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Suigun Line

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Suigun Line
KiHa E130 series DMU on the Suigun Line
Overview
Native name水郡線
StatusIn operation
OwnerJR East
LocaleIbaraki, Fukushima prefectures
Termini
Stations45
Service
TypeHeavy rail
Services2
Operator(s)JR East
Rolling stockKiHa E130 series DMU
History
Opened1897
Technical
Line length137.5 km (85.4 mi) (main line), 9.5 km (5.9 mi) (Hitachi-Ōta branch)
Track length147.0 km (91.3 mi)
Number of tracksEntire line single tracked
CharacterRural
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
ElectrificationNone
Operating speed95 km/h (59 mph)
Route map

The Suigun Line (水郡線, Suigun-sen) is a Japanese railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), which connects Mito Station in Ibaraki Prefecture and Asaka-Nagamori Station in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. All trains on the line continue onto the Tōhoku Main Line to Kōriyama Station. The name of the line includes one kanji from each of the terminals, Mito (水戸) and Kōriyama (郡山).

A branch line runs from Kami-Sugaya Station to Hitachi-Ōta Station in Ibaraki Prefecture.

History

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The Ota Railway Co. opened the Mito - Kami-Sugaya - Hitachi-Ota line between 1897 and 1899, but was declared bankrupt in 1901. The 15 banks owed money formed the Mito Railway Co. to acquire the line and continue its operation. That company opened the Kami-Sugaya - Hitachi-Omiya section in 1918, resulting in the Kami-Sugaya - Hitachi-Ota line becoming the branch.[1] The mainline was extended to Hitachi-Daigo in sections between 1922 and 1927, the year the company was nationalised.[1]

In 1929 JGR opened the Asaka-Nagamori - Yatagawa section, extending it to Kawahighashi in 1931.[1] The Hitachi-Daigo - Iwaki-Tanakura section was opened in stages between 1930 and 1932, and the Kawahigashi - Iwaki-Tanakura section opened in 1934, completing the line.[1]

Freight services ceased between 1982 and 1987. CTC signalling was commissioned on the entire line in 1983.

On 13 October 2019 as a result of heavy rainfall from Typhoon Hagibis, a bridge over the Kuji River was destroyed.[1] A substitute bus service operated between Saigane and Hitachi-Daiko station. JR East announced that the bridge repairs would take until November 2020 at the earliest, but the section did not reopen until 27 March 2021.[1]

Former connecting lines

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  • Iwaki-Tanakura station - A 23 km line to Shirakawa (on the Tohoku Main Line) was opened by the Shirotana Railway Co. in 1916. The line was nationalised in 1941, and closed in 1944. Plans to reopen the line in 1953 resulted in a decision to convert the line to a dedicated busway, which opened in 1957.
  • Hitachi-Ota station - An 11 km line to Omika (on the Joban Line) was opened by the Johoku Electric Railway in 1928/29. In 1944 the company merged with the Hitachi Electric Railway, and a 7 km line to Akukawa was opened in 1947. Both lines were electrified at 600 VDC from opening. CTC signalling was commissioned in 1969, and in 1971 the lines became the first electric railway in Japan converted to one-person operation. Both lines closed in 2005.

Basic data

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  • Track: Single track
  • Electrification: None
  • Signalling: Automatic Train Control (ATS-Sn)
  • CTC: Mito Operations Center

Services

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There is generally one train every one to two hours, but between Mito and Kami-Sugaya this increases to one to two trains per hour. Only 13 trains per day run the entire length of the line; most services are from Mito to Hitachi-Ōmiya, to Hitachi-Daigo, and to Hitachi-Ōta. Between Hitachi-Daigo and Kōriyama there are few trains, with a period of 2–3 hours during midday having no services whatsoever.

There are three additional trains between Hitachi-Daigo and Kōriyama (two to Kōriyama, one to Hitachi-Daigo), a single round-trip to Kōriyama from Iwaki-Ishikawa and back, and a single evening trip from Kōriyama to Iwaki-Tanakura that proceeds to Mito the following morning.

Other seasonal trains are added on certain days throughout the year.

Stations

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  • All stations on the main line and branch line are served by local trains only.

Main Line

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Station Japanese Distance (km) Transfers   Location
Between
stations 		Total
Mito 水戸 - 0.0 Jōban Line
Ōarai Kashima Line 		∨ Mito Ibaraki
Hitachi-Aoyagi 常陸青柳 1.9 1.9   ◇ Hitachinaka
Hitachi-Tsuda 常陸津田 2.2 4.1   ｜
Godai 後台 2.4 6.5   ｜ Naka
Shimo-Sugaya 下菅谷 1.3 7.8   ◇
Naka-Sugaya 中菅谷 1.2 9.0   ｜
Kami-Sugaya 上菅谷 1.1 10.1 Suigun Line (Hitachi-Ōta Branch) ◇
Hitachi-Kōnosu 常陸鴻巣 3.3 13.4   ｜
Urizura 瓜連 3.3 16.7   ◇
Shizu 静 1.4 18.1   ｜
Hitachi-Ōmiya 常陸大宮 5.3 23.4   ◇ Hitachiōmiya
Tamagawamura 玉川村 5.4 28.8   ◇
Nogamihara 野上原 3.7 32.5   ｜
Yamagatajuku 山方宿 2.7 35.2   ◇
Naka-Funyū 中舟生 2.7 37.9   ｜
Shimo-Ogawa 下小川 2.8 40.7   ◇
Saigane 西金 3.4 44.1   ｜ Daigo, Kuji District
Kami-Ogawa 上小川 3.2 47.3   ◇
Fukuroda 袋田 4.5 51.8   ｜
Hitachi-Daigo 常陸大子 3.8 55.6   ◇
Shimonomiya 下野宮 6.4 62.0   ｜
Yamatsuriyama 矢祭山 4.9 66.9   ｜ Yamatsuri, Higashishirakawa District Fukushima
Higashidate 東館 4.1 71.0   ◇
Minami-Ishii 南石井 2.8 73.8   ｜
Iwaki-Ishii 磐城石井 1.1 74.9   ｜
Iwaki-Hanawa 磐城塙 6.4 81.3   ◇ Hanawa, Higashishirakawa District
Chikatsu 近津 5.1 86.4   ｜ Tanagura, Higashishirakawa District
Nakatoyo 中豊 2.4 88.8   ｜
Iwaki-Tanakura 磐城棚倉 1.7 90.5 Hakuhō Line (busstitution) ◇
Iwaki-Asakawa 磐城浅川 6.5 97.0   ◇ Asakawa, Ishikawa District
Satoshiraishi 里白石 3.0 100.0   ｜
Iwaki-Ishikawa 磐城石川 5.3 105.3   ◇ Ishikawa, Ishikawa District
Nogisawa 野木沢 4.8 110.1   ｜
Kawabeoki 川辺沖 2.5 112.6   ｜ Tamakawa, Ishikawa District
Izumigō 泉郷 2.7 115.3   ｜
Kawahigashi 川東 6.9 122.2   ◇ Sukagawa
Oshioe 小塩江 3.8 126.0   ｜
Yatagawa 谷田川 2.9 128.9   ◇ Kōriyama
Iwaki-Moriyama 磐城守山 3.2 132.1   ｜
Asaka-Nagamori 安積永盛 5.4 137.5 Tōhoku Main Line (for Kuroiso) ∧
Although the Suigun Line officially ends at Asaka-Nagamori Station, all trains arriving at this station continue to Kōriyama Station, traveling a short stretch within the Tōhoku Main Line.
Kōriyama 郡山 4.9 - Tōhoku Shinkansen, Tōhoku Main Line (for Fukushima), Ban'etsu East Line, Ban'etsu West Line),
Yamagata Shinkansen connection at Fukushima Station in Fukushima. 		∥ Kōriyama Fukushima

Hitachi-Ōta Branch

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Station Japanese Distance from
Kami-Sugaya (km) 		Transfers Location
Between
stations 		Total
Kami-Sugaya 上菅谷 - 0.0 Suigun Line (Main Line) Naka Ibaraki
Minami-Sakaide 南酒出 2.5 2.5  
Nukada 額田 1.1 3.6  
Kawai 河合 3.1 6.7   Hitachiōta
Yagawara 谷河原 1.5 8.2  
Hitachi-Ōta 常陸太田 1.3 9.5  
Passing information
  • Double-tracked section: "∥"
  • Passing loops: "◇", "∨", "^"
  • No passing loops: "｜"

Rolling stock

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Past

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KiHa 110 series DMU at Kōriyama Station, January 2008

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Kubo, Satoshi, プレイバック展望 奥久慈清流ライン [Playback Observation: Suigun Line], Japan Railfan Magazine, 61 (723): 114–119
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