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| Kosei Line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
 Special Rapid Service train (right) andThunderbird limited express (left) at Hira Station | |||
| Overview | |||
| Native name | 湖西線 | ||
| Owner | JR West | ||
| Locale | Kyoto Prefecture andShiga Prefecture | ||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | 21 | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Heavy rail | ||
| System | Urban Network (Yamashina – Nagahara) | ||
| Operator(s) | JR West JR Freight | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | July 20, 1974 (1974-07-20) | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 74.1 km (46.0 miles) | ||
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | ||
| Electrification | 1,500 V DC,overhead catenary | ||
| Operating speed | 130 km/h (81 mph) | ||
| Train protection system | ATS-P and ATS-SW | ||
| |||
TheKosei Line (湖西線,Kosei-sen,lit. 'lake west line') is acommuter rail line inOsaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, operated byWest Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line was completed in 1974 by the formerJapanese National Railways (JNR) to provide faster access from theKansai region to theHokuriku region. It originates atYamashina Station inYamashina-ku, Kyoto and ends atŌmi-Shiotsu Station inNagahama, Shiga.
Its name means "the line to the west of the lake," indicating that it approximately parallels the western shore ofBiwako. Trains continue fromOmi-Shiotsu Station toTsuruga Station on theHokuriku Main Line Yamashina toKyoto Station on theTōkaidō Main Line for convenient transfer to lines serving theKansai as well as theTōkaidō Shinkansen.
In addition to local, Rapid and Special Rapid services, limited express trains such as theThunderbird, as well as freight trains are frequently operated on the line. Only few of limited express trains stop at Katata or Omi-Imazu and others skip all stations on the line.
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A direct Tsuruga – Kyoto line was included in the 1922 Railway Construction Act.
In the meantime, the Kojaku Railway Co. opened a line from Hamaotsu on theKeihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line 51 km (32 mi) toOmi-Imazu between 1923 and 1929. Between 1947 and 1965 there was a connection between Zeze on theTokaido Main Line and Hamaotsu, allowing direct connection to the Tokaido Line.
The line was purchased by JNR and closed in 1969 so the Kosei line could be constructed over parts of the alignment, with the entire new line opening in 1974 as a dual track electrified line with CTC signalling.
The section from Nagahara to Ōmi-Shiotsu, originally electrified with 20 kV AC, was re-electrified to 1,500 V DC on September 24, 2006 enabling DC-only EMUs used in Osaka-Kyoto region to operate, and the Special Rapid through train service fromJR Kyoto Line (Tokaido Main Line) was extended beyond Ōmi-Shiotsu toTsuruga on theHokuriku Main Line.
Legends:
Local (普通) trains stop at all stations, but they do not operate through services to the JR Kyoto Line.
Rapid (快速) trains operate only in the mornings, which heads south to the JR Kyoto Line. 2 services are operated every weekday morning and 1 service is operated every weekend morning.[1]
Special Rapid (新快速) trains operate one train per hour for both directions, throughout daytime.[1]
| Official line name | No. | Name | Japanese | Distance between stations (km) | Location | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance from Yamashina (km) | ||||||||||
| Rapid | ||||||||||
| Special Rapid | ||||||||||
| Transfers | ||||||||||
| Special Rapid & Rapid: Through service to/fromJR Kyoto Line | ||||||||||
| Tōkaidō Main Line | JR-B31 | Kyoto | 京都 | 5.5 | 5.5 | ● | ● |
| Shimogyō-ku,Kyoto | Kyoto |
| JR-B30 | Yamashina | 山科 | – | 0.0 | ● | ● |
| Yamashina-ku,Kyoto | ||
| Kosei Line | ||||||||||
| JR-B29 | Ōtsukyō | 大津京 | 5.4 | 5.4 | ● | ● | Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line (OT15:Keihan-otsukyo) | Ōtsu | Shiga | |
| JR-B28 | Karasaki | 唐崎 | 3.1 | 8.5 | | | | | ||||
| JR-B27 | Hieizan Sakamoto | 比叡山坂本 | 2.6 | 11.1 | ● | ● | ||||
| JR-B26 | Ogoto-onsen | おごと温泉 | 3.4 | 14.5 | ● | | | ||||
| JR-B25 | Katata | 堅田 | 3.2 | 17.7 | ● | ● | ||||
| JR-B24 | Ono | 小野 | 2.1 | 19.8 | | | | | ||||
| JR-B23 | Wani | 和邇 | 2.7 | 22.5 | | | | | ||||
| JR-B22 | Hōrai | 蓬莱 | 2.4 | 24.9 | | | | | ||||
| JR-B21 | Shiga | 志賀 | 2.4 | 27.3 | | | ○ | ||||
| JR-B20 | Hira | 比良 | 2.7 | 30.0 | | | | | ||||
| JR-B19 | Ōmi-Maiko | 近江舞子 | 2.2 | 32.2 | ● | ● | ||||
| JR-B18 | Kita Komatsu | 北小松 | 2.3 | 34.5 | ● | ● | ||||
| JR-B17 | Ōmi-Takashima | 近江高島 | 6.4 | 40.9 | ● | ● | Takashima | |||
| JR-B16 | Adogawa | 安曇川 | 4.1 | 45.0 | ● | ● | ||||
| JR-B15 | Shin-Asahi | 新旭 | 3.3 | 48.3 | ● | ● | ||||
| JR-B14 | Ōmi-Imazu | 近江今津 | 4.9 | 53.2 | ● | ● | ||||
| JR-B13 | Ōmi-Nakashō | 近江中庄 | 4.8 | 58.0 | ● | ● | ||||
| JR-B12 | Makino | マキノ | 3.2 | 61.2 | ● | ● | ||||
| JR-B11 | Nagahara | 永原 | 7.1 | 68.3 | ● | ● | Nagahama | |||
| JR-B10 | Ōmi-Shiotsu | 近江塩津 | 5.8 | 74.1 | ● | ● |  Hokuriku Main Line (JR-A03) | |||
| Hokuriku Main Line | ||||||||||
| JR-B09 | Shin-Hikida | 新疋田 | 7.8 | 81.9 | ● | ● | Tsuruga | Fukui | ||
| JR-B08 | Tsuruga | 敦賀 | 6.7 | 88.6 | ● | ● |
| |||
Only 4-car trains are capable of going as far as Tsuruga at the moment, and the rear eight cars in a 12-car set are uncoupled at Omi-Imazu Station.
| Shinkansen | |
|---|---|
 JR West | |
 Osaka Metro | |
 Kobe Municipal Subway | |
 Kyoto Municipal Subway | |
 Hankyu | |
 Hanshin | |
 Keihan | |
 Nankai |
|
 Kintetsu | |
 Shintetsu | |
| Other commuter rail lines |
|
| Monorails and Trams | |
| Hinterland | |
| Cable car andaerial tramways | |
| Public ferries |
|
| Major terminals | |
| Miscellaneous | |
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