Jonan Line

The route was not originally built by Iyotetsu but by the Matsuyama Electric Railway (松山電気軌道), which opened the first sections in 1911 as a standard-gauge (1,435 mm) electric tramway. The opening came in stages: the segments Sumiyoshi–Honmachi and Fudanotsuji–Dōgo (today's Dōgo Onsen) opened on 1 September 1911, the Honmachi–Fudanotsuji link followed on 19 September 1911, and the Enokuchi–Sumiyoshi section opened on 7 February 1912, by which point the through tram route ran from Enokuchi, near the inner harbour at Mitsuhama, across the city to Dōgo.

On 1 April 1921 Iyotetsu absorbed the Matsuyama Electric Railway, and the inherited tram route was given the name Jōnan Line. On 30 June 1923 the Enokuchi–Dōgo Onsen route was regauged from 1,435 mm down to 1,067 mm.

Through the following decades the line was repeatedly reshaped. In 1926 the grade separation at Kami-Ichiman, made redundant by the abolition of the former Dōgo Railway line between Ichibanchō and Dōgo, was removed; on 2 May that year the route between Ichibanchō (today's Ōkaidō) and Rokkakudō (near today's Keisatsusho-mae) was rerouted by way of Gohōmachi (today's Katsuyamachō), and the stretch from Ichibanchō to Dōgo Onsen was double-tracked. Further double-tracking followed as the main streets were widened — the Nishi-Horibata–Saibanshomae (now Kenchō-mae) section in 1936 and the Kenchō-mae–Ichibanchō section in 1949 — while in 1927 the Enokuchi–Kayamachi part of the old route was closed and, after a 1929 Komachi–Kayamachi opening, the western leg through Honmachi was abolished in 1948 and replaced by the present Honmachi Line.

On 1 December 1969 Iyotetsu began circular operation linking the Jōnan and Jōhoku lines. The junction with the Jōhoku Line at Kami-Ichiman was switched so that the branch diverged toward Keisatsusho-mae rather than toward Dōgo Onsen, and a new connecting section between Heiwadōri 1-chōme and Kami-Ichiman was opened to make the loop work. From the 2018 edition of the official railway register this section was listed separately as the Renraku Line, leaving the Jōnan Line as the Dōgo Onsen–Nishi-Horibata route.

The Botchan trains (Botchan Ressha, 坊っちゃん列車) are diesel-powered replicas of the original Iyotetsu steam locomotives known from Natsume Sōseki's 1906 novel Botchan. The current trains have run since 2001 and reproduce the atmosphere of early Meiji-era train travel in Matsuyama.

12 stations tracked on the map, listed alphabetically. Select any to read its page.

• Dogo Onsen道後温泉
• Dogo-koen道後公園
• Ehime Pref. Office県庁前
• Honmachi 1-chome本町一丁目
• Kamiichiman上一万
• Katsuyamacho勝山町
• Matsuyama City Hall市役所前
• Minami-Horibata南堀端
• Minamimachi南町
• Nishi-Horibata西堀端
• Okaido大街道
• Police Station警察署前

• 19111 September: the Matsuyama Electric Railway opens the first sections (Sumiyoshi–Honmachi and Fudanotsuji–Dōgo) as a standard-gauge (1,435 mm) electric tramway.
• 191119 September: the Matsuyama Electric Railway opens the Honmachi–Fudanotsuji link.
• 19127 February: the Enokuchi–Sumiyoshi section opens, completing the through tram route from Enokuchi near Mitsuhama harbour to Dōgo.
• 19211 April: Iyotetsu absorbs the Matsuyama Electric Railway; the inherited route is named the Jōnan Line.
• 192330 June: the Enokuchi–Dōgo Onsen route is regauged from 1,435 mm to 1,067 mm.
• 19262 May: the Ichibanchō–Rokkakudō stretch is rerouted via Gohōmachi and Ichibanchō–Dōgo Onsen is double-tracked; in the same year, with the old Dōgo Railway line between Ichibanchō and Dōgo abolished, the Kami-Ichiman grade separation is removed.
• 19271 November: the Enokuchi–Kayamachi part of the old route is closed.
• 19361 May: the Nishi-Horibata–Saibanshomae (today Kenchō-mae) section is double-tracked.
• 19481 July: the western Komachi–Kayamachi–Honmachi–Nishi-Horibata leg is abolished and replaced by the new Honmachi Line.
• 19495 March: the Kenchō-mae–Ichibanchō section is double-tracked.
• 19691 December: circular operation linking the Jōnan and Jōhoku lines begins; the Kami-Ichiman junction is switched toward Keisatsusho-mae and the Heiwadōri 1-chōme–Kami-Ichiman connecting section opens.
• 2018From the official railway register's 2018 edition, the Heiwadōri 1-chōme–Kami-Ichiman section is listed separately as the Renraku Line, leaving the Jōnan Line as the Dōgo Onsen–Nishi-Horibata route.