Meishō Line
KiHa 11 seriesDMU on the line in 2023
Overview
Native name	名松線
Status	In operation
Owner	JR Central
Locale	Mie Prefecture
Termini	Matsusaka Ise-Okitsu
Stations	15
Service
Type	Heavy rail
Operator(s)	JR Central
Rolling stock	KiHa 11 series DMU
History
Opened	25 August 1929; 96 years ago (25 August 1929)
Last extension	5 December 1935
Technical
Line length	43.5 km (27.0 mi)
Number of tracks	Entire line single tracked
Character	Rural
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	65 km/h (40 mph)
Route map Legend km KintetsuYamada Line &JR-CKisei Main Line 0.0 Matsusaka KintetsuYamada Line &JR-CKisei Main Line 4.2 Kaminoshō 7.0 Gongemmae 11.7 Ise-Hata KintetsuOsaka Line 13.0 Ichishi Kawai-Takaoka KintetsuOsaka Line 15.6 Isegi 18.5 Ise-Ōi Chūsei Railway 21.3 Ise-Kawaguchi 23.3 Sekinomiya 25.8 Ieki 29.5 Ise-Takehara 33.8 Ise-Kamakura 36.6 Ise-Yachi 39.7 Hitsu 43.5 Ise-Okitsu This diagram: view talk edit

TheMeishō Line (名松線,Meishō-sen) is a rural, regionalrailway line ofCentral Japan Railway Company (JR Central) inMie Prefecture,Japan, connectingMatsusaka station inMatsusaka andIse-Okitsu station inTsu.

The line takes its name from thekanji characters of the cities ofNabari (名張) andMatsusaka (松阪). Although this line was planned to connect them, the section from Ise-Okitsu to Nabari was never built, due to the prior completion of the presentKintetsuOsaka Line.^[1]

The line was mentioned in theRailway Construction Act in 1922, which was a list of proposed railway lines to be constructed in the future. The line was a part of the proposed line that would have connectedSakurai, Nara,Nabari, andMatsusaka.^[2] The section between Matsusaka and Ieki opened in stages between 1929 and 1931. The first section to Gongemmae opened on 25 August 1929, then to Isegi in 1930, and to Ieki in 1931. The line was eventually extended to Ise-Okitsu in 1935.^[3] In 1930, the Sankyu Rapid Electric Railway opened a different railway route connecting Nabari and Matsusaka, resulting in the line not being extended any further. Because the line failed to connect the two cities, it suffered from ridership decline.^[4]Diesel multiple units began running on the line in 1934.^[5] Freight services ceased in 1965.^[3] An unmanned train descended down the line twice in 2006^[6] and 2009. This resulted in theMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism issuing a warning against JR Central.^[7] In response, the company limited the number of drivers in the line to 20, and instructed them to use an additional brake for safety.^[8]

The closure of the line has been discussed multiple times, with the first taking place during theDeficit 83 lines movement in 1968 and the secondspecified local lines selection of lines, but was never closed due to the poor road conditions in the area. The closure was discussed again in October 2009, whenTyphoon Melor struck the area and washed out over 40 sections betweenIeki andIse-Okitsu, but the line reopened on March 26, 2016 with help from passing municipalities.^[4] AMie Kotsu bus service directly connectedNabari Station and Ise-Okitsu, although this service was abolished in 2021.^[9]

The Meishō Line is a rural line in the inland of Mie Prefecture.^[4] There are eight return workings a day. All trains are Local driver-only services and stop at every station. There are no limited-stop services such as rapids.^[10] Services are nearly always formed of single-carKiHa 11 series DMUs, though two cars may occasionally be used during events or busy seasons.^[11]

Station		Date opened[12][13]	Distance (km)		Transfers	Location
English	Japanese		Between Stations	Total
Matsusaka	松阪	31 December 1893	-	0.0	Kisei Main Line Kintetsu:Yamada Line	Matsusaka
Kaminoshō	上ノ庄	1 August 1960	4.2	4.2
Gongemmae	権現前	25 August 1929	2.8	7.0
Ise-Hata	伊勢八太	30 March 1930	4.7	11.7		Tsu
Ichishi	一志	20 January 1938 As Ise-Tajiri	1.3	13.0
Isegi	井関	30 March 1930	2.6	15.6
Ise-Ōi	伊勢大井	20 January 1938	2.9	18.5
Ise-Kawaguchi	伊勢川口	11 September 1931	2.8	21.3
Sekinomiya	関ノ宮	20 January 1938	2.0	23.3
Ieki	家城	11 September 1931	2.5	25.8
Ise-Takehara	伊勢竹原	5 December 1935	3.7	29.5
Ise-Kamakura	伊勢鎌倉		4.3	33.8
Ise-Yachi	伊勢八知		2.8	36.6
Hitsu	比津		3.1	39.7
Ise-Okitsu	伊勢奥津		3.8	43.5

• KiHa 11 series (primarily KiHa 11-300)
• KiHa 25 series

• Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998).停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory – JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. I. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 189.ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
• Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998).停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory – JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. II. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 383, 384.ISBN 4-533-02980-9.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMeishō Line.

• Lines of Central Japan Railway Company
• Rail transport in Mie Prefecture
• 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan

• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• Harv and Sfn no-target errors
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from November 2020
• Articles containing Japanese-language text
• CS1 uses Japanese-language script (ja)
• Commons category link from Wikidata