Locale Kagoshima Prefecture Opened 1930 Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | Stations 36 Line length 87.8 km (54.6 mi) Owner Kyushu Railway Company | |
 | ||
Rolling stock KiHa 40/47/140, KiHa 200 series Terminis Kagoshima-Chūō Station, Makurazaki | ||
The Ibusuki Makurazaki Line (指宿枕崎線, Ibusuki Makurazaki-sen) is a railway line in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Kagoshima-Chūō Station in Kagoshima, to Makurazaki Station in Makurazaki, paralleling the eastern and southern coasts of Satsuma Peninsula. Excluding the Okinawa Monorail in Okinawa, this is the southernmost railway line in Japan, with Nishi-Ōyama Station being the southernmost station overall.
Contents
Services
The line is operationally divided into two sections. The section between Kagoshima-Chūō and Yamakawa functions as a commuter rail of Kagoshima. As such, there are relatively many local trains. From Kagoshima-Chūō, there is roughly one train per 20 minutes to Goino, one per 20 to 40 minutes to Kiire, and one per one hour to Ibusuki or Yamakawa. The Ibusuki no Tamatebako limited express and Nanohana (なのはな) rapid services operate on this section. The limited express train runs three times a day, and the rapid train runs southward three times a day, northward four times a day.
The section between Yamakawa and Makurazaki is an extremely quiet local line. During the daytime, there is no train service for six hours. In this section, all but Nishi-Ei are unmanned stations, including Makurazaki, the terminus.
The Nanohana DX (なのはなDX) rapid service was discontinued from the start of the revised timetable on March 12, 2011.
Stations
The Ibusuki Makkurazaki Line is entirely in Kagoshima Prefecture.
1 All trains stop at stations marked "+". Some trains stop at "*". No trains stop at "-".History
The 14 km Nishi-Kagoshima (now Kagoshima-Chūō) - Goino section opened in 1930, and was extended 32km to Ibusuki in 1934 and a further 4 km to Yamakawa in 1936. The next 18 km extension to Nishi-Ei opened in 1960 as a passenger only line, and Makurazaki (a further 20 km) was reached in 1963.
Steam locomotives were withdrawn in 1973, and freight services in 1980. CTC signalling was commissioned between Nishi-Kagoshima and Yamakawa in 1983.
Former connecting lines
Makurazaki station - The Kagoshima Prefectural Government opened the 50 km line from Kami Ijuin (on the Kagoshima Main Line) between 1914 and 1931. The line was closed in 1984 following landslides caused by torrential rain. The line had two branch lines: