Kita-Shinano Line

Shinano Railway Kita-Shinano Line
Shinano Railway Kita-Shinano Line
	A Shinano Railway SR1 series EMU, between Furuma and Kurohime
Overview
Native name	しなの鉄道北しなの線
Owner	Shinano Railway
Locale	Nagano Prefecture
Termini	Nagano; Myōkō-Kōgen;
Stations	8
Service
Type	Commuter rail
Rolling stock	115 series EMUs
History
Opened	1 May 1888; 14 March 2015 (As the private railway line)
Technical
Line length	37.3 km (23.2 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC
Route map
	Legend

The Shinano Railway Kita-Shinano Line (しなの鉄道北しなの線, Shinano Tetsudō Kita-Shinano-sen) is a 37.3 km (23.2 mi) railway line operated by the third-sector railway operating company Shinano Railway in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, since 14 March 2015 following the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension north of Nagano and transfer of operations of the former Shinetsu Main Line from East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Nagano Station in Nagano with Myōkō-Kōgen Station in Myōkō, Niigata.^[1]

Service outline

All services on the line are all-stations "Local" (普通, Futsū) driver-only operation trains. From the start of operations on the line, there are 21 return workings daily between Nagano and Jōetsumyōkō, and three return workings daily between Nagano and Toyono, an increase in two return services daily compared with JR East operations prior to March 2015.^[1] A small number of services continue to and from Komoro on the Shinano Railway Line operated by the same company south of Nagano.^[1] In addition to Shinano Railway services, JR East Iiyama Line through-running services to and from Nagano also use the section of the line between Nagano and Toyono.^[1] At Myōkō-Kōgen, the northern end of the line, a cross-platform transfer is provided to the Echigo Tokimeki Railway Myōkō Haneuma Line continuing northward along the former Shinetsu Main Line, with Shinano Railway trains normally using platform 2 and Echigo Tokimeki Railway trains normally using platform 3.^[1]

Stations

Station	Japanese	Distance (km)	Connections	Location
Nagano	長野	0.0	Hokuriku Shinkansen ■ Shinetsu Main Line Shinano Railway Line Nagano Electric Railway	Nagano	Nagano Prefecture
Kita-Nagano	北長野	3.9
Sansai	三才	6.8
Toyono	豊野	10.8	■ Iiyama Line
Mure	牟礼	18.6		Iizuna
Furuma	古間	25.1		Shinano
Kurohime	黒姫	28.9		Shinano
Myōkō-Kōgen	妙高高原	37.3	ETR Myōkō Haneuma Line	Myōkō	Niigata Prefecture

Rolling stock

Services are operated using 115 series electric multiple unit (EMU) trains transferred from JR East.^[1]

History

The name of the line was chosen in March 2013 following a public ballot.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Osano, Kagetoshi (March 2015). 北陸新幹線並行在来線各社の姿 [Guide to companies operating conventional lines alongside the Hokuriku Shinkansen]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 44, no. 371. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. pp. 28–33.