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San'in Main Line

山陰本線

The San'in Main Line is a railway line in western Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), that connects Kyoto with Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Sea of Japan and crossing five prefectures: Kyoto, Hyōgo, Tottori, Shimane and Yamaguchi.

Its eastern terminus is Kyoto Station, in the Shimogyō ward of Kyoto, and the principal route runs to Hatabu Station in Shimonoseki, with trains at that end continuing to the next station, Shimonoseki; a short branch also links Nagatoshi and Senzaki. The main portion from Kyoto to Hatabu measures 673.8 km, making it the longest conventional (non-shinkansen) JR line in Japan and the longest JR line administered in its entirety by a single company, although no regularly scheduled train operates over the entire line. Counting the Senzaki branch, the total operating distance is 676.0 km.

Route of the San'in Main Line · Kyoto · Hyogo · Tottori · Shimane · Yamaguchi · Borders: MLIT
A JR West KiHa 189 series DMU on a 'Hamakaze' limited express crossing the Amarube Viaduct on the San'in Main Line.
A JR West KiHa 189 series DMU on a 'Hamakaze' limited express crossing the Amarube Viaduct on the San'in Main Line. · Rsa · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

History

The line was not built as a single project. It was assembled from sections opened by three different private companies, which were subsequently nationalised and connected by the Japanese Government Railways (JGR). At the Kyoto end, the Kyoto Railway opened the section to Sonobe between 1897 and 1899; the line's official opening date is 15 February 1897. The Bantsuru Railway opened the Ayabe-to-Fukuchiyama section in 1904 as part of its line to Maizuru, and both of these companies were nationalised in 1907. The JGR's own first section, between Yonago and Mikuriya, opened in 1902, after which the line was progressively extended eastward, reaching Tottori in 1907 and, later, Iwami. Construction worked toward the centre from several directions at once: the Sonobe-to-Ayabe section opened in 1910 and Fukuchiyama-to-Wadayama the following year, while extension westward from Yonago reached Matsue in 1908 and Izumoshi in 1910. When the eastern and central works met in 1912 the result was a continuous line of 385 km. At the western end, the Choshu Railway opened the Hatabu-to-Kogushi section in 1914; that section was nationalised in 1925. From Izumoshi the line was pushed steadily westward — to Masuda in 1923 and Todakohama in 1925 — and after the Kogushi-to-Takibe section opened in 1925, construction continued from both directions until the two ends were joined in 1933, completing the line as it exists today.

The line uses 1,067 mm narrow gauge throughout. Once complete, it was upgraded in stages over the following decades. Double-tracking was carried out piecemeal: the Yonago-to-Hōki-Daisen section between 1962 and 1966, Ayabe-to-Fukuchiyama in 1968-1969, Tamatsukuri-Onsen-to-Kimachi in 1970, Matsue-to-Higashi-Matsue in 1979 and, later, Yonago-to-Yasugi. The original Saga-Arashiyama-to-Umahori segment had been built along the banks of the Hozugawa in a narrow gorge; a new double-track alignment opened in 1989, and the original alignment was repurposed as the Sagano Scenic Railway. Further double-tracking followed in stages, and by 2010 the Kyoto-to-Sonobe section was double-tracked. Electrification likewise came late and in pieces: the Hōki-Daisen-to-Izumoshi section was electrified in 1982 in conjunction with the Hakubi Line, the Fukuchiyama-to-Kinosaki section in 1986 alongside the Fukuchiyama Line, and the Kyoto-to-Sonobe section in 1990. Even after this work, the line remains a mixture of double- and single-track and of electrified and non-electrified sections, electrified at 1,500 V DC only between Kyoto and Kinosaki-Onsen and between Hōki-Daisen and Nishi-Izumo. By contrast, the San'yō Main Line, which runs parallel along the Inland Sea, is double-tracked and electrified throughout.

JR West operates the line as a Category 1 railway. The section between Kyoto and Sonobe, which links Kyoto with its northern suburbs, forms part of JR West's Urban Network and is nicknamed the Sagano Line because the Sagano and Arashiyama sightseeing districts lie along it. The maximum speed in service varies considerably along the route, reaching 130 km/h on the fastest stretches (Saga-Arashiyama to Umahori and Ayabe to Fukuchiyama), while the Nagatoshi-to-Senzaki branch is limited to 85 km/h. With 176 tunnels totalling 60.3 km, the line has the second-highest number of tunnels on any JR Group line, after the Kisei Main Line's 180, and the most on any line operated end to end by a single company.

Stations on this line

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

Timeline
  • 189715 February: the line's official opening; the Kyoto Railway opens its section toward Sonobe (built out 1897-1899).
  • 1902The JGR opens its first section of the line, between Yonago and Mikuriya.
  • 1904The Bantsuru Railway opens the Ayabe-to-Fukuchiyama section as part of its line to Maizuru.
  • 1907The Kyoto Railway and Bantsuru Railway are nationalised; the eastward extension reaches Tottori.
  • 1908Westward extension from Yonago reaches Matsue.
  • 1910Sonobe-to-Ayabe section opens; westward extension reaches Izumoshi.
  • 1912Eastern and central works are connected, producing a 385 km continuous line.
  • 1914The Choshu Railway opens the Hatabu-to-Kogushi section at the western end.
  • 1925The Choshu Railway's Hatabu-to-Kogushi section is nationalised; the Kogushi-to-Takibe section opens; the line reaches Todakohama.
  • 193324 February: the final sections are connected, completing the line as it exists today (full opening).
  • 1966Double-tracking of the Yonago-to-Hōki-Daisen section is completed (begun 1962).
  • 1982The Hōki-Daisen-to-Izumoshi section is electrified, in conjunction with the Hakubi Line.
  • 1986The Fukuchiyama-to-Kinosaki section is electrified.
  • 1989A new double-track alignment opens on the Saga-Arashiyama-to-Umahori section; the original alignment later becomes the Sagano Scenic Railway.
  • 1990The Kyoto-to-Sonobe section is electrified.
  • 2010Double-tracking of the Kyoto-to-Sonobe section (the Sagano Line) is completed.

Sources

Last updated 16 October 2026.

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