The is a long railway line from Nishi-Wakamatsu Station in Aizuwakamatsu to Aizukōgen-Ozeguchi Station in Minamiaizu, Fukushima, Japan. It is owned and operated by Aizu Railway.

Services The train operation is controlled from Aizu-Tajima Station. The electrified southern part goes beyond the Aizukōgen-Ozeguchi terminus onto the Yagan Railway Aizu Kinugawa Line, Tobu Railway and JR East all the way to Tokyo. The non-electrified northern part runs a diesel service beyond Nishi-Wakamatsu Station to Aizu-Wakamatsu Station on the JR East Tadami Line.

Stations

All stations are located in Fukushima Prefecture. Local trains stop at all stations. Stations stopped at by all trains are marked "●". Stations stopped at by some of the trains are marked "◆". Limited Express train Revaty AizuTobu Limited Express Revaty Aizu. For passengers riding only north of Kinugawa-Onsen Station, limited express tickets are not required. Passengers may sit in any seat, although must vacate if another passenger with a reservation comes. Passengers must reserve a seat and purchase an express ticket when boarding and debarking at stations between and Asakusa (except between Aizu-Tajima and Kinugawa-Onsen only). which goes to and departs from Asakusa Station and does not stop at any stations on the Aizu Line except Aizu-Tajima and Aizukogen-Ozeguchi Station.

The service called Sightseeing Rapid, Open-car "torokko" Ozatoro Tenbō Ressha , is operated by Aizu Railway and/or Yagan Railway. Each separate train stops at different locations depending on its name. For example, Yu-Meguri(湯めぐり), which is operated by Yagan Railway runs from Kinugawaonsen Station to Aizu-Tajima Station. As another example, Aizu Roman (会津浪漫号), which is operated by Aizu Railway runs between Aizu-Tajima Station and Aizu-Wakamatsu Station. Reserving a seat on this train costs 320 yen (adult). You can choose one of three seat types (Tatami and Kotatsu,Kotatsu service is carried out service days during winter Open Car Truck,Opening windows service is carried out on service days excluding the winter Dome Car during which there are reclining seats). Passengers may purchase a ticket at stations where staff is present, or they may ask the train crew to sell them a ticket when they board the train.

StationJapaneseDistance (km)Rapid RelayRevaty AizuAizu Mount ExpressOpen-car"torokko"Ozatoro Tenbō ResshaTransfersLocationBetweenstationsTotal↑through service to/from on the Tadami Line↑西若松-0.0● ●● Tadami Line (for )Aizuwakamatsu南若松3.03.0↕ ●↕ 門田1.94.9↕ ●↕ あまや2.87.7↕ ●↕ 芦ノ牧温泉2.810.5● ●● 大川ダム公園5.716.2↕ ●↕ 芦ノ牧温泉南1.517.7↕ ●↕ 湯野上温泉5.022.7● ●● Shimogō, Minamiaizu District塔のへつり3.826.5● ●● 弥五島1.528.0↕ ●↕ 会津下郷3.131.1● ●● ふるさと公園1.432.5↕ ●↕ 養鱒公園2.635.1↕ ●↕ 会津長野2.237.3↕ ●↕ Minamiaizu, Minamiaizu District田島高校前2.239.5↕ ●↕ 会津田島2.542.0●●●● 中荒井3.845.8 ↕◆↑ 会津荒海3.449.2 ↕◆↑ 会津山村道場0.950.1 ↕◆↑ 七ヶ岳登山口3.053.1 ↕◆↑ 会津高原尾瀬口4.357.4 ●●● Yagan Railway Aizu Kinugawa Line (through operation)↓through service to/from Yagan Railway Aizu Kinugawa Line↓

History

The Aizu Line was constructed between 1927 and 1953 by the Japanese National Railways (JNR) as part of a plan to build a direct line from Aizu-Wakamatsu to Tokyo. The Aizu Line was the northern section, whilst the Yagan Railway Aizu Kinugawa Line was to be the southern section. Despite the Kinugawa line connecting to the Aizu Line in 1986, the Aizu Line was deemed an unprofitable secondary line and transferred to a company established by local governments in 1987.

The Aizukōgen-Ozeguchi - Aizu-Tajima section was electrified at 1500V DC in 1990 to facilitate through-running onto the Kinugawa line.

Timeline November 1, 1927: Nishi-Wakamatsu - Kamimiyori (Ashinomaki Onsen since 1987) section (10.5 km) opens as Yagan'u Line December 22, 1932: Kamimiyori (Ashinomaki Onsen) - Yunokami (Yunokami Onsen since 1987) section opens December 27, 1934: Yunokami - Aizu-Tajima section opens by 1942: Yagan'u Line and Aizu Line (Aizu-Wakamatsu – Aizu-Miyashita via Nishi-Wakamatsu) merged under the name Aizu Line December 12, 1947: Aizu-Tajima - Arakai (Aizu-Arakai since 1987) section opens November 8, 1953: Arakai - Aizu-Takinohara (Aizukōgen-Ozeguchi since 1987) section opens by 1971: Aizu Line split, with Aizu-Wakamatsu – Aizu-Miyashita – Tadami section becoming the Tadami Line, and the Nishi-Wakamatsu – Aizu-Takinohara section retaining the Aizu Line name December 1, 1980: The 12.2 km deviation between Kamimiyori and Yunokami opens as part of the construction of the Okawa Dam April 1, 1987: Line transferred to East Japan Railway Company (JR East) upon privatization of JNR July 16, 1987: Line transferred to Aizu Railway October 12, 1990: Aizu-Tajima — Aizukōgen-Ozeguchi section electrified (1500 V DC), direct service to the Yagan Railway Aizu Kinugawa Line begins April 1, 1999: Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) ends operations April 22, 2017: Revaty Aizu uses Tobu 500 series which belongs to Tobu Railway has been commenced operating. March 12, 2022: Revaty Aizu has been the only electric train as a train, which runs on Aizu Line because Aizu Railway stopped interconnecting with Yagan Railway except for Revaty Aizu. Simultaneously, Aizu Railway lost the only electric train that Tobu 6050-100 series.

Notes

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

External links Aizu Railway Aizu Line Station Guide