Meishō Line

The Meishō Line (名松線, Meishō-sen) is a rural, regional railway line of Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) in Mie Prefecture, Japan, connecting Matsusaka station in Matsusaka and Ise-Okitsu station in Tsu.

Meishō Line
KiHa 11 series DMU at Ieki Station
Overview
Native name名松線
StatusOperational
OwnerJR Central
LocaleMie Prefecture
TerminiMatsusaka
Ise-Okitsu
Stations15
Service
TypeHeavy rail
Operator(s)JR Central
Rolling stockKiHa 11 series DMU
History
Opened1935 (fully)
Technical
Line length43.5 km (27.0 mi)
Number of tracksSingle track
CharacterRural
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
ElectrificationNone
Operating speed65 km/h (40 mph)
Route map
km
Kintetsu Yamada Line
& JR-C Kisei Main Line
0.0
 Matsusaka
Kintetsu Yamada Line
& JR-C Kisei Main Line
4.2
 Kaminoshō
7.0
 Gongemmae
11.7
 Ise-Hata
Kintetsu Osaka Line
13.0
 Ichishi
 Kawai-Takaoka
Kintetsu Osaka Line
15.6
 Isegi
18.5
 Ise-Ōi
Chūsei Railway
21.3
 Ise-Kawaguchi
23.3
 Sekinomiya
25.8
 Ieki
29.5
 Ise-Takehara
33.8
 Ise-Kamakura
36.6
 Ise-Yachi
39.7
 Hitsu
43.5
 Ise-Okitsu

The line takes its name from the kanji characters of the cities of Nabari (名張) and Matsusaka (松阪). Although this line was planned to connect them, the section from Ise-Okitsu to Nabari was never built, due to the prior completion of the present Kintetsu Osaka Line.

History

The section between Matsusaka and Ieki opened in stages between 1929 and 1931, and was extended to Ise-Okitsu in 1935.

Freight services ceased in 1965.

Former connecting lines
  • Ise-Kawaguchi station - The Dainippon Railway Co. operated a 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge line to Hisai on the Kintetsu Nagoya Line between 1925 and 1943.

Service disruptions

Damage from Typhoon Vera closed the line between Ise-Takehara and Ise-Okitsu for two months in 1959.

The entire line was closed for nine months in 1982–83 due to damage caused by Typhoon Bess.

In October 2009, Typhoon Melor struck the area, resulting in over 40 washouts on the section between Ieki and Ise-Okitsu, and the section remained closed for six years after. A special JR bus served the section during its closure. The section reopened in March 2016.[1][2]

During the summer of 2016, some of the KiHa 11 units, used on the line, were unavailable due to inspections. During this time, KiHa 25 DMUs were deployed on the line to temporarily replace the absent KiHa 11s.

Basic data

Service

The Meishō Line is a rural line in inland of Mie Prefecture. There are eight return workings daily. All trains are Local driver-only services. All trains stop at every station. There are no limited-stop services such as rapids. Services are nearly always formed of KiHa 11 DMUs in single-car formations. Very occasionally, two cars may be used during events or busy seasons.

Stations

All stations are located in Mie Prefecture.

Station Japanese Distance (km) Transfers Location
Between
Stations		 Total
Matsusaka 松阪 - 0.0 Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central): Kisei Main Line
Kintetsu: Yamada Line		 Matsusaka
Kaminoshō 上ノ庄 4.2 4.2  
Gongemmae 権現前 2.8 7.0  
Ise-Hata 伊勢八太 4.7 11.7   Tsu
Ichishi 一志 1.3 13.0 Kintetsu: Osaka Line (Kawai-Takaoka)
Isegi 井関 2.6 15.6  
Ise-Ōi 伊勢大井 2.9 18.5  
Ise-Kawaguchi 伊勢川口 2.8 21.3  
Sekinomiya 関ノ宮 2.0 23.3  
Ieki 家城 2.5 25.8  
Ise-Takehara 伊勢竹原 3.7 29.5  
Ise-Kamakura 伊勢鎌倉 4.3 33.8  
Ise-Yachi 伊勢八知 2.8 36.6  
Hitsu 比津 3.1 39.7  
Ise-Okitsu 伊勢奥津 3.8 43.5  

References
  1. Annual Report 2016 (PDF) (in Japanese). Central Japan Railway Company. p. 21. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  2. "JR東海が｢不通路線｣を復旧した本当の理由" (in Japanese). Toyo Keizai. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
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