Sankō Line

The Sankō Line (三江線, Sankō-sen) was a railway line in western Japan operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The 108.1 km line connected Gōtsu in Shimane Prefecture to Miyoshi in Hiroshima Prefecture and featured 30 tunnels. Whilst the first section opened in 1930, the line was not completed until 1975. Owing to declining patronage, the entire rail line ceased operation on 31 March 2018, to be replaced by a bus service on 1 April 2018.[1][2]

Sankō Line
A KiHa 120 DMU on the Sanko Line in June 2008
Overview
Native name	三江線
Type	Regional rail
Status	Closed
Locale	Shimane and Hiroshima Prefectures
Termini	Gōtsu Miyoshi
Stations	35
Daily ridership	50 passengers per km per day (FY2014)
Operation
Opened	1930 (completed in 1975)
Closed	31 March 2018
Owner	JR West
Technical
Line length	108.1 km (67.2 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Operating speed	85 km/h (55 mph)
Route map km 0.0 Gōtsu Sanin Main Line 1.1 Gōtsu Honmachi 3.3 Gōtsu 7.0 Kawahira 13.9 Kawado 19.3 Tazu 22.3 Iwami Kawagoe 25.8 Shikaga Kutsuotaki Tunnel 28.9 Inbara Shimokuno Tunnel 32.6 Iwami Kawamoto 34.6 Kirohara 37.6 Take 39.8 Onbara 42.7 Iwami Yanaze 45.0 Akatsuka Noi Karijōshajō Gōnokawa River 48.1 Kasubuchi 50.1 Hamahara Hamahara Tuunel 53.8 Sawadani Toyamaru Tunnel 59.6 Ushio 62.8 Iwami Matsubara Hibikidani Tunnel 68.4 Iwami Tsuga Ōidani Tunnel Gōnokawa River 74.8 Uzui ↑Shimane pref. Gōnokawa River Hiroshima pref.↓ Yanagihara Tunnel 78.2 Ikawashi ↑Hiroshima pref. Gōnokawa River Shimane pref.↓ 79.7 Kuchiba 83.2 Gōbira 84.6 Sakugiguchi Station I 84.9 Sakugiguchi ↑Shimane pref./Hiroshima pref.↓ Gōnokawa River 89.7 Kōyodo Station Kōyodo Gōnokawa River 93.3 Shikijiki 95.1 Nobuki 97.0 Tokorogi 98.4 Funasa 100.6 Nagatani 103.1 Awaya Gōnokawa River 106.1 Ozekiyama Basen River ←Geibi Line↓ 108.1 Miyoshi

Stations

Iwami-Kawamoto Station in September 2008

Uzui Station in July 2008

Name		Between (km)	Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
Gōtsu	江津	-	0.0	Sanin Main Line	Gōtsu	Shimane Prefecture
Gōtsuhommachi	江津本町	1.1	1.1
Chigane	千金	2.4	3.3
Kawahira	川平	3.7	7.0
Kawado	川戸	6.9	13.9
Tazu	田津	5.4	19.3
Iwami Kawagoe	石見川越	3.0	22.3
Shikaga	鹿賀	3.5	25.8
Inbara	因原	3.1	28.9		Kawamoto Ōchi District
Iwami Kawamoto	石見川本	3.7	32.6
Kirohara	木路原	2.0	34.6
Take	竹	3.0	37.6		Misato Ōchi District
Onbara	乙原	2.2	39.8
Iwami Yanaze	石見簗瀬	2.9	42.7
Akatsuka	明塚	2.3	45.0
Kasubuchi	粕淵	3.1	48.1
Hamahara	浜原	2.0	50.1
Sawadani	沢谷	3.7	53.8
Ushio	潮	5.8	59.6
Iwami Matsubara	石見松原	3.2	62.8
Iwami Tsuga	石見都賀	5.6	68.4
Uzui	宇都井	6.4	74.8		Ōnan, Ōchi
Ikawashi	伊賀和志	3.4	78.2		Miyoshi, Hiroshima
Kuchiba	口羽	1.5	79.7		Ōnan, Ōchi, Shimane
Gōbira	江平	3.6	83.2
Sakugiguchi	作木口	1.7	84.9
Kōyodo	香淀	4.8	89.7		Miyoshi	Hiroshima
Shikijiki	式敷	3.6	93.3		Akitakata
Nobuki	信木	1.8	95.1
Tokorogi	所木	1.9	97.0
Funasa	船佐	1.4	98.4
Nagatani	長谷	2.2	100.6		Miyoshi
Awaya	粟屋	2.5	103.1
Ozekiyama	尾関山	3.0	106.1
Miyoshi	三次	2.0	108.1	Geibi Line Fukuen Line

Rolling stock

A JR West KiHa 120 diesel car in September 2008

Services on the line were operated by JR West single-car KiHa 120 diesel multiple units.

History

The Gotsu to Kawado section opened in 1930, and the line was extended progressively east, reaching Hamahara in 1937. The Miyoshi to Shikijiki section opened in 1955 as a passenger-only line, and was extended to Kuchiba in 1963, and Hamahara in 1975, completing the line.

Closure

On 16 October 2015, JR West announced that it was considering closing the line owing to poor patronage, and was in discussion with the two prefectures served by the line, Shimane and Hiroshima, as well as other municipalities served, concerning future plans.[3] In fiscal 2014, the line carried an average of 50 passengers per km per day, compared to 458 per km per day in 1987.[4] On 29 September 2016, JR West announced that the entire line would close on 31 March 2018.[1] The line then closed on March 31, 2018, with an event hosted by JR West.[5]

See also

• List of railway lines in Japan

References

1. 三江線１８年３月末で廃線 [Sanko Line to close at end of March 2018]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). Japan: The Mainichi Newspapers. 29 September 2016. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
2. ＪＲ三江線廃止 代替バス運行開始 Retrieved 2 April 2018 (in Japanese)
3. ＪＲ西：三江線、廃止も検討…人口減、利用低迷で [JR West considering closure of Sanko Line - declining population and poor patronage]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). Japan: The Mainichi Newspapers. 16 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
4. 区間別平均通過人員および旅客運輸収入（平成26年度） [Average passenger figures and revenue by line (Fiscal 2014)] (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan: West Japan Railway Company. 2015. p. 58. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
5. "Railway fans bid JR Sanko Line in western Japan farewell as red ink forces closure". Mainichi Daily News. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.