The is a Japanese railway line in Mie and Gifu Prefectures, which runs along the northeastern side of the Yōrō Mountains and between Kuwana Station in Kuwana, Mie and Ibi Station in Ibigawa, Gifu. It is the only railway line operated by private railway operator .
The northern section of the line, between and Ibi, is locally known as the , as Ōgaki is a reversing station.
Descriptions Company: Yōrō Railway (Category-2), Kintetsu Railway (Category-3) Length: Gauge: Power: Electric 1500 V DC No. of stations: 27 incl. both ends Track: single Maximum speed: Operation: All Local trains
History
Initially steam powered, the line was constructed as a Category 1 railway by Yōrō Railway and opened in 1913 between , , and . In 1919, the present line was completed with extensions from Yōrō to and Ikeno to . In 1922, Yōrō Railway merged with and the following year the line was electrified (1500 V DC). In 1928, its railway was transferred to . Since then, the operator has changed several times, namely to in 1929, to in 1936, to in 1940, to in 1941, finally to Kintetsu, then known as , in 1944.
Following typhoon damage in 1959, the Kintetsu Railway Nagoya Line was regauged to , the Kintetsu standard which enables through trains to Osaka. However, the Yōrō Line remained at partly due to through freight trains to the Japanese National Railways (JNR) lines at Ōgaki and Kuwana, as the line provided a shortcut between these stations.
With accumulating deficit, Kintetsu Corporation decided to split off the operation of the Yōrō Line in 2007. Local governments along the line made an agreement of financial aid to the Yōrō Railway until 2010.
Stations All stations are unattended with the exceptions of Ōgaki, Nishi-Ōgaki, Ibi, Yōrō, Komano, Tado, and Kuwana. NameJapaneseDistance (km)TransfersLocationBetween stationsTotal桑名 - 0.0 Kansai Main Line (CJ07) Kintetsu Nagoya Line (E13) Sangi Railway Hokusei Line ()KuwanaMie播磨0.91.6 下深谷2.44.0下野代2.66.6多度2.08.6美濃松山3.311.9KaizuGifu石津2.314.2美濃山崎2.016.2駒野3.619.8美濃津屋4.724.5養老4.328.8Yōrō,Yōrō District美濃高田3.031.8烏江2.734.5大外羽1.536.0Ōgaki友江1.437.4美濃青柳2.039.4西大垣1.841.2大垣1.843.0 Tōkaidō Main Line (CA77) Tarumi Railway Tarumi Line (TR01)室1.144.1 北大垣1.345.4東赤坂2.147.5Gōdo,Anpachi District広神戸2.850.3北神戸1.651.9池野1.653.5Ikeda,Ibi District北池野0.954.4美濃本郷0.855.2揖斐2.357.5Ibigawa, Ibi District
Connections At : Kintetsu: Nagoya Line Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central): Kansai Main Line At : JR Central: Tōkaidō Main Line (the main line and the "Mino-Akasaka branch line") Tarumi Railway: Tarumi Line
References
External links Official website