Hitahikosan Line

Hitahikosan Line
Overview
Owner	JR Kyushu
Locale	Kyushu
Termini	Jōno Yoake
Stations	23
Service
Type	Regional rail
History
Opened	1899
Technical
Line length	68.7 km (42.7 mi)
Number of tracks	Single
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Route map Hitahikosan Line

The Hitahikosan Line (日田彦山線, Hitahikosan-sen) is a railway line in Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Jōno Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture with Yoake Station in Hita, Ōita Prefecture. The line is named after Hita and Mount Hiko.

Stations

●: Stops, ｜: non-stop

No.	Station	Distance (km)	Rapid	Transfers	Location
Hitahikosan Line
JI  04	Jōno	0.0	●	Nippō Main Line	Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyūshū	Fukuoka Prefecture
JI  05	Ishida	3.3	｜
JI  06	Shii Kōen	5.1	｜	Kitakyushu Monorail (Kikugaoka Station) - 400 m away
JI  07	Shii	6.8	｜
JI  08	Ishiharamachi	9.0	●
JI  09	Yobuno	12.3	｜
JI  10	Saidōsho	18.1	｜		Kawara
JI  11	Kawara	23.4	●
JI  12	Ipponmatsu	25.0	｜
JI  13	Tagawa Ita	27.4	●	Heisei Chikuhō Railway Ita Line, Tagawa Line	Tagawa
JI  14	Tagawa Gotōji	30.0	●	Gotōji Line Heisei Chikuhō Railway Itoda Line
	Ikejiri	32.2	｜		Kawasaki
	Buzen Kawasaki	34.7	●
	Nishi Soeda	38.3	｜		Soeda
	Soeda	39.5	●
	Kanyūsha Hikosan	41.6
	Buzen Masuda	43.2
	Hikosan	47.2
	Chikuzen Iwaya	55.1			Tōhō
	Daigyōji	59.3
	Hōshuyama	61.3
	Ōtsuru	62.9			Hita	Ōita Prefecture
	Imayama	65.4
	Yoake	68.7		Kyūdai Main Line

History

The Toyo-shu Railway Co. opened the Tagawa-Ita - Buzen Kawasaki section as part of the Tagawa Line in 1899. That company merged with the Kyushu Railway Company in 1901, which extended the line to Soeda in 1903. The company was nationalised in 1907.

The Jono - Tagawa-Ita section was opened in 1915 by the Kokura Railway Co., that company being nationalised in 1943. The Soeda - Daigyoji section opened between 1937 and 1946, and the Daigyoji - Yoake section opened in 1956.

CTC signalling was introduced on the entire line in 1984. Freight service ceased beyond Tagawa-Gotōji in 1986, and totally in 1999.

Typhoon damage

On 5 July 2017, torrential rainfall damage resulted in the closure of the section between Kanyusha Kikosan and Hita. The line remains disconnected as of the start of 2020. On the 12 February 2020 it was proposed to not restore the rail service, and permanently replace it with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

Former connecting lines

Buzen Kawasaki Station: The 26 km Kamiyamada Line opened from Iizuka (on the Chikuho Main Line) to Shimoyamada in 1898, extended to Kamiyamada in 1929 and to Buzen Kawasaki (as a passenger-only section) in 1966. Freight services ceased in 1980, and the line closed in 1988. This line had two connections:

• A 2 km 3 ft (914 mm) gauge line from Okuma (16 km from Buzen Kawasaki) - Okumamachi operated between 1924 and 1933.
• The 8 km Urushio line from Shimokamoo (14 km from Buzen Kawasaki) - Shimayamada (connecting to the Gotoji Line) opened in 1943, and closed in 1986.

Soeda station - The Ogura Railway Co. opened a line to Ipponmatsu in 1915. The line was nationalised in 1943 and closed in 1985.

References

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