Hidaka Main Line

Hidaka Main Line
Hidaka Main Line
	A local train on the Hidaka Main Line between Okaribe and Seppu in October 2011
Overview
Native name	日高本線
Status	Operational ; (As a railway between Tomakomai and Mukawa) ; (As a bus route between Mukawa and Samani)
Owner	JR Hokkaido
Locale	Hokkaido
Termini	Tomakomai; Samani;
Stations	29 (until January 2015) ; 5 (after January 2015) ; 4 (after March 2023)
Service
Type	Heavy rail
Operator(s)	JR Hokkaido
Rolling stock	KiHa 40 series DMU, Bus
History
Opened	October 1913
Closed	1 April 2021 (section between Mukawa and Samani was replaced by a bus service in January 2015 but only formally closed as a railway on 1 April 2021)
Technical
Line length	146.5 km (91.0 mi) (until January 2015) ; 30.5 km (19.0 mi) (after January 2015)
Number of tracks	Entire line single tracked
Character	Rural
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Old gauge	762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	95 km/h (59 mph)
Route map
Route map

The Hidaka Main Line (日高本線, Hidaka-honsen) is a railway line in Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), between Tomakomai Station in Tomakomai and Samani Station in Samani, running along the coast of Hidaka Subprefecture. Services on the 116.0 km (72.1 mi) section of the line beyond Mukawa Station were suspended indefinitely since January 2015 due to storm damage. This section was closed on 1 April 2021 and replaced by a bus service. The closure of this section made the line the second shortest in Japan to be classified as a 'main line', at just 30.5 km (19.0 mi), after the Rumoi Main Line's length of 14.4 km (8.9 mi).

Services

All regular trains are local trains, which stop at all stations.

Stations

Station			Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
H18	Tomakomai	苫小牧	0.0	■ Muroran Main Line ■ Chitose Line	Tomakomai
	Yūfutsu	勇払	13.1		Tomakomai
	Hama-Atsuma	浜厚真	22.7		Atsuma, Yūfutsu District
	Hama-Taura	浜田浦	27.0		Mukawa, Yūfutsu District
	Mukawa	鵡川	30.5
	Shiomi	汐見	34.5
	Tomikawa	富川	43.6		Hidaka, Saru District
	Hidaka-Mombetsu	日高門別	51.3
	Toyosato	豊郷	56.3
	Kiyohata	清畠	61.1
	Atsuga	厚賀	65.6
	Ōkaribe	大狩部	71.1		Niikappu, Niikappu District
	Seppu	節婦	73.1
	Niikappu	新冠	77.2
	Shizunai	静内	82.1		Shinhidaka, Hidaka District
	Higashi-Shizunai	東静内	90.9
	Harutachi	春立	97.0
	Hidaka-Tōbetsu	日高東別	99.4
	Hidaka-Mitsuishi	日高三石	105.8
	Hōei	蓬栄	109.8
	Honkiri	本桐	113.0
	Ogifushi	荻伏	120.2		Urakawa, Urakawa District
	Efue	絵笛	125.1
	Urakawa	浦河	130.3
	Higashichō	東町	132.4
	Hidaka-Horobetsu	日高幌別	136.9
	Utoma	鵜苫	141.1		Samani, Samani District
	Nishi-Samani	西様似	143.6
	Samani	様似	146.5

History

The first section was opened in October 1913 by the Tomakomai Light Railway (苫小牧軽便鉄道, Tomakomai Keiben Tetsudō), operating between Tomakomai and Sarufuto (佐瑠太) (present-day Tomikawa).^[1] The section between Sarufuto and Shizunai was operated by the Hidaka Takushoku Railway (日高拓殖鉄道, Hidaka Takushoku Tetsudō). Both lines were light railways with a track gauge of 762 mm (2 ft 6 in).^[2]

The lines were nationalized on 1 August 1927, and merged into one, becoming the Hidaka Line.^[2] The track gauge was widened to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) between Tomakomai and Sarufuto on 26 November 1929, and between Sarafuto and Shizunai on 10 November 1931.^[2] The line was extended from Shizunai to Hidaka-Mitsuishi on 15 December 1933, to Urakawa on 24 October 1935, and to Samani on 10 August 1937.^[2]

With the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, the line came under the control of JR Hokkaido.^[2]

Service suspension

Following storm damage between Atsuga and Ōkaribe stations on 8 January 2015,^[3] rail services had been suspended on the 116.0 km (72.1 mi) section beyond Mukawa station, with buses providing a substitute service. Further damage was caused to the line by Typhoon 17 or Typhoon Kilo on 12 September 2015, and no date had been set for the resumption of rail services beyond Mukawa. In December 2016, JR Hokkaido announced that it had abandoned plans to reopen the suspended section of the line, and was in discussion with the local governments involved.^[1]

Due to low ridership and very high repair costs, including coastal defences between Atsuga and Ōkaribe, JR Hokkaido held several meetings with the 7 towns along the suspended segment of the line, suggesting to abandon plans to restore the line and replace it with a bus service. In November 2019, 6 out of the 7 towns agreed to replace the damaged section with a bus service. However, the town of Urakawa still strongly requested for the whole line to be restored; Urakawa's mayor reasoned that it would still take a while for the 'developing' Hidaka Expressway to reach the town, therefore it being necessary to retain the rail service.

In September 2020, after 5 years of meetings and discussions, many of which involved extensive arguments and disagreements, all 7 towns eventually agreed with JR Hokkaido to abandon the line's damaged section and replace it with a bus service. The 116.0 km (72.1 mi) section was formally closed on 1 April 2021.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b 日高本線・鵡川～様似間の復旧を断念 JR北海道、地元と協議へ [JR Hokkaido abandons reopening of Hidaka Main Line between Mukawa and Samani]. Traffic News (in Japanese). Japan: Mediavague Co. Ltd. 22 December 2016. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Ishino, Tetsu, ed. (1998). 停車場変遷大辞典国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory - JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. I. Japan: JTB. p. 128. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
^ 日高線厚賀～大狩部間 67k506m 付近における盛土流出について [Trackbed damage on Hidaka Line between Atsuga and Ōkaribe] (PDF). News release (in Japanese). Japan: Hokkaido Railway Company. 13 January 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
^ "鉄道事業の一部廃止の日を繰上げる届出について" (PDF). MLIT. 5 January 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 January 2021.

External links

JR Hokkaido official website Archived 29 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine

[trafficnews20161222-1] 日高本線・鵡川～様似間の復旧を断念 JR北海道、地元と協議へ [JR Hokkaido abandons reopening of Hidaka Main Line between Mukawa and Samani]. Traffic News (in Japanese). Japan: Mediavague Co. Ltd. 22 December 2016. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2017.

[teishajo1998-2] Ishino, Tetsu, ed. (1998). 停車場変遷大辞典国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory - JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. I. Japan: JTB. p. 128. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.

[jrhokkaido20150113-3] 日高線厚賀～大狩部間 67k506m 付近における盛土流出について [Trackbed damage on Hidaka Line between Atsuga and Ōkaribe] (PDF). News release (in Japanese). Japan: Hokkaido Railway Company. 13 January 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2017.

[4] "鉄道事業の一部廃止の日を繰上げる届出について" (PDF). MLIT. 5 January 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 January 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Mass transit in Hokkaido
JR Hokkaido lines	Hokkaido Shinkansen ■■ Chitose ■ Furano ■■■ Hakodate ■ Hidaka ■ Kaikyō ■■ Muroran ■■ Nemuro ■ Rumoi ■ Sasshō ■ Sekihoku ■ Sekishō ■ Senmō ■ Sōya
JR named trains	Hayabusa Hayate Hokuto Kamui Kitami Lilac Okhotsk Ōzora Sarobetsu Sōya Suzuran Taisetsu Tokachi
Discontinued JR named trains	Cassiopeia Hakuchō Hamanasu Ishikari Super Hakuchō Super White Arrow Twilight Express White Arrow
Sapporo Municipal Subway	Namboku Line Tōzai Line Tōhō Line
Other railways	South Hokkaido Railway Company Hakodate Streetcar Sapporo Streetcar Taiheiyō Coal (freight only)
Terminals	Rail Hakodate Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Sapporo Ōdōri Shin-Sapporo Asahikawa Airports Asahikawa New Chitose Hakodate Kushiro Memanbetsu Monbetsu Nakashibetsu Okadama Okushiri Rishiri Tokachi–Obihiro Wakkanai Ports Hakodate Otaru Tomakomai Kushiro
Public Ferries	Heart Land Ferry (ja) (Wakkanai—N. Islands) Silver Ferry (Tomakomai—Hachinohe) Tsugaru Kaikyō Ferry (Hakodate—Aomori) Seikan Ferry (Hakodate—Aomori) Shin Nihonkai Ferry MOL Ferry Taiheiyō Ferry Haboro-Enkai Ferry (ja) (Haboro—Yagishiri Island)
Miscellaneous	Cards Kitaca SAPICA Tunnels Seikan Tunnel
Japan transit: Tokyo Keihanshin Nagoya Fukuoka Hakone Fuji Izu Hokkaido Aomori Sendai Akita Niigata Toyama Nagano Okayama Hiroshima Shikoku Metro systems Shinkansen trams (list) aerial lifts (list)