Sasebo Line

The private Kyushu Railway opened the section from Saga to Takeo (present-day Takeo-Onsen) on 5 May 1895 as part of its original Nagasaki Line. The company pushed on, extending the line from Takeo to Haiki on 10 July 1897 and from Haiki on to Sasebo on 20 January 1898. Until 1934 the section between present-day Kōhoku and Haiki formed part of the trunk line to Nagasaki, and the line to Sasebo branched off it at Haiki.

The Kyushu Railway was bought out and nationalised on 1 July 1907 under the Railway Nationalisation Act. On 12 October 1909, when the government railways fixed the names of their lines, the Haiki–Sasebo segment was designated as a separate line, the Sasebo Line. Over the following decades a number of stations and signal posts were added along the route, and in 1913 the station then called Yamaguchi was renamed Hizen-Yamaguchi.

The line took on its modern shape in the 1930s. On 1 December 1934 a new Nagasaki Main Line opened between Hizen-Yamaguchi (present-day Kōhoku) and Isahaya, and at the same time the Hizen-Yamaguchi–Sasebo route was designated the Sasebo Line. The portion of railway continuing beyond Sasebo was split off in 1943 and became part of the Matsuura Line. Through the war years and afterwards further stations and signal posts along the line were opened or upgraded.

Under Japanese National Railways the Sasebo Line was modernised in the 1970s and 1980s. Takeo Station was renamed Takeo-Onsen on 19 June 1975, electrification work that had begun in 1973 was completed on 6 June 1976 when the whole Hizen-Yamaguchi–Sasebo section was energised, and freight operations were progressively wound down, beginning with the Haiki–Sasebo segment in 1985. With the division and privatisation of Japanese National Railways on 1 April 1987, the line passed to the newly formed JR Kyushu.

The Sasebo Line became a feeder to the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen in 2022. The Ōmachi–Takahashi section was double-tracked from 27 February 2022 to accommodate the extra limited express trains of the new "Relay Kamome" service, and on 23 September 2022 — the day the Shinkansen opened between Takeo-Onsen and Nagasaki — Hizen-Yamaguchi Station was renamed Kōhoku and the line was upgraded for higher speeds. The "Relay Kamome" limited express now runs between Kōhoku and Takeo-Onsen, where passengers transfer across the platform to the Shinkansen, so the line also forms part of the route linking Nagasaki with Saga and Fukuoka.

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

• Arita有田
• Daitou大塔
• Haiki早岐
• Hiu日宇
• Kami-Arita上有田
• KItagata (Saga)北方
• Kohoku (Saga)江北
• Mikawachi三河内
• Mimasaka三間坂
• Nagao (Saga)永尾
• Omachi (Saga)大町
• Sasebo佐世保
• Takahashi高橋
• Takeo Onsen武雄温泉

• 18955 May: the Kyushu Railway opens the Saga–Takeo (present-day Takeo-Onsen) section as part of its original Nagasaki Line.
• 189710 July: the line is extended from Takeo to Haiki.
• 189820 January: the line is extended from Haiki to Sasebo.
• 19071 July: the Kyushu Railway is bought out and nationalised under the Railway Nationalisation Act.
• 190912 October: when the government railways fix the names of their lines, the Haiki–Sasebo segment is designated as the separate 'Sasebo Line'.
• 19131 March: the station then called Yamaguchi is renamed Hizen-Yamaguchi.
• 19341 December: a new Nagasaki Main Line opens between Hizen-Yamaguchi (present-day Kōhoku) and Isahaya, and the Hizen-Yamaguchi–Sasebo route is designated the Sasebo Line.
• 197519 June: Takeo Station is renamed Takeo-Onsen.
• 19766 June: the entire Hizen-Yamaguchi–Sasebo line is electrified at 20 kV 60 Hz AC, completing work begun in 1973.
• 198514 March: freight operations are abolished between Haiki and Sasebo.
• 19871 April: with the division and privatisation of Japanese National Railways, the line passes to JR Kyushu.
• 202014 March: through services to the Matsuura Railway are discontinued.
• 202227 February: the Ōmachi–Takahashi section is double-tracked ahead of the timetable revision and speed-up.
• 202223 September: the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen opens between Takeo-Onsen and Nagasaki; Hizen-Yamaguchi Station is renamed Kōhoku and the line is upgraded for higher speeds, with the 'Relay Kamome' limited express connecting at Takeo-Onsen.