Meishō Line

Meishō Line
KiHa 11 series DMU at Ieki Station
Overview
Native name	名松線
Status	In operation
Owner	JR Central
Locale	Mie Prefecture
Termini	Matsusaka Ise-Okitsu
Stations	15
Service
Type	Heavy rail
Operator(s)	JR Central
Rolling stock	KiHa 11 series DMU
History
Opened	1935 (fully)
Technical
Line length	43.5 km (27.0 mi)
Number of tracks	Entire line single tracked
Character	Rural
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	65 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 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.

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 rail replacement bus served the section during its closure. The section reopened in March 2016.

During the summer in 2016, some of the KiHa 11 units, used on the line were unavailable due to inspections so KiHa 25 series DMUs were deployed to temporarily replace them, until they returned to service.

Basic data

• Operators, distances:
  • Central Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks)
    • Matsusaka — Ise-Okitsu: 43.5 km (27.0 mi)
• Stations: 15
• Track: Entire line single-tracked
• Electrification: None
• Railway signalling:
  • Matsusaka — Ieki: Card signalling
  • Ieki — Ise-Okitsu: Staff signalling

Service

The Meishō Line is a rural line in the inland of Mie Prefecture. There are eight return workings a day. All trains are Local driver-only services and stop at every station. There are no limited-stop services such as rapids. Services are nearly always formed of single-car KiHa 11 series DMUs, though two cars may occasionally 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