The Ōfunato Line (大船渡線, Ōfunato-sen) is a local railway line in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It originally connected Ichinoseki Station in Ichinoseki to Sakari Station in Ōfunato, on the Tohoku coast.
| Ōfunato Line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 KiHa 100 DMU at Kesennuma Station, October 2006 | |||
| Overview | |||
| Native name | 大船渡線 | ||
| Status | In operation (Ichinoseki – Kesennuma as a railway) (Kesennuma – Sakari as a BRT route) | ||
| Owner | JR East | ||
| Locale | Iwate Prefecture | ||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | 25 (14 are railway stations following the 2011 disaster) | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Heavy rail | ||
| Operator(s) | JR East | ||
| Rolling stock | KiHa 100 series DMU, Hino Blue Ribbon City Bus, Isuzu Erga Bus | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | 26 July 1925 | ||
| Closed | 1 April 2020 (Section between Kesennuma – Sakari was replaced by bus rapid transit in 2013 but was only formally closed in 2020) | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 105.7 km (65.7 mi) (Until 2011) 62.0 km (38.5 mi) (After 2011) | ||
| Number of tracks | Entire line single tracked | ||
| Character | Rural | ||
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | ||
| Electrification | Not electrified | ||
| Operating speed | 85 km/h (53 mph) | ||
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The eastern section of the line was significantly damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. In January 2012, services resumed on the western 62.0 km (38.5 mi) portion of the route between Ichinoseki and Kesennuma. The eastern section between Kesennuma and Sakari remains closed, and in February 2012, JR East officially proposed that this section of the line be scrapped and the right-of-way used as a bus rapid transit (BRT) route.[1] The section was routinely replaced by BRT, and this section of the line was formally closed as a railway on 1 April 2020.
The line connects with the Kesennuma Line at Kesennuma Station and formerly connected with the privately owned Sanriku Railway's Minami-Riasu Line at Sakari Station in Ōfunato.
History
The Ichinoseki – Kesennuma section opened in stages between 1925 and 1929, with the Kesennuma – Sakari section opening between 1932 and 1935.
Freight services ceased in 1983/4.
Following the 2011 disaster, services resumed on the Ichinoseki – Kesennuma section on 1 April, but were suspended again between 7–18 April due to aftershocks.
The first section of the busway replacing the Kesennuma – Sakari section opened in March 2013.
Operations
In April 2005, there were 27 services daily using this line (14 eastbound, 13 westbound).
Following the 2011 disaster, operations were reduced to ten eastbound local trains and one Super Dragon rapid service, with westbound services consisting of nine local trains and one rapid. In March 2013 the rapid services were withdrawn.
On 22 December 2012, a special Pokémon With You train began running on the line.[2] The train operates on selected days, departing eastbound at 11:01am and returning westbound at 2:37pm. The train stops at most stations on the way for between six and thirteen minutes. All seats are reserved and a seat fee is payable in addition to the basic fare.[3]
KiHa 100 series diesel multiple unit
Pokémon With You Train
Hino Blue Ribbon City bus used on BRT services
Isuzu Erga bus used on BRT services
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Station list
Stations in greyed out cells have been closed since the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
| Station name | Japanese | Distance (km) from | Local train | BRT | Connections | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| previous station | Ichinoseki | ||||||
| Ichinoseki | 一ノ関 | – | 0.0 | ● | Local buses | Tōhoku Main Line, Tōhoku Shinkansen | Ichinoseki, Iwate |
| Mataki | 真滝 | 5.7 | 5.7 | ● | |||
| Rikuchū-Kanzaki | 陸中門崎 | 8.0 | 13.7 | ● | |||
| Iwanoshita | 岩ノ下 | 3.8 | 17.5 | ● | |||
| Rikuchū-Matsukawa | 陸中松川 | 3.8 | 21.3 | ● | |||
| Geibikei | 猊鼻渓 | 2.0 | 23.3 | ● | |||
| Shibajuku | 柴宿 | 2.8 | 26.1 | ● | |||
| Surisawa | 摺沢 | 4.5 | 30.6 | ● | |||
| Senmaya | 千厩 | 9.2 | 39.8 | ● | |||
| Konashi | 小梨 | 3.6 | 43.4 | ● | |||
| Yagoshi | 矢越 | 4.2 | 47.6 | ● | |||
| Orikabe | 折壁 | 2.1 | 49.7 | ● | |||
| Niitsuki | 新月 | 5.6 | 55.3 | ● | |||
| Kesennuma | 気仙沼 | 6.7 | 62.0 | ● | ● | Kesennuma Line | Kesennuma, Miyagi |
| Shishiori-Karakuwa | 鹿折唐桑 | 2.2 | 64.2 | No service | ● | ||
| Kami-Shishiori | 上鹿折 | 5.3 | 69.5 | ● | |||
| Rikuzen-Yahagi | 陸前矢作 | 10.0 | 79.5 | ● | Rikuzen-Takata, Iwate | ||
| Takekoma | 竹駒 | 3.0 | 82.5 | ● | |||
| Rikuzen-Takata | 陸前高田 | 2.9 | 85.4 | ● | |||
| Wakinosawa | 脇ノ沢 | 2.9 | 88.3 | ● | |||
| Otomo | 小友 | 4.5 | 92.8 | ● | |||
| Hosoura | 細浦 | 4.3 | 97.1 | ● | Ōfunato, Iwate | ||
| Shimofunato | 下船渡 | 3.1 | 100.2 | ● | |||
| Ōfunato | 大船渡 | 2.9 | 103.1 | ● | |||
| Sakari | 盛 | 2.6 | 105.7 | ● | Sanriku Railway Rias Line | ||
References
This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
External links
- Article on Tohoku railways Link is broken