Hidaka Main Line

The is a railway line in Hokkaido, Japan operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). It runs between Tomakomai Station in Tomakomai and Mukawa Station in Mukawa, along the coast of Hidaka Subprefecture.

Prior to storm damage in January 2015, which resulted in an indefinite suspension of services on most of the line, the line was 146.5 km (91.0 mi) in length, and trains ran a further 116.0 km (72.1 mi) to terminate at Samani Station in Samani. This section was formally closed on 1 April 2021 and permanently replaced by bus service. The closure of this section made the line the second shortest in Japan to be classified as a "main line", at just 30.5 km (19.0 mi), after the Rumoi Main Line's length of 14.4 km (8.9 mi). After the Rumoi Main Line's closure on 1 April 2026, the Hidaka Main Line became the shortest main line in Japan.

Services

All regular trains are local trains, which stop at all stations.

Stations Station Distance(km) Transfers Location Tomakomai 苫小牧 0.0 Muroran Main Line Chitose Line Tomakomai Yūfutsu 勇払 13.1 Hama-Atsuma 浜厚真 22.7 Atsuma, Yūfutsu District Hama-Taura 浜田浦 27.0 Mukawa, Yūfutsu District Mukawa 鵡川 30.5 ↓ Closed 1 April 2021 ↓ Shiomi 汐見 34.5 Mukawa, Yūfutsu District Tomikawa 富川 43.6 Hidaka, Saru District Hidaka-Mombetsu 日高門別 51.3 Toyosato 豊郷 56.3 Kiyohata 清畠 61.1 Atsuga 厚賀 65.6 Ōkaribe 大狩部 71.1 Niikappu, Niikappu District Seppu 節婦 73.1 Niikappu 新冠 77.2 Shizunai 静内 82.1 Shinhidaka, Hidaka District Higashi-Shizunai 東静内 90.9 Harutachi 春立 97.0 Hidaka-Tōbetsu 日高東別 99.4 Hidaka-Mitsuishi 日高三石 105.8 Hōei 蓬栄 109.8 Honkiri 本桐 113.0 Ogifushi 荻伏 120.2 Urakawa, Urakawa District Efue 絵笛 125.1 Urakawa 浦河 130.3 Higashichō 東町 132.4 Hidaka-Horobetsu 日高幌別 136.9 Utoma 鵜苫 141.1 Samani, Samani District Nishi-Samani 西様似 143.6 Samani 様似 146.5

History The first section was opened in October 1913 by the , operating between and (present-day ). The section between Sarufuto and was operated by the . Both lines were light railways with a track gauge of .

The lines were nationalized on 1 August 1927, and merged into one, becoming the Hidaka Line. The track gauge was widened to between Tomakomai and Sarufuto on 26 November 1929, and between Sarafuto and Shizunai on 10 November 1931. The line was extended from Shizunai to on 15 December 1933, to on 24 October 1935, and to Samani on 10 August 1937.

With the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, the line came under the control of JR Hokkaido.

Service suspension Following storm damage between Atsuga and Ōkaribe stations on 8 January 2015, rail services had been suspended on the 116.0 km (72.1 mi) section beyond Mukawa station, with buses providing a substitute service. Further damage was caused to the line by Typhoon 17 or Typhoon Kilo on 12 September 2015, and no date had been set for the resumption of rail services beyond Mukawa. In December 2016, JR Hokkaido announced that it had abandoned plans to reopen the suspended section of the line, and was in discussion with the local governments involved.

Due to low ridership and very high repair costs, including coastal defences between Atsuga and Ōkaribe, JR Hokkaido held several meetings with the seven towns along the suspended segment of the line, suggesting to abandon plans to restore the line and replace it with a bus service. In November 2019, six out of the seven towns agreed to replace the damaged section with a bus service. However, the town of Urakawa still strongly requested for the whole line to be restored; Urakawa's mayor reasoned that it would still take a while for the 'developing' Hidaka Expressway to reach the town, therefore it being necessary to retain the rail service.

In September 2020, after five years of meetings and discussions, many of which involved extensive arguments and disagreements, all seven towns eventually agreed with JR Hokkaido to abandon the line's damaged section and replace it with a bus service. The 116.0 km (72.1 mi) section was formally closed on 1 April 2021.

Hidaka Main Line

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