Kesennuma Line

Kesennuma Line
North and southbound trains at Motoyoshi Station
Overview
Termini	Maeyachi Station Kesennuma Station
Stations	23
Operation
Operator(s)	JR East
Technical
Line length	72.8 km (45.2 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	Not electrified
Route map

The Kesennuma Line (気仙沼線, Kesennuma-sen) is a local rail line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It runs from Maeyachi Station in Ishinomaki, Miyagi to Kesennuma Station in Kesennuma, Miyagi. The route links the north-eastern coast of Miyagi Prefecture, with the Ishinomaki Line (and the Tohoku Main Line a few stops farther) available for transfer in the south, and the Ōfunato Line in the north.

A large section of the railway infrastructure between Minami-Kesennuma Station and Rikuzen-Togura Station, including tracks, stations, and railway bridges, were badly damaged or completely destroyed by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Destroyed stations include Minami-Kesennuma (except for the platform) and Shizugawa Station, as well as various others. As a result of the catastrophic damage to the line and prohibitive costs of restoration as a railway, JR East officially proposed the line's conversion into a dedicated bus rapid transit (BRT) route on 27 December 2012.

Service

Although the Kesennuma Line's south end is Maeyachi, its operational south end should be considered Kogota Station in Misato, as the majority of Kesennuma Line trains either have Kogota as their south terminus or go through it on the way to Sendai. Trains going this far also stop at Kami-Wakuya (local only) and Wakuya Stations in Wakuya, Miyagi on the Ishinomaki Line.

As of April 2005, there were 22 trips daily using this line (10 south-bound, 12 north-bound). In all cases, the north terminus was Kesennuma, but the south end varied depending on the trip. The south terminus could be Kogota (6 south-bound, 8 north-bound), Sendai (2 south-bound, 2 north-bound, a limited express run called the Minami-Sanriku that does not stop at all stations and runs on the Tohoku Main Line tracks from Kogota to Sendai without stopping), Motoyoshi (1 south-bound, 2 north-bound), or Onagawa (1 south-bound, switching to the Ishinomaki Line tracks at Maeyachi).

Station list

Station name	Japanese	Distance from previous station	Distance from Maeyachi	Minami-Sanriku (Rapid service)	Motoyoshi-Kesennuma Local	Transfers	Location
Maeyachi	前谷地	-	0.0	●		Ishinomaki Line	Ishinomaki, Miyagi
Wabuchi	和渕	3.2	3.2	|
Nonodake	のの岳	3.0	6.2	|			Wakuya, Miyagi
Rikuzen-Toyosato	陸前豊里	4.1	10.3	●			Tome, Miyagi
Mitakedō	御岳堂	3.3	13.6	|
Yanaizu	柳津	3.9	17.5	●
Rikuzen-Yokoyama	陸前横山	4.8	22.3	|
Rikuzen-Togura	陸前戸倉	7.2	29.5	|			Minamisanriku, Miyagi
Shizugawa	志津川	4.2	33.7	●
Shizuhama	清水浜	4.5	38.2	|
Utatsu	歌津	4.1	42.3	●
Rikuzen-Minato	陸前港	2.6	44.9	|
Kurauchi	蔵内	1.8	46.7	|			Kesennuma, Miyagi
Rikuzen-Koizumi	陸前小泉	2.0	48.7	|
Motoyoshi	本吉	2.8	51.5	●	●
Koganezawa	小金沢	3.1	54.6	|	●
Ōya-Kaigan	大谷海岸	3.7	58.3	●	●
Rikuzen-Hashikami	陸前階上	3.3	61.6	|	●
Saichi	最知	1.7	63.3	|	●
Matsuiwa	松岩	2.3	65.6	|	●
Minami-Kesennuma	南気仙沼	2.7	68.3	●	●
Fudōnosawa	不動の沢	1.3	69.6	|	●
Kesennuma	気仙沼	3.2	72.8	●	●	Ōfunato Line

History

• April 11, 1956: Ōfunato Line begins operation as a freight line between Kesennuma and Kesennuma-Minato stations
• February 11, 1957: Kesennuma Line operates as a passenger line between Minami-Kesennuma and Motoyoshi stations. Ōfunato Freight Line is merged into the Kesennuma Line. Kesennuma to Minami-Kesennuma is open to the public. Minami-Kesennuma, Matsuiwa, Rikuzen-Hashikami, Ōya, Oganezawa, Motoyoshi stations begin operation
• November 10, 1960: Fudōnosawa station begins operation
• July 20, 1967: Saichi station begins operation
• October 24, 1968: Yanaizu Line begins operation between Maeyachi and Yanaizu stations. Wabuchi, Nonodake, Rikuzen-Toyosato, Mitakedō, and Yanaizu stations begin operation
• December 11, 1977: Kesennuma Line connects Motoyoshi and Yanaizu stations. Rikuzen-Yokoyama, Rikuzen-Togura, Shizugawa, Shizuhama, Utatsu, Rikuzen-Minato, Kurauchi and Rikuzen-Koizumi stations begin operation. The freight line between Motoyoshi and Minami-Kesennuma is abolished. Kesennuma Line merges with the Yanaizu Line and runs from Maeyachi to Kesennuma. The freight line runs from Minami-Kesennuma to Kesennuma-Minato.
• November 1, 1979: The remaining freight line is abolished and Kesennuma-Minato station ceases operation.
• April 1, 1987: Kesennuma Line becomes part of JR East.
• March 22, 1997: Ōya station is renamed Ōya-Kaigan station
• March 11, 2011: Right-of-way destroyed by earthquake and tsunami.

External links

• A set of 11 videos showing a train trip along the entire Kesennuma Line, in 2009. Much of the track and scenery seen here were destroyed by the 2011 tsunami.