Gantoku Line

Gantoku Line
Overview
Type	Regional rail
Locale	Yamaguchi Prefecture
Termini	Iwakuni Kushigahama
Stations	15
Operation
Owner	JR West
Technical
Line length	43.7 km (27.2 mi)
No. of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None

The Gantoku Line (岩徳線, Gantoku-sen) is a 43.7 km (27.2 mi) railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in western Japan, connecting Iwakuni Station in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, and Kushigahama Station in Shūnan, Yamaguchi. The line was originally built as a more direct route between its termini that the original Sanyo Main Line (see History section below) and the Sanyō Shinkansen is more closely aligned to this line than the Sanyō Main Line in this section.

Operations

Trains operating on this line continue from Kushigahama Station to Tokuyama Station on the Sanyo Main Line.

Stations

Station name	Japanese	Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
Iwakuni	岩国	0.0	Sanyō Main Line	Iwakuni
Nishi-Iwakuni	西岩国	3.7
Kawanishi	川西	5.6	Nishikigawa Seiryū Line
Hashirano	柱野	8.5
Kinmeiji	欽明路	15.2
Kuga	玖珂	17.1
Suō-Takamori	周防高森	20.6
Yonekawa	米川	24.4
Takamizu	高水	28.8		Shūnan
Katsuma	勝間	31.1
Ōkawachi	大河内	33.3
Suō-Kubo	周防久保	34.7		Kudamatsu
Ikunoya	生野屋	38.0
Suō-Hanaoka	周防花岡	39.8
Kushigahama	櫛ヶ浜	43.7	Sanyō Main Line (toward Yanai)	Shūnan
Tokuyama	徳山	47.1	Sanyō Shinkansen, Sanyō Main Line (toward Hōfu and Shin-Yamaguchi)

Morigahara Junction

File:Morigahara.jpg

Morigahara Junction

Morigahara Junction (森ヶ原信号場, Morigahara Shingōjō) between Kawanishi and Hashirano Stations is the point where the Nishikigawa Seiryū Line diverges from the Gantoku Line. Between this junction and Kawanishi Station, the two lines share the same track.

History

File:JNR-Gantoku-PC-Train.jpg

A morning Gantoku Line train at Iwakuni Station, headed by a class DE10 diesel locomotive, circa 1976

The line was originally built to shorten the Sanyō Main Line along the old San'yōdō. The 3.7km Iwakuni - Marifu (now Nishi-Iwakuni) section opened in 1929, and the 3.9km Kushigahama - Suo-Hanaoka section opened in 1932. The remaining 36km section, including the 3149m Kinmeiji tunnel (and 6 others) opened in 1934, at which time the line became part of the Sanyō Main Line, at that time being the only remaining single line section. Plans to duplicate the section were reconsidered following the difficulty that had been encountered in building the line, especially the geological conditions encountered during tunnel excavation works.

In 1944 the original Sanyō alignment via Yanai was duplicated and reinstated as the Sanyō Main Line, at which time this line became formally known as the Gantoku Line.

Freight services ceased in 1974, and CTC signalling was commissioned on the entire line in 1982.

Former connecting lines

Iwakuni station - The Iwakuni Electric Railway Co. opened a 6km line to Shinmachi, electrified at 600 VDC, between 1909 and 1912. The line closed in 1929 when the parallel Gantoku Line opened.

References

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