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Ban'etsu West Line
Joyful Train SL Ban'etsu Monogatari hauled by C57 crossing the Ichinotogawa River bridge in 2009
Overview
Native name	磐越西線
Status	In operation
Owner	JR East
Locale	Fukushima, Niigata prefectures
Termini	Kōriyama Niitsu
Stations	43
Service
Type	Regional rail
Operator(s)	JR East
Rolling stock	719 series EMU, E721 series EMU, KiHa 100 series DMU, GV-E400 series DMU, AT-700 series DMU
History
Opened	1898
Technical
Line length	175.6 km (109.1 mi)
Number of tracks	Entire line single tracked
Character	Rural
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	20 kV AC, 50 Hz overhead catenary (Kōriyama – Aizu-Wakamatsu ) None (Aizu-Wakamatsu - Niitsu)
Operating speed	100 km/h (62 mph)
Route map

The Banetsu West Line (磐越西線, Ban'etsu-sai-sen) is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, and Niitsu Station in Akiha Ward, Niigata, Niigata Prefecture. The name "Banetsu" is taken from the first characters of the names of the ancient provinces of Iwaki (磐城) and Echigo (越後), which the Banetsu East and Banetsu West lines connect. "Sai" (西) means "west" in Japanese.

The line's nickname is the Mori to Mizu to Roman no Tetsudō (森と水とロマンの鉄道, lit. "the water, forest, and nostalgia railway").

Station list

• Local trains generally stop at all stations, but some trains skip stations marked "▽".
• The column marked "*" refers to the unnamed rapid service between Kōriyama and Aizu-Wakamatsu/Kitakata using 719 series EMUs.
• Trains can pass one another at stations marked "◇", "∨", or "∧"; stations marked "◆" are switchback stations. Trains cannot pass at stations marked "｜".

1. Although the official start of the Suigun Line is Asakanagamori, all trains run through to/from Kōriyama.
2. Although the official start of the Aizu Line is Nishi-Wakamatsu, all trains run through to/from Aizu-Wakamatsu.
3. Nitchuu Line closed 1984.
4. Most Banetsu West Line trains travel through to/from Niigata.

Rolling stock

As of April 2020, the following rolling stock is used on the Banetsu West Line.

Kōriyama—Kitakata

• E721-0 series EMUs (since 4 March 2017)
• HB-E300 series For Aizu SATANO (since 2024) belonging to the Sendai Vehicle Center.
• AT700/AT750 series For Aizu Mountain Express. Primary runs on weekends, between Aizu Wakamatsu and Kitaca. Going through the Tadami Line then to the Aizu Railway Line to Kinugawa Onsen station

Aizu-Wakamatsu—Niitsu

• KiHa 110 series DMUs most being replaced by GV-E400 series. These sets belongs to the Niigata Vehicle Center Niitsu Branch.
• GV-E400 series DEMUs Belonging to Niigata Vehicle Center Niitsu Branch(since August 2019)

• Operations in Niigata area
• SL "Banetsu Monogatari"

Past

• 455 series EMUs (from 1967 until March 2008)
• 485 series EMUs (Aizu Liner rapid services)
• KiHa 40/47/48 DMUs (until March 2020)
• 583 series EMUs ( ‘’Aizu Liner’’)
• KiHa 52 DMUs (until 2009)
• KiHa 58 DMUs (until 2009)
• KiHa E120 DMUs (until March 2020)
• 719 series EMUs (Until 2023)

• A Banetsu West Line 455 series EMU in December 2006
• 485 series Aizu Liner rapid service at Koriyama Station in March 2012
• KiHa 40/47/48 series at Tokusawa Station in June 2013
• KiHa E120 and 110 at Gosen Station in December 2009
• A Banetsu West Line 719 series EMU in January 2008
• The 719–700 series FruiTea trainset in April 2015

History

The private Ganetsu Railway opened the initial section from Kōriyama to Nakayamajuku on July 26, 1898, and extended the line to Aizu-Wakamatsu the following year.

Japanese National Railways (JNR) started to modernize the line in the 1960s, introducing the line's first limited express service (as a part of the Yamagata-bound Yamabata) in 1965 between Ueno Station in Tokyo and Aizu-Wakamatsu via the Tōhoku Main Line. In 1968 the train was renamed Aizu Yamabata, but from 1993 onward it was renamed Viva Aizu and ran only between Koriyama and Aizu-Wakamatsu. The train was finally discontinued as a limited express service in 2003.

In 1967, JNR electrified the section between Kōriyama and Kitakata at 20 kV AC.

In 2011 the line was closed for 15 days in March following the Tohoku earthquake, two days in April as a result of aftershocks, and for 10 weeks following torrential rain at the end of July.

A new station, called Kōriyamatomita, opened on 1 April 2017 between and Kōriyama and Kikuta stations.

The railway bridge connecting Kitakata and Yamato collapsed due to heavy rain on 4 August 2022. Services were temporarily suspended between Kitakata and Nozawa. Full service was restored on 1 April 2023. In the timetable revision at December 3rd 2022, Rapid Ageo services ceased operations.

Electric services between Aizu-Wakamatsu and Kitakata ceased on 12 March 2022, and the section was deelectrified by May 2024.

See also

• Aizu Liner
• Banetsu Monogatari

References

1. 磐越西線でE721系の運転開始 [E721 series enter service on the Banetsu West Line]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 9 March 2017. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
2. "「SLばんえつ物語」号運行開始!祝・20 周年! 7月27日(土) 新津駅でお祝いのイベントを開催します!" (PDF) (Press release) (in Japanese). JR East Niigata Branch. 2019-06-27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
3. ＪＲ郡山富田駅開業 県内の新駅３０年ぶり [JR Koriyamatomita Station opens - First new station in prefecture for 30 years]. Fukushima Minpo (in Japanese). Japan. 2 April 2017. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
4. "福島・喜多方 橋りょう崩落、線路宙づり 通勤・通学に打撃". 河北新報オンラインニュース (in Japanese). 2022-08-05. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
5. "磐越西線4月1日再開通へ　22年大雨被災、不通の喜多方－山都間". 福島民友新聞 (in Japanese). 福島民友新聞社. 17 February 2023.
6. "2022年3月ダイヤ改正について" (PDF) (in Japanese). JR東日本 仙台支社. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-12-17.
7. 『令和6年度 鉄道要覧』電気車研究会・鉄道図書刊行会、p.30

External links

• FruiTea Fukushima - JR East
• SL Banetsu Monogatari - JR East

v t e JR East lines
Shinkansen	Hokuriku Jōetsu Tōhoku Akita Yamagata
Main	Chūō Ōu Shin'etsu Sōbu Tōhoku Tōkaidō Uetsu
Local	Agatsuma Aterazawa Ban'etsu East Ban'etsu West Echigo Gonō Hachikō Hachinohe Hakushin Hanawa Iiyama Ishinomaki Itō Itsukaichi Jōban Jōetsu Kamaishi Karasuyama Kashima Kawagoe Keiyō Kesennuma Kitakami Koumi Kururi Mito Musashino Nambu Narita Negishi Nikkō Ōfunato Oga Ōito Ōme Ōminato Rikuu East Rikuu West (suspended) Ryōmō Sagami Senseki Senzan Shinonoi Sotobō Suigun Tadami Takasaki Tazawako Tōgane Tsugaru Tsurumi Uchibō Utsunomiya Yahiko Yamada Yamanote Yokohama Yokosuka Yonesaka
Others	Chūō Rapid Chūō-Sōbu Gala-Yuzawa Keihin-Tōhoku Saikyō (incl. Akabane) Senseki-Tōhoku Shōnan-Shinjuku Sōbu Rapid Ueno-Tōkyō
Past	Aizu Ashio Iwaizumi Kihara Marumori Mōka Nagai Shin'etsu Main (Shinano / Echigo Tokimeki) Tōhoku Main (Aoimori / Iwate Galaxy)

v t e Transit in Niigata
Shinkansen	Jōetsu Hokuriku
JR East	Banetsu West Echigo Hakushin Iiyama Jōetsu Shinetsu Tadami Uetsu Yahiko Yonesaka
JR West	Ōito
Other railways	Echigo Tokimeki Railway Myōkō Haneuma Nihonkai Hisui Hokuetsu Express Hokuhoku Aizu Tetsudo Aizu
Bus	Bandai-bashi Line Niigata Kotsu Echigo Kotsu Kubiki Motor
Public ferries	Sado Steam Ship Awashima-Line Shin Nihonkai Ferry
Miscellaneous	Niigata Station Cards Suica Ryuto Niigata Airport Rail transport in Japan
Japan transit: Tokyo Keihanshin Chūkyō Fukuoka–Kitakyushu Hakone–Fuji–Izu Hokkaido Aomori Sendai Akita Niigata Toyama Nagano Okayama Hiroshima Shikoku Metro systems Shinkansen trams (list) aerial lifts (list)

• Ban'etsu West Line
• 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
• Lines of East Japan Railway Company
• Rail transport in Fukushima Prefecture
• Rail transport in Niigata Prefecture
• Railway lines opened in 1898