Ibusuki Makurazaki Line

nihongo|Ibusuki Makurazaki Line|指宿枕崎線|Ibusuki Makurazaki-sen is a railway line of Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyūshū), in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. It is from Kagoshima-Chūō Station in Kagoshima, extending south to Makurazaki Station in Makurazaki, running along the eastern and southern coast of Satsuma Peninsula.

The first section of the line, between Nishi-Kagoshima (now Kagoshima-Chūō) and Goino, opened in 1930. The extension was completed in 1963. The line functions as a commuter rail of Kagoshima, as well as a sightseeing line to Ibusuki "onsen" (hot spring) touristic interest. Excluding Okinawa Monorail (Yui Rail), a monorail line in Okinawa, this is the southernmost "conventional" railway line in Japan.

Basic data

*Distance: 87.8 km
*Gauge: 1,067 mm
*Stations: 36
*Track: single
*Electrification: Non-electrified
*Block system: special automatic (, track circuit detection); a simplified automatic system

ervices

The line is operationally divided into 2 segments.

The segment between Kagoshima-Chūō and Yamakawa functions as a commuter rail of Kagoshima. As such, there are relatively many local trains. From Kagoshima-Chūō, there is roughly one train per 20 minutes to Goino, one per 20 to 40 minutes to Kiire, and one per one hour to Ibusuki or Yamakawa. There are the rapid train nihongo|Nanohana|なのはな and the limited rapid train nihongo|Nanohana DX|なのはなDX|Nanohana Deluxe in this section. They run southward 7 times a day, northward 5 times a day.

The segment between Yamakawa and Makurazaki, on the other hand, is an extremely quiet local line. During the daytime, there is no train service for six hours. In this section, all but Nishi-Ei are unmanned stations, including Makurazaki, the terminus.

tations

The Ibusuki Makkurazaki Line is entirely in Kagoshima Prefecture. For distances and transfer, see the route diagram.

*N, n: Nanohana
*D, d: Nanohana DX
*Lower case letters (n, d) for limited trains

Gallery

ee also

*List of railway lines in Japan

External links

* [http://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/ JR Kyūshū official website]
* [http://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/english/ JR Kyūshū official website]