Mine Line

The Mine Line (美祢線, Mine-sen) is a railway line owned and operated by the West Japan Railway Company. It connects San'yō-Onoda to Nagato, both in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.

Mine Line
Overview
Native name	美祢線
Locale	Yamaguchi Prefecture
Termini	Asa Nagatoshi
Stations	12
Service
Operator(s)	JR West
Rolling stock	KiHa 120
History
Opened	13 September 1905 (1905-09-13)
Last extension	23 March 1924 (1924-03-23)
Technical
Line length	46.0 km (28.6 mi)
Number of tracks	Single-track
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	85 km/h (53 mph)
Route map San'yō Shinkansen 0.0 Asa San'yō Line 2.0 Kamonosho Signal Station 4.2 Yunotō 6.6 Matsugase Signal Station -1997 Asa River 10.2 Atsu 13.2 Shirōgahara Shirōgahara Tunnel 140 m (460 ft) Minami-Ōmine Ōmine -1997 19.4 Mine UBE Corporation only 20.8 Kamiriyō -1920 22.3 Shigeyasu 27.2 Ofuku 37.1 Shibuki 41.0 Nagato-Yumoto 43.3 Itamochi Otobu River Nagato Depot San'in Main Line 46.0 Nagatoshi San'in Main Line San'in Main Line - Senzaki Branch Line

History

The Sanyo Railway Company opened the Asa to Minami-Omine section in 1905 to haul coal. The company was nationalised in 1906, and the Japanese Government Railway (JGR) extended the line to Mine in 1909.

The Mine Light Railway Company opened the Mine to Shigeyasu section in 1916. That company was nationalised in 1920, and the JGR opened the section to Ofuku the same year. The line was extended to Nagato in 1924, completing the line.

Freight services ceased in 1984, except for limestone haulage from Shigeyasu, which ceased in 2009.

All services were suspended after heavy rainstorm flooding in July 2010. Despite estimates that repairs would take up to three years to complete, the Mine Line was restored to full service on 26 September 2011, in time for the 66th National Sports Festival, "Oidemase Yamaguchi Kokutai," which began in October 2011.

Mine Line is now operated as a bus-only service after a storm in June 2023.

Route data

• Operating Company:
  • West Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks)
• Distance:
  • Asa — Nagatoshi: 46 km
• Gauge: 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
• Stations: 12
• Double-tracking: None
• Electrification: Not electrified
• Railway signalling:
  • Automatic occlusive (special)

Stations

All stations are in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Name		Distance (km)	Connections	Location
Asa	厚狭	0.0	JR West: Sanyō Shinkansen, Sanyō Main Line	San'yō-Onoda
Kamonoshō S.B.	鴨ノ庄信号	(2.0)
Yunotō	湯ノ峠	4.2
Atsu	厚保	10.2		Mine
Shirōgahara	四郎ヶ原	13.2
Minami-Ōmine	南大嶺	16.9
Mine	美祢	19.4
Shigeyasu	重安	22.3
Ofuku	於福	27.2
Shibuki	渋木	37.1		Nagato
Nagato-Yumoto	長門湯本	41.0
Itamochi	板持	43.3
Nagatoshi	長門市	46.0	JR West San'in Main Line

See also

• List of railway lines in Japan

External links

Media related to Mine Line at Wikimedia Commons

• Notice on schedule of substitution bus services (JR West) (in Japanese)