Kajiya Line

The Kajiya Line (鍛冶屋線, Kajiya-sen) was a railway line of West Japan Railway Company between Nishiwaki and Taka District all within Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The line closed on April 1, 1990.

Kajiya Line
A KiHa 37 DMU at Nishiwaki Station on the Kajiya Line in December 1986
Overview
Native name	鍛冶屋線
Status	Ceased operation
Owner	JR West
Locale	Hyogo
Termini	Nishiwakishi Kajiya Station
Stations	7
Service
Type	Commuter rail line
Operator(s)	JR West
History
Opened	10 August 1913; 111 years ago (1913-08-10)
Closed	1 April 1990
Technical
Line length	13.2 km (8.2 mi)
Number of tracks	Entirely Single-tracked
Character	Rural and urban
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None

Stations

Name		Distance (km)	Connections	Location
Nomura1	野村	0.0	Kakogawa Line	Nishiwaki	Hyōgo
Nishiwaki	西脇	1.6
Ichihara	市原	4.7
Hayasu	羽安	7.0
Sogai	曽我井	8.8		Naka2
Nakamuramachi	中村町	10.9
Kajiya	鍛冶屋	13.2

Notes

1: Nomura Station was renamed Nishiwakishi Station upon closure of the Kajiya Line.

2: The former town of Naka became a part of the town of Taka in 2005.

History

The Banshū Railway (播州鉄道, Banshū Tetsudō) opened the line between 1913 and 1923. The railway was acquired by the Bantan Railway (播丹鉄道, Bantan Tetsudō) in 1923 and nationalised in 1943 together with other Bantan Railway lines, i.e. the Kakogawa Line, the Takasago Line, the Miki Line, and the Hōjō Line.^[1]

Under the operation of Japanese National Railways (JNR), freight services ceased in 1974. JR West succeeded the line in 1987 and closed it in 1990, concurrently with the Miyazu Line and the Taisha Line, as the last of 83 "specified local lines" selected for closure.^[2]