Nishi-Kyūshū Line

Nishi-Kyushu Line
MR-600 series diesel railcar
Overview
Status	In operation
Owner	Matsuura Railway
Locale	Kyushu (Saga and Nagasaki Prefectures)
Termini	Arita Sasebo
Stations	57
Service
Type	Regional rail
Operator(s)	Matsuura Railway
Rolling stock	MR-400 series DMU, MR-500 series DMU, MR-600 series DMU
History
Opened	1 March 1945 (fully)
Technical
Line length	93.9 km (58.3 mi)
Number of tracks	Entire line single tracked
Character	Urban and rural
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	85 km/h (53 mph)

The Nishi-Kyushu Line (西九州線, Nishi-Kyūshū-sen) is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway operator Matsuura Railway, which connects Arita in Saga Prefecture with Sasebo in Nagasaki Prefecture.[1] This is the westernmost railway line in Japan, with Tabira-Hiradoguchi Station being the westernmost station.

History

The Kansai Coal Mining Co. opened a 12 km (7.5 mi), 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge line from Saza to Sechibaru via Yoshii in 1896.

The 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Arita - Imari section of the line was opened on 7 August 1898 by the Imari Railway (伊万里鉄道, Imari Tetsudō), which merged with the Kyushu Railway in December of the same year.[1] In 1907, the line was nationalised, becoming the Imari Line (伊万里線, Imari-sen).[1] The line was extended to Imabuku in 1930, Matsuura in 1933, Tabira-Hiradoguchi in 1935, and Senryūgataki in 1939.

The then isolated Hidariishi - Ainoura section was opened as a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge line by the Sasebo Light Railway (佐世保軽便鉄道, Sasebo Keibin Tetsudō) for coal transportation on 27 March 1920,[1] and extended to Kami-Sasebo the following year. In 1931, it was extended to Saza, with the company acquiring the Kansai Coal line to Sechibaru in 1933 and passenger services to Yoshii commencing in 1934.^[citation needed] A connection to Sasebo opened in 1935, and the company was nationalised in October 1936.[1] Between 1943 and 1944, the line was regauged to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in),[1] with a new alignment opened in March 1945, linking the two sections.[1]

From 1 April 1988, the line between Arita and Sasebo was transferred from JNR operation to the privately owned Matsuura Railway.[1]

Former connecting lines

• Yoshii Station: The 7 km (4.3 mi) Sechibaru line to Sechibaru, opened by the Kansai Coal Mining Co. as a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge line in 1896, was nationalised and regauged at the same time as the main line, and closed in 1971.^[citation needed]
• Saza Station: The 4 km (2.5 mi) line to Usunoura was opened by the Sasebo Light Railway for coal transportation in 1931. It was also nationalised and regauged at the same time as the main line, and closed in 1971.^[citation needed]
• Hidariishi Station: The 4 km (2.5 mi) Yunoki line to 'Upper' Sasebo opened in 1921 as a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge line, became a branch with the opening of the direct line to Sasebo in 1935, was regauged in 1943 and remained in service until flood damage closed it in 1967.^[citation needed]
• Sasebo station - A 5 km (3.1 mi) line to a US Forces Japan oil storage facility operated between 1950 and 1978.

Stations

●: Stops   |: Does not stop

Rapid Service: Down trains (to Sasebo) operate between Saza and Sasebo. Up trains (from Sasebo) operate between Sasebo and Tabira-Hiradoguchi.

Station	Japanese	Distance (km)	Rapid service	Transfers	Location
Arita	有田	0.0		Sasebo Line	Arita	Saga
Midaibashi	三代橋	1.7
Kurogō	黒川	2.8
Zōshuku	蔵宿	3.8
Nishi-Arita	西有田	4.8
Ōgi	大木	6.1
Yamadani	山谷	7.0
Meotoishi	夫婦石	7.9
Kanatake	金武	9.8			Imari
Kawahigashi	川東	11.6
Imari	伊万里	13.0		Chikuhi Line
Higashi-Yamashiro	東山代	16.3
Sato	里	17.5
Kusuku	楠久	18.6
Naruishi	鳴石	20.0
Kubara	久原	21.7
Haze	波瀬	22.8
Uranosaki	浦ノ崎	24.8
Fukushimaguchi	福島口	25.3
Imabuku	今福	27.5			Matsuura	Nagasaki
Takashimaguchi	鷹島口	28.7
Maehama	前浜	32.4
Tsukinokawa	調川	33.5
Matsuura	松浦	35.6
Matsuura Hatsudensho-mae	松浦発電所前	38.2
Mikuriya	御厨	41.6
Nishikoba	西木場	44.4
Higashi-Tabira	東田平	46.3			Hirado
Naka-Tabira	中田平	48.1
Tabira-Hiradoguchi	たびら平戸口	51.2	●
Nishi-Tabira	西田平	53.8	|
Suetachibana	すえたちばな	58.1	|		Sasebo
Emukae-Shikamachi	江迎鹿町	60.0	●
Takaiwa	高岩	61.4	|
Inotsuki	いのつき	64.9	|
Senryūgataki	潜竜ヶ滝	66.5	|
Yoshii	吉井	68.8	●
Kōda	神田	70.3	|		Saza
Seihō-Koukou-Mae	清峰高校前	72.4	|
Saza	佐々	74.0	●
Koura	小浦	75.8	●
Masaru	真申	77.7	|		Sasebo
Tanagata	棚方	78.3	●
Ainoura	相浦	79.7	●
Daigaku	大学	80.9	●
Kami-Ainoura	上相浦	81.7	●
Motoyama	本山	83.5	●
Nakazato	中里	84.0	|
Kaize	皆瀬	85.5	|
Nonaka	野中	86.2	|
Hidariishi	左石	87.4	●
Senpukuji	泉福寺	88.4	●
Yamanota	山の田	89.5	|
Kita-Sasebo	北佐世保	90.6	●
Naka-Sasebo	中佐世保	92.6	|
Sasebo-Chūō	佐世保中央	92.8	●
Sasebo	佐世保	93.8	●	Sasebo Line

See also

• List of railway lines in Japan

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

1. Terada, Hirokazu (19 January 2013). データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways]. Japan: Neko Publishing. p. 183. ISBN 978-4-7770-1336-4.

External links

• Matsuura Railway official website (in Japanese)