Yunoyama Line
Regional rail
Commuter rail
SystemKintetsu Railway
LocaleYokkaichi, Komono
Mie Prefecture
Stations10
Open24 September 1913 (age 113)
Lastextension5 March 1916 (age 110)
OperatorKintetsu Railway
Linelength15.4 km (9.6 mi)[1]
TracksEntirely single-tracked[1]
Gauge[1]
TrainprotectionKintetsu ATS[1]
SignallingAutomatic closed block[1]
Electrification(Overhead line)[1]
Speed80 km/h (50 mph)[1]

The Yunoyama Line (湯の山線, Yunoyama-sen) is a railway line of the Japanese private railway company Kintetsu Railway, connecting Kintetsu-Yokkaichi Station (Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture) and Yunoyama-Onsen Station (Komono, Mie Prefecture) in Japan.

The line connects with the Nagoya Line and Yokkaichi Asunarou Railway Utsube Line at Kintetsu-Yokkaichi Station.

History

The Yunoyama Line was originally conceived[2] and built by Yokkaichi Railway (四日市鉄道, Yokkaichi Tetsudō) in the 1910s. The line was opened by two stages in 1 June[3] and September 1913, between Yunoyama-onsen (Yunoyama at the time) and Kintetsu Yokkaichi (Suwa at the time), as a narrow-gauge railway.[4] In 1916, an extension from the line's origin, Suwa to was added.[5] However, this extension was closed on 29 November 1927 due to the extension of the Ise Electric Railway to Kuwana Station.

The line was electrified at 750V in November 1921.[6][3] The ownership of the line changed when the Yokkaichi Railway was merged into Mie Railway (now Mie Kotsu) on 18 March 1931.[7] On 23 March 1964, the track gauge was widened to standard-gauge, and the voltage of the line was raised to 1,500 V. On 1 April 1965, Mie Railway was merged into Kintetsu Railway.[3]

Service

Local (普通 futsū)

For
For
Locals stop at every station.
All trains offer conductor-less (one man) service.
Trains run twice per hour during the day, three or four times per hour in the mornings and evenings.

Limited express service on the Yunoyama Line ended in 2004.

2008 limited express service

Direct limited express service to and from Nagoya was temporarily resumed on weekends and holidays in late July and early August 2008 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Gozaisho Ropeway as well as the 40th anniversary of Suzuka National Park. These trains ran once a day in each direction.[8] Limited express trains on the Yunoyama Line will go from Kintetsu-Yokkaichi to Yunoyama-Onsen without stopping.

Stations

All stations are located in Mie Prefecture.

No.style="border-bottom:solid 2px #; |PictureStationDistance
(km)[1]		ConnectionsLocation
近鉄四日市0.0
Yokkaichi Asunarou Railway Utsube Line		Yokkaichi
中川原1.7
伊勢松本2.8
伊勢川島5.3
高角6.7
桜8.7
菰野11.3Komono
中菰野12.6
大羽根園13.5
湯の山温泉15.4

Ridership

Reference:[9]

No.StationPassengers (2023)
Kintetsu-Yokkaichi39,575
Nakagawara1,616
Ise-Matsumoto2,355
Ise-Kawashima1,916
Takatsuno912
Sakura2,739
Komono1,926
Naka-Komono941
Ōbane-en692
Yunoyama-Onsen319

References

  1. ^ Shimano 2023, p. 96.
  2. ^ "国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション". dl.ndl.go.jp. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  3. ^ Tsuji 2016, p. 56.
  4. ^ Shimano 2023, p. 108.
  5. ^ "国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション". dl.ndl.go.jp. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  6. ^ Kintetsu Railway Co., Ltd. "湯の山線 | 近畿日本鉄道" (in Japanese). 近畿日本鉄道. Archived 2025-01-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  7. ^ "国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション". dl.ndl.go.jp. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  8. ^ (in Japanese) Temporary resumption of the Nagoya ~ Yunoyama-Onsen limited express direct service: 2008-05-13 (PDF). Kintetsu.
  9. ^ "駅別乗降人員 湯の山線". Retrieved 9 February 2025.

Bibliography

  • Shimano, Koji (16 October 2023). 都市鉄道完全ガイド 中京編　2023－2024年版 (in Japanese). Futaba. ISBN 978-4-575-45952-4.
  • Tsuji, Yoshiki (6 August 2016). 知れば知るほど面白い　近畿日本鉄道 (in Japanese). Yosensha. ISBN 978-4-8003-0963-1.