Akō Line

{{short description|Railway line in Japan}} {{No footnotes|date=May 2020}} {{Infobox rail line | name = Akō Line | native_name = 赤穂線 | color = {{rcr|JR West|ako|A}} | color2 = {{rcr|JR West|ako|N}} | logo = [[File:JRW kinki-A.svg|50px]] [[File:JRW oka-N.svg|50px]] | logo2 = | logo_width = | logo_alt = | image = JRW-213 001 JPN.JPG | image_width = 300px | image_alt = | caption = [[213 series]] EMU on an Akō Line local service at Osafune Station | type = Passenger/freight | system = Urban Network (Aioi - Banshū-Akō) | status = | locale = [[Hyogo Prefecture]] and [[Okayama Prefecture]] | start = {{STN|Aioi|x|Hyōgo}} | end = {{STN|Higashi-Okayama|x}} | stations = 19 | routes = | daily_ridership = | open = {{start date and age|1951}} | close = | owner = {{ric|JR West|name=y}} | operator = JR West [[JR Freight]] | character = | depot = | stock = [[113 series]] EMU [[115 series]] EMU [[117 series]] EMU [[213 series]] EMU [[221 series]] EMU [[223 series|223-1000 series]] EMU 223-2000 series EMU 223-6000 series EMU [[225 series|225-0 series]] EMU 225-100 series EMU | linelength_km = 57.4 | tracklength_km = | tracks = | gauge = {{track gauge|1067mm|lk=on}} | electrification = {{1,500 V DC}} [[overhead line]] | speed = {{cvt|85|km/h}} | elevation = }} {{Nihongo|'''Akō Line'''|赤穂線|Akō-sen}} is a railway line owned by [[West Japan Railway Company]] (JR West) in [[Japan]], operating between [[Aioi Station (Hyōgo)|Aioi Station]] in [[Aioi, Hyōgo]] and [[Higashi-Okayama Station]] in [[Okayama, Okayama]]. The Akō Line operates south of and approximately parallel to both the [[Sanyō Main Line]] and the [[San'yō Shinkansen]], with all three lines paralleling the coastline of the [[Seto Inland Sea]].

The entire {{Convert|57.4|km|mi|abbr=unit}} line is single track.

== Services == The line is operated in two sections:

* {{Station|Aioi|x|Hyogo}}—{{Station|Banshū-Akō|x}} and * Banshū-Akō—{{Station|Higashi-Okayama|x}}

No trains terminate at either of the official terminal stations. At Aioi all trains operate a [[through service]] to/from {{Station|Himeji|x}} on the Sanyo Main Line with many services continuing further on JR West's [[Kinki region|Kansai region]] Urban Network through to Osaka, Kyoto, Maibara & Tsuruga.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-12-19 |title=播州赤穂駅相生方面時刻表｜ＪＲ赤穂線【駅探】 |url=https://ekitan.com/timetable/railway/line-station/1-3/d1 |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=ekitan.com |language=ja}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-12-19 |title=播州赤穂駅東岡山方面時刻表｜ＪＲ赤穂線【駅探】 |url=https://ekitan.com/timetable/railway/line-station/1-3/d2 |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=ekitan.com |language=ja}}</ref>

{{As of|2026|January}}, the furthest in distance that Ako Line trains operate to/from is Tsuruga, while the longest service in time is the first weekday service departing Banshū-Akō at 05:33 which operates a Rapid service to Maibara arriving at 10:13 with a running time of 4 hours, 40 minutes.<ref name=":0" />

At Higashi-Okayama all trains operate a through service to/from {{Station|Okayama|x}} and beyond on the Sanyo Main Line.<ref name=":1" />

==Stations== All trains on the line are Local services, stopping at every station. "Rapid" and "Special Rapid" trains to/from [[Kyoto Station|Kyoto]] and beyond operate as Local trains between Aioi and Banshū-Akō.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

{| class="wikitable" ! rowspan="2" |Common name ! rowspan="2" |Official line name ! rowspan="2" |No. ! rowspan="2" |Station ! rowspan="2" |Japanese ! rowspan="2" |Distance (km) ! rowspan="2" |Transfers ! colspan="2" |Location |- !City !Prefecture |- | colspan="9" style="text-align:center;" |'''↑Through service as far as {{Station|Tsuruga|x}} on JR West's Urban Network via [[JR Kōbe Line]], [[JR Kyōto Line]], [[Kosei Line]], [[Biwako Line]] and [[Hokuriku Main Line]]↑''' |- | rowspan="6" |[[File:JRW kinki-A.svg|20px]] [[Sanyō Main Line]] | rowspan="6" |Sanyō Main Line |{{RouteBox|JR-A85||#0072bc}} |[[Himeji Station|Himeji]] |{{lang|ja|姫路}} | rowspan="5" | |[[File:Shinkansen jrw.svg|20px]] [[Sanyō Shinkansen]] [[File:JRW kinki-A.svg|20px]] [[JR Kobe Line]] ({{RouteBox|A85||#0072bc}}) [[File:JRW kinki-J.svg|20px]] [[Bantan Line]] [[File:JRW kinki-K.svg|20px]] [[Kishin Line]] | rowspan="4" |[[Himeji, Hyōgo|Himeji]] | rowspan="5" |[[Hyōgo Prefecture|Hyōgo]] |- | rowspan="12" | |[[Agaho Station|Agaho]] |{{lang|ja|英賀保}} | |- |[[Harima-Katsuhara Station|Harima-Katsuhara]] |{{lang|ja|はりま勝原}} | |- |[[Aboshi Station|Aboshi]] |{{lang|ja|網干}} | |- |[[Tatsuno Station (Hyōgo)|Tatsuno]] |{{lang|ja|竜野}} | |[[Tatsuno, Hyogo|Tatsuno]] |- | rowspan="2" |[[Aioi Station (Hyōgo)|Aioi]] | rowspan="2" |{{lang|ja|相生}} | rowspan="2" align="right" |0.0 | rowspan="2" |[[File:Shinkansen jrw.svg|20px]] [[Sanyō Shinkansen]] [[File:JRW kinki-A.svg|20px]] [[Sanyō Main Line]] | rowspan="3" |[[Aioi, Hyōgo|Aioi]] | rowspan="8" |Hyōgo |- | rowspan="4" |[[File:JRW kinki-A.svg|20px]] '''Akō Line''' | rowspan="20" |'''Akō Line''' |- |[[Nishi-Aioi Station|Nishi-Aioi]] |{{lang|ja|西相生}} | align="right" |3.0 | |- |[[Sakoshi Station|Sakoshi]] |{{lang|ja|坂越}} | align="right" |7.8 | | rowspan="5" |[[Ako, Hyogo|Ako]] |- | rowspan="2" |[[Banshū-Akō Station|Banshū-Akō]] | rowspan="2" |{{lang|ja|播州赤穂}} | rowspan="2" align="right" |10.5 |[[File:JRW oka-N.svg|20px]] Akō Line (for Okayama) |- | rowspan="16" |[[File:JRW oka-N.svg|20px]] '''Akō Line''' |[[File:JRW kinki-A.svg|20px]] Akō Line (for Himeji) |- |[[Tenwa Station|Tenwa]] |{{lang|ja|天和}} | align="right" |14.5 | |- |[[Bizen-Fukukawa Station|Bizen-Fukukawa]] |{{lang|ja|備前福河}} | align="right" |16.4 | |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N16||#EB5E60}} |[[Sōgo Station (Okayama)|Sōgo]] |{{lang|ja|寒河}} | align="right" |19.6 | | rowspan="7" |[[Bizen, Okayama|Bizen]] | rowspan="17" |[[Okayama Prefecture|Okayama]] |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N15||#EB5E60}} |[[Hinase Station|Hinase]] |{{lang|ja|日生}} | align="right" |22.1 | |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N14||#EB5E60}} |[[Iri Station|Iri]] |{{lang|ja|伊里}} | align="right" |27.7 | |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N13||#EB5E60}} |[[Bizen-Katakami Station|Bizen-Katakami]] |{{lang|ja|備前片上}} | align="right" |31.0 | |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N12||#EB5E60}} |[[Nishi-Katakami Station|Nishi-Katakami]] |{{lang|ja|西片上}} | align="right" |32.3 | |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N11||#EB5E60}} |[[Inbe Station|Inbe]] |{{lang|ja|伊部}} | align="right" |34.5 | |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N10||#EB5E60}} |[[Kagato Station|Kagato]] |{{lang|ja|香登}} | align="right" |38.5 | |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N09||#EB5E60}} |[[Osafune Station|Osafune]] |{{lang|ja|長船}} | align="right" |42.3 | | rowspan="3" |[[Setouchi, Okayama|Setouchi]] |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N08||#EB5E60}} |[[Oku (Okayama) Station|Oku]] |{{lang|ja|邑久}} | align="right" |45.9 | |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N07||#EB5E60}} |[[Odomi Station|Odomi]] |{{lang|ja|大富}} | align="right" |48.0 | |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N06||#EB5E60}} |[[Saidaiji Station (Okayama)|Saidaiji]] |{{lang|ja|西大寺}} | align="right" |51.2 | | rowspan="2" |[[Higashi-ku, Okayama]] |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N05||#EB5E60}} |[[Ōdara Station|Ōdara]] |{{lang|ja|大多羅}} | align="right" |54.1 | |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N04||#EB5E60}} | rowspan="2" |[[Higashi-Okayama Station|Higashi-Okayama]] | rowspan="2" |{{lang|ja|東岡山}} | rowspan="2" align="right" |57.4 | rowspan="2" |[[File:JRW oka-S.svg|20px]] Sanyō Main Line | rowspan="4" |[[Naka-ku, Okayama]] |- | rowspan="4" |[[File:JRW oka-S.svg|20px]] Sanyō Main Line | rowspan="4" |Sanyō Main Line |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N03||#EB5E60}} |[[Takashima Station (Okayama)|Takashima]] |{{lang|ja|高島}} | rowspan="3" | | |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N02||#EB5E60}} |[[Nishigawara Station|Nishigawara]] |{{lang|ja|西川原}} | |- |{{RouteBox|JR-N01||#EB5E60}} |[[Okayama Station|Okayama]] |{{lang|ja|岡山}} |[[File:Shinkansen jrw.svg|20px]] Sanyō Shinkansen [[File:JRW oka-S.svg|20px]] [[File:JRW oka-W.svg|20px]] Sanyō Main Line [[File:JRW oka-T.svg|20px]] [[Tsuyama Line]] [[File:JRW oka-L.svg|20px]] [[Uno Line]] ([[File:JRW oka-M.svg|20px]] [[Seto-Ōhashi Line]]) [[File:JRW oka-U.svg|20px]] [[Kibi Line|Kibi Line (Momotaro Line)]] [[Okayama Electric Tramway]] [[Higashiyama Main Line]] |[[Kita-ku, Okayama]] |- | colspan="9" style="text-align:center;"|'''↓Through service to/from [[Sanyō Main Line]]↓''' |}

==History== [[File:Akou Railway Banshu Akou station.jpg|thumb|Opening ceremony for the Ako Railway at Banshu-Ako station, 14 April 1921]] [[File:Katakami kiha312.jpg|thumb|Dowa Mining Co. diesel rail car]] The initial section between Aioi and Banshu-Ako opened in 1951, and the line was opened progressively, to Hinase in 1955, Inbe in 1958, and Higashi-Okayama in 1962. The Aioi - Banshu-Ako section was electrified in 1961, and the rest of the line in 1969.

CTC signalling was commissioned between Higashi-Okayama and Banshu-Ako in 1983.

===Former connecting lines=== * Banshu-Ako Station: The Ako Railway operated a {{convert|13|km|abbr=on}} {{track gauge|762mm}} gauge line to Une on the [[Sanyo Main Line]] between 1921 and 1951. * Nishi-Katakami Station: The Dowa Mining Co. opened a {{convert|34|km|abbr=on}} line to Yanahara, to haul iron sulphide ore, between 1923 and 1931. The line is also connected to Wake station on the [[Sanyo Main Line]]. Passenger services commenced in 1931, freight services ceased in 1988 and the line closed in 1991.

==See also== Main line alternate routes *[[Gotemba Line]] *[[Kure Line]] *[[Ube Line]]

==References== This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

{{Commons category}} <references /> *{{cite journal |first = Masafumi |last = Miki |date = July 2004 |title = Railway Operators in Japan 13: Chugoku Region |journal = Japan Railway & Transport Review |issue = 39 |pages = 36–43 |url = http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr39/s36_mik.html |access-date = 2007-02-26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061007212750/http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr39/s36_mik.html |archive-date = 2006-10-07 |url-status = dead }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ako Line}} [[Category:Rail transport in Hyōgo Prefecture]] [[Category:Lines of West Japan Railway Company]] [[Category:1067 mm gauge railways in Japan]] [[Category:Railway lines opened in 1951]]