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verification. (December 2009) |
Ban'etsu West Line | |||
---|---|---|---|
Overview | |||
Native name | 磐越西線 | ||
Status | In operation | ||
Owner | JR East | ||
Locale | Fukushima, Niigata prefectures | ||
Termini | |||
Stations | 43 | ||
Service | |||
Type | Regional rail | ||
Operator(s) | JR East | ||
Rolling stock | 719 series EMU, E721 series EMU, KiHa 100 series DMU, GV-E400 series DMU, AT-700 series DMU | ||
History | |||
Opened | 1898 | ||
Technical | |||
Line length | 175.6 km (109.1 mi) | ||
Number of tracks | Entire line single tracked | ||
Character | Rural | ||
Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | ||
Electrification | 20 kV AC, 50 Hz overhead catenary (Kōriyama – Kitakata) None (Kitakata - Niitsu) | ||
Operating speed | 100 km/h (62 mph) | ||
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The Banetsu West Line (磐越西線, Ban'etsu-sai-sen) is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, and Niitsu Station in Akiha Ward, Niigata, Niigata Prefecture. The name "Banetsu" is taken from the first characters of the names of the ancient provinces of Iwaki (磐城) and Echigo (越後), which the Banetsu East and Banetsu West lines connect. "Sai" (西) means "west" in Japanese.
The line's nickname is the Mori to Mizu to Roman no Tetsudō (森と水とロマンの鉄道, lit. "the water, forest, and nostalgia railway").[ citation needed]
Station | Japanese | Distance (km) | Rapid | Transfers/Other Notes | Location | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Between stations |
Total | * | Agano | ||||||
Kōriyama | 郡山 | - | 0.0 | ● | ∨ | Kōriyama | Fukushima | ||
Kōriyamatomita | 郡山富田 | 3.4 | 3.4 | ● | | | ||||
Kikuta | 喜久田 | 4.5 | 7.9 | ▲ | ◇ | ||||
Akogashima | 安子ケ島 | 3.9 | 11.8 | | | ◇ | ||||
Bandai-Atami | 磐梯熱海 | 3.6 | 15.4 | ● | ◇ | ||||
Nakayamajuku | 中山宿 | 5.4 | 20.8 | | | | | ||||
Jōko | 上戸 | 6.5 | 27.3 | | | | | Inawashiro, Yama District | |||
Inawashirokohan (closed) | 猪苗代湖畔 | 2.0 | 29.3 | Closed in 2007 | | | ||||
Sekito | 関都 | 1.7 | 31.0 | | | ◇ | ||||
Kawageta | 川桁 | 2.4 | 33.4 | ▲ | ◇ | ||||
Inawashiro | 猪苗代 | 3.3 | 36.7 | ● | ◇ | ||||
Okinashima | 翁島 | 4.4 | 41.1 | ▲ | ◇ | ||||
Bandaimachi | 磐梯町 | 10.1 | 51.2 | ● | ◇ | Bandai, Yama District | |||
Higashi-Nagahara | 東長原 | 6.0 | 57.2 | ▲ | ◇ | Aizuwakamatsu | |||
Hirota | 広田 | 2.8 | 60.0 | ▲ | ◇ | ||||
Aizu-Wakamatsu | 会津若松 | 4.6 | 64.6 | ● | ● | ■
Tadami Line ■ Aizu Line [* 2] |
◆ | ||
Dōjima▽ | 堂島 | 5.5 | 70.1 | | | | | | | |||
Oikawa▽ | 笈川 | 3.1 | 73.2 | | | | | | | Yugawa, Kawanuma District | ||
Shiokawa | 塩川 | 1.9 | 75.1 | ● | ● | ◇ | Kitakata | ||
Ubadō▽ | 姥堂 | 2.4 | 77.5 | | | | | | | |||
Aizu-Toyokawa▽ | 会津豊川 | 2.0 | 79.5 | | | | | | | |||
Kitakata | 喜多方 | 1.7 | 81.2 | ● | ● | Terminus of electrification | ◇ | ||
Yamato | 山都 | 9.9 | 91.1 | ● | ◇ | ||||
Ogino | 荻野 | 6.1 | 97.2 | ● | | | ||||
Onobori | 尾登 | 3.8 | 101.0 | | | | | Nishiaizu, Yama District | |||
Nozawa | 野沢 | 5.2 | 106.2 | ● | ◇ | ||||
Kami-Nojiri | 上野尻 | 5.1 | 111.3 | | | | | ||||
Tokusawa | 徳沢 | 6.7 | 118.0 | | | ◇ | ||||
Toyomi | 豊実 | 3.3 | 121.3 | | | | | Aga, Higashikanbara District | Niigata | ||
Hideya | 日出谷 | 7.1 | 128.4 | | | | | ||||
Kanose | 鹿瀬 | 5.2 | 133.6 | ● | | | ||||
Tsugawa | 津川 | 3.4 | 137.0 | ● | ◇ | ||||
Mikawa | 三川 | 7.4 | 144.4 | ● | | | ||||
Igashima | 五十島 | 4.2 | 148.6 | | | ◇ | ||||
Higashi-Gejō | 東下条 | 3.9 | 152.5 | | | | | ||||
Sakihana | 咲花 | 3.1 | 155.6 | ● | | | Gosen | |||
Maoroshi | 馬下 | 2.8 | 158.4 | ▲ | ◇ | ||||
Saruwada | 猿和田 | 3.5 | 161.9 | | | | | ||||
Gosen | 五泉 | 3.8 | 165.7 | ● | ◇ | ||||
Kita-Gosen | 北五泉 | 1.8 | 167.5 | | | | | ||||
Shinseki | 新関 | 2.5 | 170.0 | | | ◇ | Akiha-ku, Niigata | |||
Higashi-Niitsu | 東新津 | 2.8 | 172.8 | | | | | ||||
Niitsu | 新津 | 2.8 | 175.6 | ● | ∧ |
As of April 2020 [update], the following rolling stock is used on the Banetsu West Line.
From 25 April 2015, a two-car 719 series set entered service on FruiTea (フルーティア) services on the line between Koriyama and Aizu-Wakamatsu. The train accommodates 36 passengers. [2]
The private Ganetsu Railway opened the initial section from Kōriyama to Nakayamajuku on July 26, 1898, and extended the line to Aizu-Wakamatsu the following year.[ citation needed]
Japanese National Railways (JNR) started to modernize the line in the 1960s, introducing the line's first limited express service (as a part of the Yamagata-bound Yamabata) in 1965 between Ueno Station in Tokyo and Aizu-Wakamatsu via the Tōhoku Main Line. In 1968 the train was renamed Aizu Yamabata, but from 1993 onward it was renamed Viva Aizu and ran only between Koriyama and Aizu-Wakamatsu. The train was finally discontinued as a limited express service in 2003.[ citation needed]
In 1967, JNR electrified the section between Kōriyama and Kitakata at 20 kV AC.[ citation needed]
In 2011 the line was closed for 15 days in March following the Tohoku earthquake, two days in April as a result of aftershocks, and for 10 weeks following torrential rain at the end of July.[ citation needed]
A new station, called Kōriyamatomita, opened on 1 April 2017 between and Kōriyama and Kikuta stations. [4]
The railway bridge connecting Kitakata and Yamato collapsed due to heavy rain on 4 August 2022. All services are suspended between Kitakata and Nozawa. [5]