The is a railway line in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Iwaki Station in Iwaki and Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama. The name "Ban'etsu" is taken from the first characters of the names of the ancient provinces of and , which the Ban'etsu East and Ban'etsu West lines connect. means "east" in Japanese.
The line's nickname is the , taken from the Abukuma River that flows nearby.
Service All trains are operated as local services in 2-, 3-, or 5-car formations. Service between Kōriyama and Ononiimachi is provided once every 30 minutes to two hours, but between Ononiimachi and Iwaki, there is a period of five hours where no trains operate. One reason for the few continuous services between Iwaki and Kōriyama is the opening of the parallel Ban-etsu Expressway in 1995; as a result, most long distance passengers use highway bus services.
The last express service, Iwaki, stopped running in 1982. During peak holiday periods such as Golden Week, Obon, and New Year, the rapid Abukuma makes a single round trip with a 2-car train.
Station list All stations are located in Fukushima Prefecture. Trains can pass one another at stations marked "◇", "∨", or "∧". Trains cannot pass at stations marked "｜".
StationJapaneseDistance (km)RapidAbukumaTransfers LocationBetweenstationsTotalいわき -0.0● Jōban Line∨Iwaki赤井4.84.8｜ ｜小川郷5.510.3● ◇江田8.018.3｜ ｜川前8.026.3｜ ◇夏井10.436.7｜ ｜Ono, Tamura District小野新町3.440.1● ◇神俣6.546.6● ◇Tamura菅谷3.349.9｜ ｜大越4.454.3● ◇磐城常葉4.458.7｜ ◇船引3.862.5● ◇要田7.069.5｜ ◇三春4.273.7● ◇Miharu, Tamura District舞木6.179.8｜ ◇Kōriyama郡山5.885.6● Tōhoku Main Line
Ban'etsu West Line
Suigun LineAlthough the official start of the Suigun Line is , all trains run through to/from Kōriyama.∧
Rolling stock As of February 2009, the following rolling stock is used on the East Ban'etsu Line. KiHa 110 series DMUs
History The line was planned by the Railway Construction Act in 1892. The Japanese Government Railways opened the first section as the between Koriyama and Miharu in 1914. The Iwaki - Ogawagō opened in 1915 as the , the same year Miharu - Ononiimachi section opened. When the two sections were connected in 1917, the line became the Ban'etsu East Line.
Freight services ceased in 1987.
References
External links
Stations of the Ban'etsu East Line (JR East)