The is an railway line in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, connecting Hakata Station in Fukuoka with Hakataminami Station in Kasuga. It is operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West).
The line was originally built by Japanese National Railways (JNR) to shuttle San'yō Shinkansen trains from the Hakata terminal to the Hakata Shinkansen Depot in Kasuga for storage and maintenance. At the time, Kasuga was a rural area, and JNR did not consider a station necessary. By the late 1980s, the area had developed into a suburb of Fukuoka, and JR West constructed Hakataminami Station adjacent to the depot. Service began on 1 April 1990.
Although the line both uses Shinkansen rolling stock and has some overlap with the Kyushu Shinkansen, it is not officially designated as a Shinkansen or mini-Shinkansen line. Most services are Kodama trains entering or leaving service on the San'yō Shinkansen.
Rolling stock Current 500-7000 series 8-car sets 700-7000 series 8-car Hikari Rail Star sets N700-7000/8000 series 8-car sets
Former 0 series 4/6-car sets 100 series 4/6-car sets
See also Gala-Yuzawa Line, a similar line on the Jōetsu Shinkansen
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