The is a railway line in Japan which connects Matsumoto Station in Nagano Prefecture with Itoigawa Station in Niigata Prefecture. There are two operators on the line: East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Minami-Otari is the boundary for the two companies. The section of the line operated by JR East, between Minami-Otari and Matsumoto, is electrified and trains are fairly regular along this section. The JR West section from Minami-Otari to Itoigawa, however, is not electrified and sees less use. Trains operate less frequently along this section.
Route data Operators, services: East Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks) Matsumoto — Minami-Otari: 70.1 km West Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks) Minami-Otari — Itoigawa: 35.3 km Stations: JR East: 33 JR West: 8 including Itoigawa, excluding Minami-Otari Double-tracked section: None Electrification: Matsumoto — Minami-Otari (1,500 V DC) Minami-Otari — Itoigawa (None) Railway signalling: Matsumoto — Itoigawa: Automatic Train Stop, S-type
Services JR East section Limited express, Rapid , the following services are operated. NameThrough from/toStartEndService frequency (daily)Limited Express AzusaMatsumotoHakuba1 return tripRapidMatsumoto1 up trip -Shinano-Ōmachi1 up trip
Local Matsumoto – Shinano-Ōmachi: every 30-60 minutes Shinano-Ōmachi – Minami-Otari: every 60-180 minutes
JR West section Local Minami-Otari - Itoigawa: every 120-180 minutes
No limited-stop services such as rapids operate on the JR West section. All trains are local services, which stop at every station.
Rolling stock JR East section E127-100 series EMU 211 series EMU E353 series EMU - Azusa
JR West section KiHa 120 series DMU
Stations JR East section All stations are within Nagano Prefecture.
A: Limited Express Azusa R: Rapid Trains stop at stations marked "O", skip at stations marked "|". No.StationJapaneseDistance(km)ARTransfersLocationBetweenstationsTotal 松本 -0.0OOMatsumoto 北松本0.70.7|O 島内1.92.6|O 島高松1.23.8|O 梓橋1.45.2|O Azumino 一日市場1.66.8|O 中萱1.68.4|O 南豊科2.010.4|O 豊科1.011.4OO 柏矢町2.814.2|O 穂高2.016.2OO 有明2.218.4|O 安曇追分1.519.9|O 細野2.922.8|↑ Matsukawa, Kitaazumi District 北細野1.023.8|↑ 信濃松川2.226.0|O 安曇沓掛1.628.6|↑ Ōmachi 信濃常盤2.330.9|O 南大町3.134.0|↑ 信濃大町1.135.1OO ORapid terminus / transfer北大町2.137.2|↑ 信濃木崎2.239.4|O 稲尾2.241.6|↑ 海ノ口1.342.9|↑ 簗場3.446.3|O 南神城4.952.8|↑ Hakuba, Kitaazumi District 神城2.455.2|O 飯森1.556.7|↑ 白馬3.059.7OO 信濃森上1.961.6O 白馬大池3.865.4↑ Otari, Kitaazumi District 千国3.468.7↑ 南小谷1.470.1O Closed Stations Yanabaskijōmae Station closed on 16 March 2019
JR West section StationJapaneseDistance(km)TransfersLocationBetweenstationsTotal南小谷 -70.1Otari, Nagano中土4.074.1 北小谷4.478.5 平岩5.585.0 Itoigawa, Niigata小滝6.891.8 根知3.695.4 頸城大野4.9100.3 姫川1.9102.2 糸魚川3.2105.4
History The section between Matsumoto and was built between 1915 and 1916 by the , which electrified the line in 1926. The company was nationalised in 1937 and was not the same entity as the present Shinano Railway.
The rest of the line was built by the Japanese Government Railways (JGR) and the Japanese National Railways (JNR) between 1929 and 1957. The Shinano-Ōmachi to Minami Otari section was electrified between 1959 and 1967. CTC signalling was commissioned in 1983, and freight services ceased in 1987.
Following privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, the line was divided and assigned to JR East and JR West.
Station numbering was introduced on the line by JR East from 12 December 2016, with stations numbered in sequence from 9 (Minami-Otari) to 42 (Matsumoto).
See also
List of railway lines in Japan
References