagoshima-Chūō) - Goino section opened in 1930, and was extended 32km to Ibusuki in 1934 and a further 4 km to Yamakawa in 1936. The next 18 km extension to Nishi-Ei opened in 1960 as a passenger only line, and Makurazaki (a further 20 km) was reached in 1963.

Steam locomotives were withdrawn in 1973, and freight services in 1980. CTC signalling was commissioned between Nishi-Kagoshima and Yamakawa in 1983.

Former connecting lines

Makurazaki station - The Kagoshima Prefectural Government opened the 50 km line from Kami Ijuin (on the Kagoshima Main Line) between 1914 and 1931. The line was closed in 1984 following landslides caused by torrential rain. The line had two branch lines:

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ibusuki Makurazaki Line.

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


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 20, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.