Yunoyama Line

The Yunoyama Line (湯の山線, Yunoyama-sen) is a railway line of the Japanese private railway company Kintetsu Railway, connecting Kintetsu-Yokkaichi Station (Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture) and Yunoyama-Onsen Station (Komono, Mie Prefecture) in Japan.

Yunoyama Line
Local bound for Yunoyama
Overview
Owner	Kintetsu Railway
Line number	K
Locale	Yokkaichi, Komono Mie Prefecture
Termini	Kintetsu-Yokkaichi Yunoyama-Onsen
Stations	10
Color on map	(#1B3DB0)
Service
Type	Regional rail Commuter rail
System	Kintetsu Railway
Operator(s)	Kintetsu Railway
History
Opened	24 September 1913; 112 years ago (1913-09-24)
Last extension	5 March 1916; 109 years ago (1916-03-05)
Technical
Line length	15.4 km (9.6 mi)[1]
Number of tracks	Entirely single-tracked[1]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge[1]
Electrification	1,500 V DC (Overhead line)[1]
Operating speed	80 km/h (50 mph)[1]
Signalling	Automatic closed block[1]
Train protection system	Kintetsu ATS[1]
Route map All lines are Kintetsu unless otherwise noted Legend Nagoya Nagoya Line Yunoyama Line 0.0 Kintetsu Yokkaichi (Suwa) Nagoya Line Yunoyama-Utsube link - Closed 1964 Utsube Line 1.7 Nakagawara 2.8 Ise-Matsumoto (Matsumotomura) 5.3 Ise-Kawashima (Kawashimamura) 6.7 Takatsuno Higashi-Meihan Expressway 8.7 Sakura (Sakuramura) 11.3 Komono 12.6 Naka-Komono 13.5 Ōbane-en 15.4 Yunoyama-Onsen (Yunoyama)

The line connects with the Nagoya Line and Yokkaichi Asunarou Railway Utsube Line at Kintetsu-Yokkaichi Station.

History

The Yunoyama Line was originally conceived^[2] and built by Yokkaichi Railway (四日市鉄道, Yokkaichi Tetsudō) in the 1910s. The line was opened by two stages in 1 June^[3] and September 1913, between Yunoyama-onsen (Yunoyama at the time) and Kintetsu Yokkaichi (Suwa at the time), as a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge railway.^[4] In 1916, an extension from the line's origin, Suwa to Yokkaichi was added.^[5] However, this extension was closed on 29 November 1927 due to the extension of the Ise Electric Railway to Kuwana Station. The line was electrified at 750V in November 1921.^[6][3] The ownership of the line changed when the Yokkaichi Railway was merged into Mie Railway (now Mie Kotsu) on 18 March 1931.^[7] On 23 March 1964, the track gauge was widened to standard-gauge, and the voltage of the line was raised to 1,500 V. On 1 April 1965, Mie Railway was merged into Kintetsu Railway.^[3]

Service

Local (普通 futsū)

For Yokkaichi

For Yunoyama-Onsen

Locals stop at every station.

All trains offer conductor-less (one man) service.

Trains run twice per hour during the day, three or four times per hour in the mornings and evenings.

Limited express service on the Yunoyama Line ended in 2004.

2008 limited express service

Direct limited express service to and from Nagoya was temporarily resumed on weekends and holidays in late July and early August 2008 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Gozaisho Ropeway as well as the 40th anniversary of Suzuka National Park. These trains ran once a day in each direction.^[8] Limited express trains on the Yunoyama Line will go from Kintetsu-Yokkaichi to Yunoyama-Onsen without stopping.

Stations

All stations are located in Mie Prefecture.

No.	Picture	Station		Distance (km)[1]	Connections	Location
K21		Kintetsu-Yokkaichi	近鉄四日市	0.0	E Nagoya Line Yokkaichi Asunarou Railway Utsube Line	Yokkaichi
K22		Nakagawara	中川原	1.7
K23		Ise-Matsumoto	伊勢松本	2.8
K24		Ise-Kawashima	伊勢川島	5.3
K25		Takatsuno	高角	6.7
K26		Sakura	桜	8.7
K27		Komono	菰野	11.3		Komono
K28		Naka-Komono	中菰野	12.6
K29		Ōbane-en	大羽根園	13.5
K30		Yunoyama-Onsen	湯の山温泉	15.4

Ridership

Reference:^[9]

No.	Station	Passengers (2023)
K21	Kintetsu-Yokkaichi	39,575
K22	Nakagawara	1,616
K23	Ise-Matsumoto	2,355
K24	Ise-Kawashima	1,916
K25	Takatsuno	912
K26	Sakura	2,739
K27	Komono	1,926
K28	Naka-Komono	941
K29	Ōbane-en	692
K30	Yunoyama-Onsen	319