Minobu Line
| Minobu Line | |
|---|---|
 JR Central 313 series EMU on the Minobu Line | |
| Overview | |
| Owner | JR Central |
| Termini | |
| Stations | 39 |
| Service | |
| Type | Heavy rail |
| History | |
| Opened | 1890 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 88.4 km |
| Track gauge | 1067 |
| Operating speed | 85 km/h (55 mph)* |
|}
The Minobu Line (身延線, Minobu-sen) is a railway line in the Tōkai region of Japan operated by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). It runs from Fuji Station in Fuji, Shizuoka to Kōfu Station in Kōfu, Yamanashi, and connects the Tōkaidō Main Line with the Chūō Main Line trunk railroads.
Operation
The Fujikawa limited express service operates between Kōfu and Shizuoka via Fuji using JR Central 373 series EMU trains. Other trains are all-stations "Local" services, with higher frequencies on the Fuji - Nishi-Fujinomiya and Kajikazawaguchi - Kōfu sections compared to the section in between. 313 series and 211 series EMUs are used on local services.
Stations
| Name | Distance (km) |
Connections | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuji | 富士 | 0.0 | Tōkaidō Main Line | Fuji | Shizuoka Prefecture |
| Fuji, Shizuoka | 柚木 | 1.5 | |||
| Tatebori | 竪堀 | 2.8 | |||
| Iriyamase | 入山瀬 | 5.6 | |||
| Shizuoka | 富士根 | 8.0 | |||
| Gendōji | 源道寺 | 9.3 | Fujinomiya | ||
| Fujinomiya | 富士宮 | 10.7 | |||
| Nishi-Fujinomiya | 西富士宮 | 11.9 | |||
| Numakubo | 沼久保 | 16.9 | |||
| Shibakawa | 芝川 | 19.2 | |||
| Shizuoka | 稲子 | 24.0 | |||
| Tōshima | 十島 | 26.3 | Nanbu | Yamanashi Prefecture | |
| Ide | 井出 | 29.4 | |||
| Yorihata | 寄畑 | 31.9 | |||
| Utsubuna | 内船 | 34.1 | |||
| Kai-Ōshima | 甲斐大島 | 39.8 | Minobu | ||
| Minobu | 身延 | 43.5 | |||
| Shionosawa | 塩之沢 | 45.7 | |||
| Hadakajima | 波高島 | 50.2 | |||
| Shimobe-onsen | 下部温泉 | 51.7 | |||
| Kai-Tokiwa | 甲斐常葉 | 54.1 | |||
| Ichinose | 市ノ瀬 | 56.1 | |||
| Kunado | 久那土 | 58.8 | |||
| Kai-Iwama | 甲斐岩間 | 60.3 | Ichikawamisato | ||
| Ochii | 落居 | 61.8 | |||
| Kajikazawaguchi | 鰍沢口 | 66.8 | |||
| Ichikawa-Daimon | 市川大門 | 69.8 | |||
| Ichikawa-Hommachi | 市川本町 | 70.7 | |||
| Ashigawa | 芦川 | 71.7 | |||
| Kai-Ueno | 甲斐上野 | 72.8 | |||
| Higashi-Hanawa | 東花輪 | 76.3 | Chūō | ||
| Yamanashi | 小井川 | 77.5 | |||
| Jōei | 常永 | 78.9 | Shōwa | ||
| Kokubo | 国母 | 81.2 | Kōfu | ||
| Kai-Sumiyoshi | 甲斐住吉 | 83.1 | |||
| Minami-Kōfu | 南甲府 | 84.0 | |||
| Zenkōji | 善光寺 | 86.3 | |||
| Kanente | 金手 | 87.2 | |||
| Kōfu | 甲府 | 88.4 | Chūō Main Line | ||
History
 |
The Minobu line was planned by a private railway company Fuji Minobu Railway (富士身延鉄道, Fuji Minobu Tetsudō). A preceding horse tram line opened in 1890, Fuji Horse Tramway (富士馬車鉄道, Fuji Basha Tetsudō) from Suzukawa (present Yoshiwara) on the Tōkaidō Main Line to Ōmiya (present Fujinomiya), along the route in the southern tip. The tram was purchased by the railway in 1912. The following year the line was converted from horse tram to steam railway, and until 1920 the company gradually extending the line to Minobu, at a distance of 26.9 miles (43.3 km). In 1927, the line was electrified, and in 1928 reached Kōfu on the Chūō Main Line and the present stretch was completed in the distance of 54.7 miles (88.0 km).
In 1938 the Minobu line was leased to the government, and nationalized into the Japanese Government Railways (JGR) in 1941. The JGR became the Japanese National Railways (JNR) after World War II. The route of Fuji side was changed in 1968 to allow through trains from Tokyo without switchback, and the distance was slightly modified. In 1987, Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) took over operations of the Minobu Line following privatization of the Japanese National Railways.
See also
External links
