Nichinan Line

The is a railway line in south-eastern Kyushu, Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Minami-Miyazaki Station in Miyazaki, Miyazaki to Shibushi Station in Shibushi, Kagoshima.

History

The Miyazaki Prefectural Government opened the first section of the line from Obi - Aburatsu in 1913, the same year that the Miyazaki Light Railway was opened from the port of Miyazaki to Uchiumi. The lines were linked in 1932, and nationalised in 1935. The extension to Kitago opened in 1941, and to Shibushi (as a passenger only section) in 1963.

Steam locomotives were withdrawn from the line in 1973. Freight services to Kitago ceased in 1982, and in 1990 the Shibushi station was relocated 100m closer to Miyazaki. The Minami Miyazaki - Tayoshi section was electrified in 1996 in conjunction with the opening of the Miyazaki Airport line. Subsequently, the line has been electrified as far as Kodomonokuni.

Former connecting lines

Shibushi station -

• The 39 km line to Nishi-Miyakonojō (known as the Shibushi Line) opened between 1923 and 1925, connecting to the Nippo Main Line. Freight service ended in 1983 and the line closed in 1987.
• The 98 km line to Kokubu (known as the Osumi Line), also connecting to the Nippo Main Line, was not completed until 1972. The first section was opened by the Osumi Light Railway Co. as a 762mm gauge line from Funama to Kushira, via a reversing station at Kanoya, between 1915 and 1923. The line was nationalised in 1935, the same year the Shibushi - Higashikushira section was opened by JR. The 1 km connection to Kushira opened the following year, and in 1938 the Kushira - Funama section was regauged, with a new station at Kanoya removing the need to reverse direction there. The Funama - Kaigata section opened in 1961 as a passenger only line, and the Kaigata - Kokubu section also opened without freight service. The rest of the line lost freight service in 1982, and the entire line closed in 1987.

Stations

•: Stops

|: Non-stop

Stations		Distance (km)	Nichinan Marine rapid	Transfers	Location
Nippō Main Line
Template:STN	宮崎	-2.6	•	Nippō Main Line (For Ōita and Kokura)	Miyazaki	Miyazaki Prefecture
Nichinan Line
Template:STN	南宮崎	0.0	•	Nippō Main Line (For Kagoshima)	Miyazaki	Miyazaki Prefecture
Template:STN	田吉	2.0	•	Miyazaki Kūkō Line
Template:STN	南方	4.2	|
Template:STN	木花	7.5	•
Template:STN	運動公園	9.0	•
Template:STN	曽山寺	10.2	|
Template:STN	子供の国	11.4	•
Template:STN	青島	12.7	•
Template:STN	折生迫	13.8	|
Template:STN	内海	17.5	|
Template:STN	小内海	19.9	|
Template:STN	伊比井	23.3	•		Nichinan
Template:STN	北郷	32.5	•
Template:STN	内之田	37.1	|
Template:STN	飫肥	39.8	•
Template:STN	日南	43.8	•
Template:STN	油津	46.0	•
Template:STN	大堂津	50.3	•
Template:STN	南郷	53.0	•
Template:STN	谷之口	56.1	•
Template:STN	榎原	60.5	•
Template:STN	日向大束	68.6	•		Kushima
Template:STN	日向北方	71.8	•
Template:STN	串間	74.4	•
Template:STN	福島今町	77.2	•
Template:STN	福島高松	79.6	•
Template:STN	大隅夏井	84.5	•		Shibushi	Kagoshima Prefecture
Template:STN	志布志	88.9	•

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia