Yōrō Railway Yōrō Line

The Yōrō Line (養老線, Yōrō-sen) is a railway line of a Japanese private railway operator Yōrō Railway (養老鉄道, Yōrō Tetsudō). The line traverses the northeastern side of the Yōrō Mountains and connects Kuwana Station in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture and Ibi Station in Ibigawa, Gifu Prefecture.

Yōrō Line
A Local train, 7700 series
Service
Operator(s)Yōrō Railway Co., Ltd.
Technical
Line length57.5 km (35.7 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Minimum radius160 m (520 ft)
Electrification1,500 V DC, overhead lines
Operating speed65 km/h (40 mph)
Maximum incline25
Yōrō Line
km
0.0
Nishi-KuwanaKuwana
0.7
Higashikata truck
conversion facility
1.6
Harima
4.0
Shimo-Fukaya
6.6
Shimo-Noshiro
8.6
Tado
11.9
Mino-Matsuyama
14.2
Ishizu
16.2
Mino-Yamazaki
19.8
Komano
24.5
Mino-Tsuya
28.8
Yōrō
31.8
Mino-Takada
34.5
Karasue
Makita River Bridge
over Makita River
36.0
Ōtoba
37.4
Tomoe
39.4
Mino-Yanagi
41.2
Nishi-Ōgaki
Ogaki Depot
Shin-Muro
43.0
Ōgaki
44.1
Muro
44.5
Shiken-ya
45.4
Kita-Ōgaki
Gama
closed 1974
47.5
Higashi-Akasaka
50.3
Hiro-Gōdo
51.9
Kita-Gōdo
53.5
Ikeno
54.4
Kita-Ikeno
55.2
Mino-Hongō
57.5
Ibi
km

The northern portion of the Ōgaki section is locally and unofficially called the Ibi Line (揖斐線, Ibi-sen), as Ōgaki is a reversing station.

Kintetsu Railway, one of largest private railway companies in Japan, owns the tracks and rolling stocks of the line whereon Yōrō Railway (a Class II railway),[clarification needed] a wholly owned subsidiary of Kintetsu, operated trains until 2018.[1]

Descriptions

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  • Company: Yōrō Railway (Category-2),[2] Kintetsu Railway (Category-3)
  • Length: 57.5 km (35.7 mi)[2]
  • Gauge: 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
  • Power: Electric 1500 V DC
  • No. of stations: 27 incl. both ends
  • Track: single[2]
  • Maximum speed: 65 km/h (40 mph)
  • Operation: All Local trains

History

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Initially steam powered, the line was constructed as a Class 1 railway by Yōrō Railway and opened in 1913 between Yōrō, Ōgaki, and Ikeno. In 1919, the present line was completed with extensions from Yōrō to Kuwana and Ikeno to Ibi. In 1922, Yōrō Railway merged with Ibi River Electric (揖斐川電気, Ibigawa Denki) and the following year the line was electrified (1500 V DC). In 1928, its railway was transferred to Yōrō Electric Railway (養老電気鉄道, Yōrō Denki Tetsudō). Since then, the operator has changed several times, namely to Ise Electric Railway (伊勢電気鉄道, Ise Denki Tetsudō) in 1929, to Yōrō Dentetsu (養老電鉄) in 1936, to Sangu Kyūkō Railway (参宮急行電鉄, Sangū Kyūkō Dentetsu) in 1940, to Kansai Kyūkō Railway (関西急行鉄道, Kansai Kyūkō Tetsudō) in 1941, finally to Kintetsu, then known as Kinki Nippon railway (近畿日本鉄道, Kinki Nippon Tetsudō), in 1944.

Following typhoon damage in 1959, the Kintetsu Nagoya Line was regauged to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in), the Kintetsu standard which enables through trains to Osaka. However, the Yōrō Line remained at 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) partly due to through freight trains to the Japanese National Railways (JNR) lines at Ōgaki and Kuwana, as the line provided a shortcut between these stations.

With accumulating deficit, Kintetsu Corporation decided to split off the operation of the Yōrō Line in 2007. Local governments along the line made an agreement of financial aid to the Yōrō Railway until 2010.

Stations

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All stations are unattended with the exceptions of Ōgaki, Nishi-Ōgaki, Ibi, Yōrō, Komano, Tado, and Kuwana.

Name Japanese Distance (km) Transfers Location
Between stations Total
Kuwana 桑名 - 0.0   Kansai Main Line (CJ07)
  Kintetsu Nagoya Line (E13)
Sangi Railway Hokusei Line (Nishi-Kuwana)
Kuwana Mie
Harima 播磨 0.9 1.6
Shimo-Fukaya 下深谷 2.4 4.0
Shimo-Noshiro 下野代 2.6 6.6
Tado 多度 2.0 8.6
Mino-Matsuyama 美濃松山 3.3 11.9 Kaizu Gifu
Ishizu 石津 2.3 14.2
Mino-Yamazaki 美濃山崎 2.0 16.2
Komano 駒野 3.6 19.8
Mino-Tsuya 美濃津屋 4.7 24.5
Yōrō 養老 4.3 28.8 Yōrō,
Yōrō District
Mino-Takada 美濃高田 3.0 31.8
Karasue 烏江 2.7 34.5
Ōtoba 大外羽 1.5 36.0 Ōgaki
Tomoe 友江 1.4 37.4
Mino-Yanagi 美濃青柳 2.0 39.4
Nishi-Ōgaki 西大垣 1.8 41.2
Ōgaki 大垣 1.8 43.0   Tōkaidō Main Line (CA77)
Tarumi Railway Tarumi Line (TR01)
Muro 1.1 44.1
Kita-Ōgaki 北大垣 1.3 45.4
Higashi-Akasaka 東赤坂 2.1 47.5 Gōdo,
Anpachi District
Hiro-Gōdo 広神戸 2.8 50.3
Kita-Gōdo 北神戸 1.6 51.9
Ikeno 池野 1.6 53.5 Ikeda,
Ibi District
Kita-Ikeno 北池野 0.9 54.4
Mino-Hongō 美濃本郷 0.8 55.2
Ibi 揖斐 2.3 57.5 Ibigawa, Ibi District

Connections

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At Kuwana

At Ōgaki

References

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  1. ^ "養老線の事業形態変更記念事業の実施について" (PDF).
  2. ^ a b c "会社案内 | 養老鉄道株式会社". www.yororailway.co.jp. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
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