Suigun Line

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Suigun Line
Series-KihaE130-E131.jpg
KiHa E130 series DMU on the Suigun Line
Overview
Native name水郡線
StatusIn operation
Owner JR East
Locale Ibaraki, Fukushima prefectures
Termini
Stations45
Service
TypeHeavy rail
Services2
Operator(s)JR East
Rolling stock KiHa E130 series DMU
History
Opened1897
Technical
Line length137.5 km (85.4 mi) (main line), 9.5 km (5.9 mi) (Hitachi-Ōta branch)
Track length147.0 km (91.3 mi)
Number of tracksEntire line single tracked
CharacterRural
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification None
Operating speed95 km/h (59 mph)
Route map
JR Suigun Line linemap.svg

The Suigun Line (水郡線, Suigun-sen) is a Japanese railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), which connects Mito Station in Ibaraki Prefecture and Asaka-Nagamori Station in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. All trains on the line continue onto the Tōhoku Main Line to Kōriyama Station. The name of the line includes one kanji from each of the terminals, Mito (水戸) and Kōriyama (郡山).

Contents

A branch line runs from Kami-Sugaya Station to Hitachi-Ōta Station in Ibaraki Prefecture.

History

The Ota Railway Co. opened the Mito - Kami-Sugaya - Hitachi-Ota line between 1897 and 1899, but was declared bankrupt in 1901. The 15 banks owed money formed the Mito Railway Co. to acquire the line and continue its operation. That company opened the Kami-Sugaya - Hitachi-Omiya section in 1918, resulting in the Kami-Sugaya - Hitachi-Ota line becoming the branch. [1] The mainline was extended to Hitachi-Daigo in sections between 1922 and 1927, the year the company was nationalised. [1]

In 1929 JGR opened the Asaka-Nagamori - Yatagawa section, extending it to Kawahighashi in 1931. [1] The Hitachi-Daigo - Iwaki-Tanakura section was opened in stages between 1930 and 1932, and the Kawahigashi - Iwaki-Tanakura section opened in 1934, completing the line. [1]

Freight services ceased between 1982 and 1987. CTC signalling was commissioned on the entire line in 1983.

On 13 October 2019 as a result of heavy rainfall from Typhoon Hagibis, a bridge over the Kuji River was destroyed. [1] A substitute bus service operated between Saigane and Hitachi-Daiko station. JR East announced that the bridge repairs would take until November 2020 at the earliest, but the section did not reopen until 27 March 2021. [1]

Former connecting lines

Basic data

Services

There is generally one train every one to two hours, but between Mito and Kami-Sugaya this increases to one to two trains per hour. Only 13 trains per day run the entire length of the line; most services are from Mito to Hitachi-Ōmiya, to Hitachi-Daigo, and to Hitachi-Ōta. Between Hitachi-Daigo and Kōriyama there are few trains, with a period of 2–3 hours during midday having no services whatsoever.

There are three additional trains between Hitachi-Daigo and Kōriyama (two to Kōriyama, one to Hitachi-Daigo), a single round-trip to Kōriyama from Iwaki-Ishikawa and back, and a single evening trip from Kōriyama to Iwaki-Tanakura that proceeds to Mito the following morning.

Other seasonal trains are added on certain days throughout the year.

Stations

Main Line

StationJapaneseDistance (km)Transfers Location
Between
stations		Total
Mito 水戸-0.0 Jōban Line
Ōarai Kashima Line 		∨ Mito Ibaraki
Hitachi-Aoyagi 常陸青柳1.91.9 ◇ Hitachinaka
Hitachi-Tsuda 常陸津田2.24.1 ｜
Godai 後台2.46.5 ｜ Naka
Shimo-Sugaya 下菅谷1.37.8 ◇
Naka-Sugaya 中菅谷1.29.0 ｜
Kami-Sugaya 上菅谷1.110.1Suigun Line (Hitachi-Ōta Branch)◇
Hitachi-Kōnosu 常陸鴻巣3.313.4 ｜
Urizura 瓜連3.316.7 ◇
Shizu 静1.418.1 ｜
Hitachi-Ōmiya 常陸大宮5.323.4 ◇ Hitachiōmiya
Tamagawamura 玉川村5.428.8 ◇
Nogamihara 野上原3.732.5 ｜
Yamagatajuku 山方宿2.735.2 ◇
Naka-Funyū 中舟生2.737.9 ｜
Shimo-Ogawa 下小川2.840.7 ◇
Saigane 西金3.444.1 ｜ Daigo, Kuji District
Kami-Ogawa 上小川3.247.3 ◇
Fukuroda 袋田4.551.8 ｜
Hitachi-Daigo 常陸大子3.855.6 ◇
Shimonomiya 下野宮6.462.0 ｜
Yamatsuriyama 矢祭山4.966.9 ｜ Yamatsuri, Higashishirakawa District Fukushima
Higashidate 東館4.171.0 ◇
Minami-Ishii 南石井2.873.8 ｜
Iwaki-Ishii 磐城石井1.174.9 ｜
Iwaki-Hanawa 磐城塙6.481.3 ◇ Hanawa, Higashishirakawa District
Chikatsu 近津5.186.4 ｜ Tanagura, Higashishirakawa District
Nakatoyo 中豊2.488.8 ｜
Iwaki-Tanakura 磐城棚倉1.790.5 Hakuhō Line (busstitution)◇
Iwaki-Asakawa 磐城浅川6.597.0 ◇ Asakawa, Ishikawa District
Satoshiraishi 里白石3.0100.0 ｜
Iwaki-Ishikawa 磐城石川5.3105.3 ◇ Ishikawa, Ishikawa District
Nogisawa 野木沢4.8110.1 ｜
Kawabeoki 川辺沖2.5112.6 ｜ Tamakawa, Ishikawa District
Izumigō 泉郷2.7115.3 ｜
Kawahigashi 川東6.9122.2 ◇ Sukagawa
Oshioe 小塩江3.8126.0 ｜
Yatagawa 谷田川2.9128.9 ◇ Kōriyama
Iwaki-Moriyama 磐城守山3.2132.1 ｜
Asaka-Nagamori 安積永盛5.4137.5 Tōhoku Main Line (for Kuroiso)∧
Although the Suigun Line officially ends at Asaka-Nagamori Station, all trains arriving at this station continue to Kōriyama Station, traveling a short stretch within the Tōhoku Main Line.
Kōriyama 郡山4.9- Tōhoku Shinkansen, Tōhoku Main Line (for Fukushima), Ban'etsu East Line, Ban'etsu West Line),
Yamagata Shinkansen connection at Fukushima Station in Fukushima.		∥KōriyamaFukushima

Hitachi-Ōta Branch

StationJapaneseDistance from
Kami-Sugaya (km)		TransfersLocation
Between
stations		Total
Kami-Sugaya 上菅谷-0.0Suigun Line (Main Line) Naka Ibaraki
Minami-Sakaide 南酒出2.52.5 
Nukada 額田1.13.6 
Kawai 河合3.16.7  Hitachiōta
Yagawara 谷河原1.58.2 
Hitachi-Ōta 常陸太田1.39.5 
Passing information

Rolling stock

Past

KiHa 110 series DMU at Koriyama Station, January 2008 KiHa112-117 Abukuma Rapid to Iwaki at Koriyama 20080101.JPG
KiHa 110 series DMU at Kōriyama Station, January 2008

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kubo, Satoshi, プレイバック展望 奥久慈清流ライン[Playback Observation: Suigun Line], Japan Railfan Magazine , 61 (723): 114–119
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