San'yō Railway should not be confused with Sanyō Electric Railway.
| Railroad Name: | Sanyō Railway |
| Logo Filename: | SanyoRyLogo.svg |
| Locale: | Japan |
| Start Year: | 1888 |
| End Year: | 1906 |
| Successor Line: | JGR |
| Length: | (1906) |
| Hq City: | Kobe |
The was established in 1887 and served as a major railroad company during the Meiji period in Japan. The railroad was headquartered in Kobe, and Nakamigawa Hikojirō served as head of the railroad.[1]
The first rail line opened in 1888. By 1894, the Sanyō Railway had been extended west, along the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, from Kobe to Hiroshima.[2] The railroad was later extended to Shimonoseki. The Sanyō Main Line connected with the Tōkaidō Main Line in Kobe, and the Kyūshū Railway at Moji. The railway gained a reputation for being one of the most progressive and innovative in Japan in its day, introducing the first sleeping cars, dining cars, and electric lighting on its trains.[3] In 1904, the 530 km (330 mile) trip from Kobe to Shimonoseki took 11 hours.[4] An express train from Kobe to Hiroshima took 8 hours, travelling 304 km (189 miles).[5]
| – | 329.3miles | 329.3 | Sanyō Main Line | ||
| – Shikama | 3.5miles | 3.5 | Bantan Line | ||
| – | 40.9miles | 40.9 | Bantan Line | ||
| – | 12.2miles | 12.2 | Mine Line | ||
| – | 1.8miles | 1.8 | Sanyō Main Line (Wadamisaki Line) | ||
| – | 27.2miles | 27.2 | Yosan Line | ||
| Subtotal | 676.7 | 414.9 | |||
| – | 12.4miles | 12.4 | Kure Line | Leased from Government Railways | |
| – Ujina | 3.7miles | 3.7 | Ujina Line | Leased from Army | |
| Total | 693.7 | 414.9 |
Sanyō also operated steamship service, from Shimonoseki to Busan in Korea.[6] Sanyō Railway also operated a ferry from Miyajimaguchi Station, which opened on September 25, 1897, to Itsukushima (Miyajima).
The railroad was nationalized in 1906, under the Railway Nationalization Act, becoming the San'yō Main Line.