Railway line in Hokkaido, Japan
Sekihoku Main Line
|
---|
|
|
Native name
| 石北本線
|
---|
Status
| In operation
|
---|
Owner
| JR Hokkaido
|
---|
Locale
| Hokkaido
|
---|
Termini
| |
---|
Stations
| 31
|
---|
|
Type
| Heavy rail
|
---|
Operator(s)
| JR Hokkaido
,
JR Freight
|
---|
Rolling stock
| KiHa 283
series DMU,
KiHa 40
series DMU, KiHa 54 series DMU,
KiHa 150
series DMU
|
---|
|
Opened
| 1932 (fully)
|
---|
|
Line length
| 234.0 km (145.4 mi)
|
---|
Number of tracks
| Entire line single tracked
|
---|
Character
| Rural
|
---|
Track gauge
| 1,067 mm
(
3 ft 6 in
)
|
---|
Electrification
| None
|
---|
Operating speed
| 110 km/h (68 mph)
|
---|
Route map
|
---|
|
|
Sekihoku Main Line
(
石北本線
,
Sekihoku-honsen
)
is a railway line in
Hokkaido
, Japan, operated by
Hokkaido Railway Company
(JR Hokkaido) between
Shin-Asahikawa
in
Asahikawa
and
Abashiri Station
in
Abashiri
. The name comes from the first Kanji characters of
Ishikari Province
(
石狩?
)
and
Kitami Province
(
北見?
)
, names of ancient
provinces
along the line.
[1]
On 19 November 2016, JR Hokkaido's President announced plans to rationalise the network by up to 1,237 km (769 mi), or ~50% of the current network,
[2]
including the proposed conversion to
Third Sector
operation of the Sekihoku Main Line, but if local governments are not agreeable, the line will face closure.
Basic data
[
edit
]
- Operators, distances
- Signal boxes
: 4
- Track: single
- Block system: Automatic
Services
[
edit
]
The
Okhotsk
limited express train, named after the
Sea of Okhotsk
, runs from
Sapporo
to
Abashiri
with two daily return workings. The
Taisetsu
limited express train runs from Asahikawa to Abashiri with two return workings daily. The limited rapid train
Kitami
operates between
Asahikawa
and
Kitami
, with one return service daily.
Local services along the line are roughly divided into three segments. In the segment between Asahikawa and
Kamikawa
, the line functions as a
commuter rail
of Asahikawa City. There is one local train service per one to two hours. The segment between Kamikawa and
Engaru
is a sparsely populated area. Between Kamikawa and
Shirataki
, a local train runs one lap per day. For the segment between Engaru and Abashiri, there is one local train service per one to two hours.
Stations
[
edit
]
- LE
: Limited Express
Okhotsk
/
Taisetsu
- LR
: Limited Rapid
Kitami
- All non-local trains stop at stations marked
+
, Some stop at those marked
*
, No such trains (other than local) stop at those marked
-
. Local trains may skip stations marked ?.
Closed Stations
[
edit
]
- Nakakoshi, Oku-Shirataki and Temmaku: Since 1 July 2001, of which Nakakoshi and Oku-Shirataki downgraded to signal bases
- Shin-sakaeno: Since 18 March 2006
- A44
Kami-Shirataki
, A54
Kanehana
, A46
Ky?-Shirataki
and A47
Shimo-Shirataki
: Since 26 March 2016, of which Kanehana and Shimo-Shirataki downgraded to signal bases
- A52
Ikuno
, A33
Kita-Hinode
, A36
Sh?gunzan
and A42
T?un
: Since 13 March 2021
- A40
Aizan
: Since 16 March 2024
[3]
History
[
edit
]
The principal route between Sapporo and
Okhotsk Subprefecture
has changed several times. Originally, the route was the
Hakodate Main Line
to Asahikawa, then the southbound
Nemuro Main Line
and then the northbound line from Ikeda, via the Abashiri Main Line
(
網走本線
,
Abashiri-honsen
)
to Kitami. The route shortened by 53.5 km (33.2 mi) when the section between Takikawa and Furano on the Nemuro Main Line opened in 1913.
[
citation needed
]
Another route, northbound from Asahikawa to Nayoro, then southeast to Kitami was completed as the Nayoro Main Line
(
名寄本線
,
Nayoro-honsen
)
and Y?betsu Line
(
湧別線
,
Y?betsu-sen
)
in 1921.
[
citation needed
]
A third route was a shortcut between Asahikawa and Engaru, straight through the Kitami Pass. The Sekihoku Line
(
石北線
,
Sekihoku-sen
)
, completed in 1932, finally completed the main route still used today.
[
citation needed
]
The current Sekihoku Main Line consists of the remnants of these three lines. The section between Shin-Asahikawa and Engaru is from the Sekihoku Line, the section between Engaru and Kitami from the Y?betsu Line, and the section between Kitami and Abashiri from the Abashiri Main Line.
[
citation needed
]
The first of the abovementioned sections to open was from Abashiri to Kitami in 1912. The Kitami to Engaru line was opened between 1912 and 1915 as a
762 mm
(
2 ft 6 in
) gauge line, but was converted to
1,067 mm
(
3 ft 6 in
) gauge in 1916.
[
citation needed
]
The Asahikawa to Kamikawa section opened between 1922 and 1923, and the Engaru to Shiritaki section between 1927 and 1929. The final section, including the Ishikita tunnel, opened in 1932.
[
citation needed
]
In July 2015, JR Hokkaido announced that it would be closing four stations line (
Shimo-Shirataki Station
,
Kyu-Shirataki Station
,
Kami-Shirataki Station
, and
Kanehana Station
) in March 2016, due to low passenger usage.
[4]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
JR Hokkaido
lines
| |
---|
JR named trains
| |
---|
Discontinued JR named trains
| |
---|
Sapporo Municipal Subway
| |
---|
Other railways
| |
---|
Terminals
|
- Rail
- Airports
- Ports
- Hakodate
- Otaru
- Tomakomai
- Kushiro
|
---|
Public Ferries
| |
---|
Miscellaneous
|
- Cards
- Tunnels
|
---|
|