Ban'etsu East Line


The Ban'etsu East Line is a railway line in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan operated by East [Japan Railway Company]. It connects Iwaki Station in Iwaki and Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama. The name "Ban'etsu" is taken from the first characters of the names of the ancient provinces of Iwaki Province and Echigo Province, which the Ban'etsu East and Ban'etsu West lines connect. "Tō" means "east" in Japanese.
The line's nickname is the Yūyū Abukuma Line, taken from the Abukuma River that flows nearby.

Service

All trains are operated as local services in 2-, 3-, or 5-car formations. Service between Kōriyama and Ononiimachi is provided once every 30 minutes to two hours, but between Ononiimachi and Iwaki, there is a period of five hours where no trains operate. One reason for the few continuous services between Iwaki and Kōriyama is the opening of the parallel Ban-etsu Expressway in 1995; as a result, most long distance passengers use highway bus services.
The last express service, Iwaki, stopped running in 1982. During peak holiday periods such as Golden Week, Obon, and New Year, the rapid Abukuma makes a single round trip with a 2-car train.

Station list

  • All stations are located in Fukushima Prefecture.
  • Trains can pass one another at stations marked "◇", "∨", or "∧". Trains cannot pass at stations marked "｜".

Rolling stock

As of February 2009, the following rolling stock is used on the East Ban'etsu Line.

History

The line was planned by the Railway Construction Act in 1892. The Japanese Government Railways opened the first section as the Heigun West Line between Koriyama and Miharu in 1914. The Iwaki - Ogawagō opened in 1915 as the Heigun East Line, the same year Miharu - Ononiimachi section opened. When the two sections were connected in 1917, the line became the Ban'etsu East Line.
Freight services ceased in 1987.