| Yōrō Line | |
| Operator: | Yōrō Railway Co., Ltd. |
| Linelength Km: | 57.5 |
| Minradius M: | 160 |
| Electrification: | 1,500 V DC, overhead lines |
| Speed Km/H: | 65 |
| Maxincline: | 25 ‰ |
The is a railway line of a Japanese private railway operator . The line traverses the northeastern side of the Yōrō Mountains and connects Kuwana Station in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture and Ibi Station in Ibigawa, Gifu Prefecture.
The northern portion of the section is locally and unofficially called the, as Ōgaki is a reversing station.
Kintetsu Railway, one of largest private railway companies in Japan, owns the tracks and rolling stocks of the line whereon Yōrō Railway (a Class II railway), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kintetsu, operated trains until 2018.[1]
Initially steam powered, the line was constructed as a Class 1 railway by Yōrō Railway and opened in 1913 between,, and . In 1919, the present line was completed with extensions from Yōrō to and Ikeno to . In 1922, Yōrō Railway merged with and the following year the line was electrified (1500 V DC). In 1928, its railway was transferred to . Since then, the operator has changed several times, namely to in 1929, to in 1936, to in 1940, to in 1941, finally to Kintetsu, then known as, in 1944.
Following typhoon damage in 1959, the Kintetsu Nagoya Line was regauged to, the Kintetsu standard which enables through trains to Osaka. However, the Yōrō Line remained at partly due to through freight trains to the Japanese National Railways (JNR) lines at Ōgaki and Kuwana, as the line provided a shortcut between these stations.
With accumulating deficit, Kintetsu Corporation decided to split off the operation of the Yōrō Line in 2007. Local governments along the line made an agreement of financial aid to the Yōrō Railway until 2010.
All stations are unattended with the exceptions of Ōgaki, Nishi-Ōgaki, Ibi, Yōrō, Komano, Tado, and Kuwana.
| Name | Japanese | Distance (km) | Transfers | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Between stations | Total | |||||
| 桑名 | - | 0.0 | Kansai Main Line (CJ07) Kintetsu Nagoya Line (E13) Sangi Railway Hokusei Line | Kuwana | Mie | |
| 播磨 | 0.9 | 1.6 | ||||
| 下深谷 | 2.4 | 4.0 | ||||
| 下野代 | 2.6 | 6.6 | ||||
| 多度 | 2.0 | 8.6 | ||||
| 美濃松山 | 3.3 | 11.9 | Kaizu | Gifu | ||
| 石津 | 2.3 | 14.2 | ||||
| 美濃山崎 | 2.0 | 16.2 | ||||
| 駒野 | 3.6 | 19.8 | ||||
| 美濃津屋 | 4.7 | 24.5 | ||||
| 養老 | 4.3 | 28.8 | Yōrō, Yōrō District | |||
| 美濃高田 | 3.0 | 31.8 | ||||
| 烏江 | 2.7 | 34.5 | ||||
| 大外羽 | 1.5 | 36.0 | Ōgaki | |||
| 友江 | 1.4 | 37.4 | ||||
| 美濃青柳 | 2.0 | 39.4 | ||||
| 西大垣 | 1.8 | 41.2 | ||||
| 大垣 | 1.8 | 43.0 | Tōkaidō Main Line (CA77) Tarumi Railway Tarumi Line (TR01) | |||
| 室 | 1.1 | 44.1 | ||||
| 北大垣 | 1.3 | 45.4 | ||||
| 東赤坂 | 2.1 | 47.5 | Gōdo, Anpachi District | |||
| 広神戸 | 2.8 | 50.3 | ||||
| 北神戸 | 1.6 | 51.9 | ||||
| 池野 | 1.6 | 53.5 | Ikeda, Ibi District | |||
| 北池野 | 0.9 | 54.4 | ||||
| 美濃本郷 | 0.8 | 55.2 | ||||
| 揖斐 | 2.3 | 57.5 | Ibigawa, Ibi District | |||
At
Nagoya Line
At
Tarumi Line