Kōtoku Line

Kōtoku Line
Local train traveling over the Kasuga River with Yashima in the background
Overview
Type	Heavy rail
Locale	Kagawa, Tokushima prefectures
Termini	Takamatsu Tokushima
Stations	29
Operation
Opened	1899
Operator(s)	JR Shikoku
Technical
Line length	74.5 km (46.3 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	130 km/h (80 mph)
Route map

The Kōtoku Line (高徳線 Kōtoku-sen) is a railway line owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects the prefectural capitals of Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture and Tokushima in Tokushima Prefecture. The route approximates the northeastern coast of the island of Shikoku. Its name comes from the characters in the names of the prefectures that the line connects: Takamatsu (高松) and Tokushima (徳島).

Sanuki, the name of the ancient province that preceded the modern Kagawa Prefecture, appears in the names of some stations on the line.

Services

The Uzushio limited express serves the entire line. Two round-trips per day run through to/from Okayama.

In addition to local trains that run the entire length of the Kōtoku Line, there are trains that run between Takamatsu and Orange Town, Sambommatsu, and Hiketa, as well as between Tokushima and Itano and Tokushima and Hiketa. For a single-tracked line service levels are quite high, except along the prefectural border between Itano and Hiketa. In Tokushima there are through trains to/from the Naruto and Mugi lines, with one train per day running from Takamatsu to Mugi via Anan.

Since the completion of electrification work between Takamatsu and Iyoshi on the Yosan Line, the Kōtoku Line has received some of the newest DMUs on the JR Shikoku network. Local services often use 1000 series, 1200 series and 1500 series DMUs, while limited express services are handled by N2000 series DMUs.

Station list

• Local trains stop at all stations. For details of the Uzushio limited express service see that article.
• Trains can pass one another at stations marked "◇" and "^" and cannot pass at those marked "｜".

Station No.	Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Transfers		Location
			Between stations	Total			City/Town	Prefecture
T28	Takamatsu	高松	-	0.0	■ Yosan Line (Y00) (Seto-Ōhashi Line) Kotoden Kotohira Line (Takamatsu-Chikkō)	∨	Takamatsu	Kagawa
T27	Shōwachō	昭和町	1.5	1.5		｜
T26	Ritsurin-Kōen-Kitaguchi	栗林公園北口	1.7	3.2		｜
T25	Ritsurin	栗林	1.1	4.3		◇
T24	Kitachō	木太町	2.4	6.7		｜
T23	Yashima	屋島	2.8	9.5		◇
T22	Furutakamatsu-Minami	古高松南	1.3	10.8		｜
T21	Yakuriguchi	八栗口	1.5	12.3		◇
T20	Sanuki-Mure	讃岐牟礼	1.1	13.4	Kotoden Shido Line (Yakuri-Shimmichi)	｜
T19	Shido	志度	2.9	16.3	Kotoden Shido Line (Kotoden-Shido)	◇	Sanuki
T18	Orange Town	オレンジタウン	2.6	18.9		◇
T17	Zōda	造田	2.4	21.3		◇
T16	Kanzaki	神前	2.1	23.4		｜
T15	Sanuki-Tsuda	讃岐津田	4.3	27.7		◇
T14	Tsuruwa	鶴羽	2.7	30.4		◇
T13	Nibu	丹生	4.0	34.4		◇	Higashikagawa
T12	Sambommatsu	三本松	3.2	37.6		◇
T11	Sanuki-Shirotori	讃岐白鳥	3.1	40.7		◇
T10	Hiketa	引田	4.4	45.1		◇
T09	Sanuki-Aioi	讃岐相生	2.5	47.6		◇
T08	Awa-Ōmiya	阿波大宮	5.6	53.2		◇	Itano, Itano District	Tokushima
T07	Itano	板野	4.8	58.0		◇
T06	Awa-Kawabata	阿波川端	1.8	59.8		｜
T05	Bandō	板東	2.3	62.1		◇	Naruto
T04	Ikenotani	池谷	2.1	64.2	■ Naruto Line (N04) (some trains through to Tokushima)	◇
T03	Shōzui	勝瑞	2.7	66.9		◇	Aizumi, Itano District
T02	Yoshinari	吉成	1.3	68.2		◇	Tokushima
T01	Sako	佐古	4.9	73.1	■ Tokushima Line (B01) (All trains through to Tokushima)	◇
T00	Tokushima	徳島	1.4	74.5	■ Mugi Line (M00)	◇

History

The first part of what is now the Kotoku Line was built by the Tokushima Railway Co., being the Sako - Tokushima section of its line from Kamojima (now the Tokushima Line) opened on February 16, 1899. That company was nationalised in 1907.

In 1916 the Awa Electric Railway Co. opened a line from Nakahara to Naruto, including the Yoshinari - Ikenotani section, which is now part of the Kotoku Line.

The Takamatsu - Hikida section was opened between 1925-28 by the (then) Japanese Imperial Railways.

In 1933 the Awa Electric Railway was nationalised, and in 1935 the Hikida - Ikenotani and Yoshinari - Sako sections were opened, completing the line.

In 1977 CTC signalling became operational for the line, and freight operations ceased in 1986.

With the privatization of JNR, the line became part of the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) on April 1, 1987. On June 1, 1988 the line name changed from Kōtoku Main Line to Kōtoku Line.

The elevated Sako Station was commissioned in 1993, and in 1998 track improvement allowing faster speeds was completed, and Orange Town Station opened.

Former connecting lines

• Itano station - The Awa Electric Railway Co. opened a 7km line to Kajiyabara in 1923, it being taken over by the Japanese Imperial Railways when the company was nationalised in 1933. The line closed in 1972.

See also

• List of railway lines in Japan

References

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

External links

• JR Shikoku official website (Japanese)