Takayama Main Line
Local train running on the Takayama Main Line in May 2022
Overview
Native name	高山本線
Status	Operational
Owner	JR Central, JR West
Locale	Japan
Termini	Gifu Toyama
Stations	45
Service
Type	Heavy rail
Operator(s)	JR Central,JR West
Rolling stock	Seesection
History
Opened	1920; 106 years ago (1920)
Last extension	25 October 1934
Technical
Line length	225.8 km (140.3 mi)
Number of tracks	Entire line single tracked
Character	Rural
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	Not electrified
Operating speed	110 km/h (68 mph)
Route map

TheTakayama Main Line (高山本線,Takayama Honsen) is a Japanese railway line betweenGifu Station inGifu andToyama Station inToyama, operated byCentral Japan Railway Company (JR Central) andWest Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line directly links theChūkyō Metropolitan Area (metropolitanNagoya) andHokuriku region in a shorter distance, but with a longer travel time, than by using the combination of theTōkaidō Shinkansen andHokuriku Main Line. Now the line primarily functions as a way to access the scenic areas of Hida (ancientHida Province), in the rugged mountains of northernGifu Prefecture, such asGeroonsen (hot spring),Takayama,Shirakawa-gō, and theKiso River. The first section of the line, between Gifu andKagamigahara, opened in 1920 (1920). The whole line was completed in 1934.

The route toMino-Ōta Station was initially planned to connect directly toNagoya Station, influenced byRikken Seiyūkai. However, theKenseikai pressured the Railway Construction Committee of theHouse of Representatives to revise the route throughGifu Station. After this change, the Kenseikai, supporting the revised route, clashed with the Rikken Seiyūkai, who now proposed for a route throughSeki. TheMino Electric Railroad [ja] then planned constructing a line connecting Seki and Ōta. The route favored by the Kenseikai was adopted, passing the House of Representatives on February 9, 1918, and theHouse of Peers on March 1.^[1]

Until the line's completion, the line terminating at Gifu Station and the line terminating atToyama Station were referred to as separate railway lines. The former was named Takayama Line while the latter was named Hietsu Line. The Takayama Line's first section between Gifu andKakamigahara opened on November 1, 1920. The Takayama Line opened in phases, with the line gradually extending to Mino-Ōta,Shimoasō,Kamiasō,Shirakawaguchi,Hida-Kanayama,Yakeishi,Gero, andHida-Hagiwara between 1921 and 1931. The last section of the line toHida-Osaka opened on August 25, 1933. Hietsu Line also began extending south from Toyama Station, with the section toEtchū-Yatsuo opening on September 1, 1927. The construction southwards continued, with the line reachingSasazu in 1929,Inotani in 1930,Sugihara in 1932, andSakakami on November 12, 1933. The Takayama Line and Hietsu Line were connected on October 25, 1934. Hietsu Line was merged into Takayama Line, which renamed to Takayama Main Line on the same date.^[2]

As a part of asocial experiment, the city of Toyama opened theFuchū-Usaka Station as a temporary station on March 15, 2008. The station continued operations after the experiment ended in 2011, as the city determined that the station had enough riders to be feasible as a permanent station.^[3] The station was officially made permanent on March 15, 2014.^[4]

The line introduced station numbering and line coloring in March 2018; the line was assigned the color dark red and line code CG. Most stations north of Mino-Ōta does not have a station number assigned, with an exception of Gero,Takayama, andHida-Furukawa. The station numbering for these three stations still count the number of stations in between them.^[5]

Operation on the line has been suspended several times in history, due to heavy rain andtyphoons. From October 22, 2004, the section betweenTsunogawa Station andInotani Station was closed due to flood damage fromTyphoon Tokage. The line returned to service in sections, with the last section reopening on September 8, 2007.^[6] Heavy rain which have caused the2018 Japan floods triggered a landslide on June 29, leading to the closure of the section between Hida-Hagiwara and Hida-Osaka.^[7] This closure spread further due to dirt entering tracks, with the section between Mino-Ōta and Toyama affected by July 8.^[8] While most of the line reopened over the next week, the section between Sakakami and Inotani did not reopen until November 21.^[9]

TheHida limited express train operates between Nagoya and Takayama, Hida-Furukawa, and Toyama, with ten return services a day, and trains to and from Nagoya reversing direction at Gifu en route.^[10]

All trains, except for Hida services, stop at all stations. Local trains are sometimesone-man operated. Some trains provide through service toTajimi Station via theTaita Line. For the section operated by JR Central, the number of train services on the line decreases as it goes closer to the Inotani Station, as most local trains terminate at Mino-Ōta, or continues to Taita Line.^[11] Trains on the section operated by JR West also terminate at Etchū-Yatsuo or Inotani.^[12]

The Takayama Main Line uses four differentdiesel multiple unit (DMU) trains that are operated in split two-car sets. JR Central usesKiHa 25 andKiHa 75 series DMU on the section they operate.^[13] From the start of the March 2015 timetable revision, JR CentralKiHa 25 seriesdiesel multiple unit (DMU) trains displaced from theTaketoyo Line were phased in on Takayama Line services, with the last remainingKiHa 40 series DMU trains withdrawn from the line on 30 June 2015.^[14] JR West usesKiHa 120 DMU trains on the section they operate.^[15] TheHC85 series trains are used for the limited expressHida services.^[16]

• List of railway lines in Japan

• Kawashima, Ryozo (5 December 2022).名古屋圏　鉄道事情大研究 (in Japanese). Soshisha. pp. 223–228.ISBN 978-4-7942-2603-7.

• Takayama Main Line
• Lines of Central Japan Railway Company
• Lines of West Japan Railway Company
• Rail transport in Gifu Prefecture
• Rail transport in Toyama Prefecture
• Railway lines opened in 1920
• 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan

• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• Webarchive template wayback links
• CS1 uses Japanese-language script (ja)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from July 2015
• Pages using infobox rail line with conflicting parameters
• Articles containing Japanese-language text