Type Heavy rail Operator(s) JR Shikoku Old gauge 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) Stations 20 | Opened 1914 Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Locale Kōchi Prefecture Line length 76.3 km (47.4 mi) | |
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Rolling stock KiHa 32 series, KiHa 54 series, KiHa 185 series DMUs Terminis Wakai Station, Kita-Uwajima Station | ||
32 jr shikoku yodo line kiha32 series dmu
The Yodo Line (予土線, Yodo-sen) is a railway line in Shikoku, Japan, operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects Shimanto in Kōchi Prefecture and Uwajima in Ehime Prefecture. Its name comes from the ancient provinces of Iyo (伊予) (now Ehime Prefecture) and Tosa (土佐) (now Kōchi Prefecture), which the line connects.
Contents
no 16 jr at ekawasaki station on the jr yodo line
Services
The Yodo Line is a quiet, rural line with only local trains providing service. Except for a single round-trip between Ekawasaki and Uwajima, all trains are wanman driver-only operated.
Kubokawa Station on the Dosan Line serves as the departure point for nearly all trains, which travel over the Tosa Kuroshio Railway Nakamura Line to Wakai before entering the Yodo Line proper. Since this section is not owned by JR Shikoku, customers are required to pay an additional 200 yen fare. Passengers, especially those using the Seishun 18 Kippu, are reminded of this by conductor announcements.
In addition to trains between Kubokawa and Uwajima, other trains between Uwajima and Ekawasaki & Chikanaga are operated approximately once every one to three hours.
Stations
History
In 1914, the Uji Light Railway Co. opened a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge line 18 km between Uwajima and Chikanaga. In 1923, the line was extended 7 km from Chikanaga to Yoshino. In 1931 the Uwajima Railway began operating a single gasoline-powered locomotive.
The Uwajima Railway was nationalised by Japanese Government Railways in 1933, becoming the Uwajima Line; Miyanoshita Station was renamed Iyo-Miyanoshita Station, Nakano renamed Futana, and Yoshino renamed Yoshinobu.
In 1941, the line was re-gauged to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in), the section between Uwajima and Muden replaced by a new route, Kita-Uwajima became the line's starting point and Takagushi and Mitsuma stations on the old section were closed.
The 10 km Yoshinobu - Ekawasaki section opened in 1953, and the 43 km Ekawasaki - Wakai section opened in 1974, linking to the Dosan Line with the line renamed as the Yodo Line. In the same year, CTC signalling was commissioned, and freight operations ceased.