Meishō Line

The Meishō Line (名松線, Meishō-sen) is a railway line of Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) in Mie Prefecture, Japan, connecting Matsusaka and Ise-Okitsu stations.

Meishō Line 名松線
KiHa 11 series DMU at Ieki Station
Overview
Type	Heavy rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Mie Prefecture
Termini	Matsusaka Ise-Okitsu
Stations	15
Operation
Opened	1935 (fully)
Owner	JR Central
Character	Rural
Rolling stock	KiHa 11 DMU
Technical
Line length	43.5 km (27.03 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	65 km/h (40 mph)

Meishō Line
Kintetsu: Yamada Line JR-C: Kisei Main Line 0.0 Matsusaka Kintetsu: Yamada Line JR-C: Kisei Main Line 4.2 Kaminoshō 7.0 Gongemmae 11.7 Ise-Hata Kintetsu: Osaka Line 13.0 Ichishi Kawai-Takaoka Kintetsu: Osaka Line 15.6 Isegi 18.5 Ise-Ōi Chūsei Railway 21.3 Ise-Kawaguchi 23.3 Sekinomiya 25.8 Ieki 29.5 Ise-Takehara 33.8 Ise-Kamakura 36.6 Ise-Yachi 39.7 Hitsu 43.5 Ise-Okitsu

The line takes its name from the kanji characters of the cities of Nabari (名張) and Matsusaka (松阪). Although this line was planned to connect them, the section from Ise-Okitsu to Nabari was never built, due to the prior completion of the present Kintetsu Osaka Line.

History

The section between Matsusaka and Ieki opened in stages between 1929 and 1931, and was extended to Ise-Okitsu in 1935.

Freight services ceased in 1965.

Former connecting lines

• Ise-Kawaguchi station - The Dainippon Railway Co. operated a 15 km 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge line to Hisai on the Kintetsu Nagoya Line between 1925 and 1943.

Service disruptions

Damage from Typhoon Vera closed the line between Ise-Takehara and Ise-Okitsu for 2 months in 1959.

The entire line was closed for 9 months in 1982/3 due to damage caused by Typhoon Bess.

In October 2009, Typhoon Melor struck the area, resulting in over 40 washouts on the section between Ieki and Ise-Okitsu, and the section remained closed for six years after. A special JR bus served the section during its closure. The section reopened in March 2016.[1][2]

During the summer of 2016, some of the KiHa 11 units, used on the line, were unavailable due to inspections. During this time, KiHa 25 DMUs were deployed on the line to temporarily replace the absent KiHa 11s.

Basic data

• Operators, distances:
  • Central Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks)
    • Matsusaka — Ise-Okitsu: 43.5 km (27.03 mi)
• Stations: 15
• Track: Entire line single-tracked
• Electrification: None
• Railway signalling:
  • Matsusaka — Ieki: Card signalling
  • Ieki — Ise-Okitsu: Staff signalling

Service

The Meishō Line is a rural line in inland of Mie Prefecture. There are 8 return workings daily. All trains are Local driver-only services. All trains stop at every station. There are no limited-stop services such as rapids. Services are nearly always formed of KiHa 11 DMUs in 1-car formations. Very occasionally, 2 cars may be used during events or busy seasons.

Stations

All stations are located in Mie Prefecture.

Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Transfers	Location
		Between Stations	Total
Matsusaka	松阪	-	0.0	Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central): Kisei Main Line Kintetsu: Yamada Line	Matsusaka
Kaminoshō	上ノ庄	4.2	4.2
Gongemmae	権現前	2.8	7.0
Ise-Hata	伊勢八太	4.7	11.7		Tsu
Ichishi	一志	1.3	13.0	Kintetsu: Osaka Line (Kawai-Takaoka)
Isegi	井関	2.6	15.6
Ise-Ōi	伊勢大井	2.9	18.5
Ise-Kawaguchi	伊勢川口	2.8	21.3
Sekinomiya	関ノ宮	2.0	23.3
Ieki	家城	2.5	25.8
Ise-Takehara	伊勢竹原	3.7	29.5
Ise-Kamakura	伊勢鎌倉	4.3	33.8
Ise-Yachi	伊勢八知	2.8	36.6
Hitsu	比津	3.1	39.7
Ise-Okitsu	伊勢奥津	3.8	43.5

References

1. Annual Report 2016 (PDF) (in Japanese). Central Japan Railway Company. p. 21. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
2. "JR東海が｢不通路線｣を復旧した本当の理由" (in Japanese). Toyo Keizai. pp. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2020.