Ōito Line

The is a railway line in Japan which connects Matsumoto Station in Nagano Prefecture with Itoigawa Station in Niigata Prefecture. There are two operators on the line: East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Minami-Otari is the boundary for the two companies. The section of the line operated by JR East, between Minami-Otari and Matsumoto, is electrified and trains are fairly regular along this section. The JR West section from Minami-Otari to Itoigawa, however, is not electrified and sees less use. Trains operate less frequently along this section.

Route data

• Operators, services:
  • East Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks)
    • Matsumoto — Minami-Otari: 70.1 km
  • West Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks)
    • Minami-Otari — Itoigawa: 35.3 km
• Stations:
  • JR East: 33
  • JR West: 8 including Itoigawa, excluding Minami-Otari
• Double-tracked section: None
• Electrification: Matsumoto — Minami-Otari (1,500 V DC)
  Minami-Otari — Itoigawa (None)
• Railway signalling:
  • Matsumoto — Itoigawa: Automatic Train Stop, S-type

Services

JR East section

Limited express, Rapid

since March 2025Template:Dated maintenance category (articles), the following services are operated.

Name	Through from/to	Start	End	Service frequency (daily)
Limited Express Azusa	Template:STN	Matsumoto	Hakuba	1 return trip
Rapid	Template:STN	Matsumoto	Template:STN	1 up trip
	-	Shinano-Ōmachi	Template:STN	1 up trip

Local

Matsumoto – Shinano-Ōmachi: every 30-60 minutes

Shinano-Ōmachi – Minami-Otari: every 60-180 minutes

JR West section

Local

Minami-Otari - Itoigawa: every 120-180 minutes

No limited-stop services such as rapids operate on the JR West section. All trains are local services, which stop at every station.

Rolling stock

JR East section

• E127-100 series EMU
• 211 series EMU
• E353 series EMU - Azusa

JR West section

• KiHa 120 series DMU

Stations

  JR East section

All stations are within Nagano Prefecture.

A: Limited Express Azusa

R: Rapid

Trains stop at stations marked "O", skip at stations marked "|".

No.	Station	Japanese	Distance(km)		A	R	Transfers	Location
			Between stations	Total
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	松本	-	0.0	O	O	Template:Plainlist	Matsumoto
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	北松本	0.7	0.7	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	島内	1.9	2.6	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	島高松	1.2	3.8	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	梓橋	1.4	5.2	|	O		Azumino
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	一日市場	1.6	6.8	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	中萱	1.6	8.4	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	南豊科	2.0	10.4	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	豊科	1.0	11.4	O	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	柏矢町	2.8	14.2	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	穂高	2.0	16.2	O	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	有明	2.2	18.4	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	安曇追分	1.5	19.9	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	細野	2.9	22.8	|	↑		Matsukawa, Kitaazumi District
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	北細野	1.0	23.8	|	↑
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	信濃松川	2.2	26.0	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	安曇沓掛	1.6	28.6	|	↑		Ōmachi
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	信濃常盤	2.3	30.9	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	南大町	3.1	34.0	|	↑
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	信濃大町	1.1	35.1	O	O
						O	Rapid terminus / transfer
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	北大町	2.1	37.2	|	↑
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	信濃木崎	2.2	39.4	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	稲尾	2.2	41.6	|	↑
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	海ノ口	1.3	42.9	|	↑
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	簗場	3.4	46.3	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	南神城	4.9	52.8	|	↑		Hakuba, Kitaazumi District
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	神城	2.4	55.2	|	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	飯森	1.5	56.7	|	↑
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	白馬	3.0	59.7	O	O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	信濃森上	1.9	61.6		O
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	白馬大池	3.8	65.4		↑		Otari, Kitaazumi District
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	千国	3.4	68.7		↑
Template:OSNS	Template:STN	南小谷	1.4	70.1		O

Closed Stations Yanabaskijōmae Station closed on 16 March 2019

  JR West section

Station	Japanese	Distance(km)		Transfers	Location
		Between stations	Total
Template:STN	南小谷	-	70.1		Otari, Nagano
Template:STN	中土	4.0	74.1
Template:STN	北小谷	4.4	78.5
Template:STN	平岩	5.5	85.0		Itoigawa, Niigata
Template:STN	小滝	6.8	91.8
Template:STN	根知	3.6	95.4
Template:STN	頸城大野	4.9	100.3
Template:STN	姫川	1.9	102.2
Template:STN	糸魚川	3.2	105.4	Template:Plainlist

History

The section between Matsumoto and Template:STN was built between 1915 and 1916 by the , which electrified the line in 1926. The company was nationalised in 1937 and was not the same entity as the present Shinano Railway.

The rest of the line was built by the Japanese Government Railways (JGR) and the Japanese National Railways (JNR) between 1929 and 1957. The Shinano-Ōmachi to Minami Otari section was electrified between 1959 and 1967. CTC signalling was commissioned in 1983, and freight services ceased in 1987.

Following privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, the line was divided and assigned to JR East and JR West.

Station numbering was introduced on the line by JR East from 12 December 2016, with stations numbered in sequence from 9 (Minami-Otari) to 42 (Matsumoto).

See also

• List of railway lines in Japan