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Nayoro Main Line

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Nayoro Main Line
A freight train driven by a Type 9600 steam engine in Tenpoku Pass, March 1973
Overview
StatusDefunct
Termini
Stations40
History
OpenedNovember 1, 1915 (Yubetsu Line; as Yubetsu Light Rail Line)
October 20, 1919 (Main Line; as Nayoro Line)
ClosedMay 1, 1989
Technical
Line length138.1 km (85.8 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

The Nayoro Main Line (名寄本線) was a rail line which was operated by Japanese National Railways and later under JR Hokkaido, which extended from Nayoro to Engaru, where it connected with the Sekihoku Main Line. It had a branch line known as the Yubetsu Line (湧別線) which ran between Naka-Yubetsu and Yubetsu, and was originally a light rail line before it was converted in 1916.

The line opened in 1919 as the Nayoro Line (名寄線), and was designated as a main line in 1923. It was designated as one of the specified local lines under the JNR Reconstruction Act, and the entire line was closed on May 1, 1989. The Nishi-Okoppe and Yubetsu stations are now the site of a hotel and fire station respectively.[1][2]

Services

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In 1962, three services would start using the line - the Monbetsu, which ran between Sapporo and Engaru; the Asahikawa, which was a round trip service that made stops at Engaru and Nayoro before returning to Asahikawa; and the Tento, which ran between Okoppe and Abashiri.[3]

Stations

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Main Line

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Station Distance (km) Transfers Location
Nayoro 名寄駅 0.0 Sōya Main Line

Shinmei Line(closed September 4, 1995)[4]

Kamikawa Subprefecture Nayoro
Naka-Nayoro 中名寄駅 5.8  
Kami-Nayoro 上名寄駅 9.7   Kamikawa, Hokkaido
Yabumi 矢文駅 12.1  
Gifubashi 岐阜橋駅 13.8  
Shimokawa 下川駅 16.5  
Ninohashi 二ノ橋駅 21.4  
Kōsei 幸成駅 (25.0)  
Ichinohashi 一ノ橋駅 27.9  
Kami-Okoppe 上興部駅 38.9   Okhotsk Subprefecture Monbetsu District, Hokkaido
Nishi-Okoppe 西興部駅 45.2  
Rokkō 六興駅 (48.8)  
Naka-Okoppe 中興部駅 52.2  
Panke 班渓駅 (55.3)  
Utsu 宇津駅 58.6  
Hakkō 北興駅 64.3  
Okoppe 興部駅 67.8 Kōhin South Line [ja] (closed July 15, 1985)[4]
Asahigaoka 旭ヶ丘駅 (69.1)  
Toyono 豊野駅 73.0  
Saruru 沙留駅 77.7  
Tomioka 富丘駅 (81.4)  
Shokotsu 渚滑駅 88.9 Shokotsu Line [ja] (closed April 1, 1985)[4] Monbetsu City, Hokkaido
Shiomichō 潮見町駅 91.9  
Monbetsu 紋別駅 93.1  
Moto-Monbetsu 元紋別駅 97.7  
Ipponmatsu 一本松駅 (102.6)  
Komukai 小向駅 105.9  
Kōdō 弘道駅 (108.2)  
Numanoue 沼ノ上駅 112.6  
Asahi 旭駅 117.2   Monbetsu District, Hokkaido
Kawanishi 川西駅 119.3  
Naka-Yubetsu 中湧別駅 121.9 Yubetsu Line

Yūmō Line [ja] (closed March 20, 1987)[4]

Hokuyū 北湧駅 (125.0)  
Kami-Yubetsu 上湧別駅 126.5  
Kyōshin 共進駅 129.7  
Kaisei 開盛駅 133.6  
Kita-Engaru 北遠軽駅 135.4  
Engaru 遠軽駅 138.1 Sekihoku Main Line

Yubetsu Line

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Station Distance (km) Transfers Location
Naka-Yubetsu 中湧別駅 0.0 Nayoro Main Line

Yūmō Line[4]

Okhotsk Subprefecture Monbetsu District, Hokkaido Kamiyūbetsu, Hokkaido
Shigōsen 四号線駅 (3.0)   Monbetsu, Hokkaido
Yubetsu 湧別駅 4.9  

History

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In 1915, the Yubetsu Light Rail Line was extended from Nokkeushi (which was renamed to Kitami in 1942) to Shanabuchi (later Kaisei [ja]). The light railroad lines of the national railroads were built with the same gauge of 1067mm as the other lines, but only the Yubetsu Light Rail Line had a gauge of 762mm. In the following year, the gauge was changed to 1067mm.[5][3]

The section of the line from Nayoro to Naka-Yubetsu, on the other hand, was constructed from both sides as the Nayoro West Line and the Nayoro East Line to avoid the difficult Sekihoku and Kitami Passes, and the entire line was opened to traffic as the Nayoro Line between 1919 and 1921. In 1922, with the repeal of the Light Railways Act, the Yubetsu Light Rail Line was renamed to the Yubetsu Line, and in 1923, the Nayoro Line was designated as a main line, and was renamed to the Nayoro Main Line.[5][3]

In 1932, after the Kitami Pass was overcome and the Sekihoku Line (later the Sekihoku Main Line) became fully operational, the section of the Yubetsu Line between Naka-Yubetsu and Nokkeushi would be transferred to other lines - the section between Engaru and Naka-Yubetsu became part of the Nayoro Main Line, whilst the section between Engaru and Nokkeushi became part of the Sekihoku Line.[6]

Closure

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When the National Railways Restructuring Act was passed in 1980, the line was designated as a specified local line, but its abolition was delayed along with that of the Tempoku, Chihoku, and Shibetsu [ja] lines due to insufficient alternative transportation at that time, especially in winter. However, in 1985, the approval was given for their abolition as the problem had been fixed.[7][6]

After the privatization of Japan National Railways in April 1987, the towns of Engaru, Monbetsu, and Shimokawa along the line continued to campaign for the continuation of the line by subsidizing the use of the line by their residents. It was proposed that the sections of the line between Nayoro and Shimokawa and between Monbetsu and Engaru be transferred to third-sector operation, as these sections were used most frequently by passengers. However, the idea of continuing the line as a railroad was eventually abandoned, and the entire line was closed to passengers on April 30, 1989.[3][7]

References

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  1. ^ 『鉄道廃線跡を歩くVII』 [Walking on Abandoned Railway Tracks - VII] (in Japanese). JTB Publishing. January 2000. pp. 40–.
  2. ^ 『鉄道廃線跡を歩くVIII』 [Walking on Abandoned Railway Tracks - VIII] (in Japanese). JTB Publishing. August 2001. pp. 36–37.
  3. ^ a b c d "名寄本線代替バス運営協議会『名寄本線』" [Nayoro Main Line Replacement Bus Operation Council - Nayoro Main Line]. Hokkai Minyū Shimbun (in Japanese). February 28, 1990. pp. 54–55.
  4. ^ a b c d e Imao, Keisuke, ed. (2008). 日本鉄道旅行地図帳 [Japan Railway Travel Map] (in Japanese). pp. 18–19, 37, 48–49.
  5. ^ a b "第5編資料/1年表。" [Part 5: Documents/1: Chronological Table.]. 『北海道鉄道百年史 下巻』 [A Hundred Year History of Hokkaido Railways] (in Japanese). Hokkaido General Bureau, JNR. 1981.
  6. ^ a b "<オホーツク 廃止鉄路を訪ねて>6*名寄本線*「札幌日帰り」かなう" [A Tour of Obsolete Railways in Okhotsk - Nayoro Line - "One Day Trip to Sapporo" Comes True]. Hokkaido Shimbun (in Japanese). Hokkaido Shimbun Co. Ltd. 4 July 2008. p. 25.
  7. ^ a b "名寄本線代替バス運営協議会『名寄本線』" [Nayoro Main Line Replacement Bus Operation Council - Nayoro Main Line]. Hokkai Minyū Shimbun (in Japanese). February 28, 1990. pp. 158–180.
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9600 challenges Tenpoku Pass — 1972 short film by Japanese National Railways

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Media related to Nayoro Main Line at Wikimedia Commons