Ban'etsu East Line

Ban'etsu East Line
Ban'etsu East Line
	A KiHa 110 series DMU near Kanmata Station, September 2018
Overview
Native name	磐越東線
Status	In operation
Owner	JR East
Locale	Fukushima Prefecture
Termini	Iwaki; Kōriyama;
Stations	16
Service
Type	Heavy rail
Operator(s)	JR East
Depot(s)	Kōriyama
Rolling stock	KiHa 110 series DMU
History
Opened	1915; 109 years ago
Technical
Line length	85.6 km (53.2 mi)
Number of tracks	Entire line single tracked
Character	Rural
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	100 km/h (62 mph)
Route map

The Ban'etsu East Line (磐越東線, Ban'etsu-tō-sen) is a railway line in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Iwaki Station in Iwaki and Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama. The name "Ban'etsu" is taken from the first characters of the names of the ancient provinces of Iwaki (磐城) and Echigo (越後), which the Ban'etsu East and Ban'etsu West lines connect. "Tō" (東) means "east" in Japanese.

The line's nickname is the Yūyū Abukuma Line (ゆうゆうあぶくまライン), taken from the Abukuma River that flows nearby.

A Ban'etsu East Line train arriving at Mōgi Station, 2017.

Service

All trains are operated as local services in 2-, 3-, or 5-car formations. Service between Kōriyama and Ononiimachi is provided once every 30 minutes to two hours, but between Ononiimachi and Iwaki, there is a period of five hours where no trains operate. One reason for the few continuous services between Iwaki and Kōriyama is the opening of the parallel Ban-etsu Expressway in 1995; as a result, most long distance passengers use highway bus services.

The last express service, Iwaki, stopped running in 1982. During peak holiday periods such as Golden Week, Obon, and New Year, the rapid Abukuma makes a single round trip with a 2-car train.

Station list

All stations are located in Fukushima Prefecture.
Trains can pass one another at stations marked "◇", "∨", or "∧". Trains cannot pass at stations marked "｜".

Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Rapid Abukuma	Transfers		Location
Station	Japanese	Between stations	Total	Rapid Abukuma	Transfers		Location
Iwaki	いわき	-	0.0	●	Jōban Line	∨	Iwaki
Akai	赤井	4.8	4.8	｜		｜
Ogawagō	小川郷	5.5	10.3	●		◇
Eda	江田	8.0	18.3	｜		｜
Kawamae	川前	8.0	26.3	｜		◇
Natsui	夏井	10.4	36.7	｜		｜	Ono, Tamura District
Ononiimachi	小野新町	3.4	40.1	●		◇	Ono, Tamura District
Kanmata	神俣	6.5	46.6	●		◇	Tamura
Sugaya	菅谷	3.3	49.9	｜		｜
Ōgoe	大越	4.4	54.3	●		◇
Iwaki-Tokiwa	磐城常葉	4.4	58.7	｜		◇
Funehiki	船引	3.8	62.5	●		◇
Kanameta	要田	7.0	69.5	｜		◇
Miharu	三春	4.2	73.7	●		◇	Miharu, Tamura District
Mōgi	舞木	6.1	79.8	｜		◇	Kōriyama
Kōriyama	郡山	5.8	85.6	●	Tōhoku Shinkansen, Yamagata Shinkansen, Tōhoku Main Line, Ban'etsu West Line, Suigun Line^{[* 1]}	∧	Kōriyama

^ Although the official start of the Suigun Line is Asakanagamori, all trains run through to/from Kōriyama.

Rolling stock

As of February 2009, the following rolling stock is used on the East Ban'etsu Line.

KiHa 110 series DMUs

History

The line was planned by the Railway Construction Act in 1892. The Japanese Government Railways opened the first section as the Heigun West Line (平郡西線) between Koriyama and Miharu in 1914. The Iwaki - Ogawagō opened in 1915 as the Heigun East Line (平郡東線), the same year Miharu - Ononiimachi section opened. When the two sections were connected in 1917, the line became the Ban'etsu East Line.

Freight services ceased in 1987.