The is a railway line that runs between Himeji

Himeji, Hyogo

is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. As of April 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 535,945, with 206,409 households. The total area is 534.43 km².- History :...

 and Asago

Asago, Hyogo

Asago was a town located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The town was founded on March 31, 1954 from the merger of the former villages of Yamaguchi and Nakagawa....

 in Hyōgo Prefecture

Hyogo Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The line is operated by the West Japan Railway Company

West Japan Railway Company

, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group companies and operates in western Honshū. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka.-History:...

 (JR West) and serves as a connector between the Sanyo Main Line and the Sanin Main Line. The name refers to the ancient provinces

Provinces of Japan

Before the modern prefecture system was established, the land of Japan was divided into tens of kuni , usually known in English as provinces. Each province was divided into gun ....

 of Harima

Harima Province

or Banshu was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tamba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji....

 (播磨) and Tajima

Tajima Province

was an old province of Japan in the area that is today northern Hyōgo Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Tajima bordered on Harima, Inaba, Tamba, and Tango provinces....

 (但馬), which the line connects.

The line is 65.7 kilometres (40.8 mi) long, with 18 stations.

Service

Local train operation is divided into the electrified section between Himeji

Himeji Station

on the West Japan Railway Company is located in the heart of Himeji, Japan. Himeji is a major stop on the Sanyō Main Line, and the western end of the JR Kobe Line...

 and Teramae, and the non-electrified section between Teramae and Wadayama

Wadayama Station

is a train station in Asago, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Layout:There are two island platforms with overpass between them, and four tracks.-Adjacent stations:...

. All local trains makes every stop on the line, and no local train runs the entire length of the line.

Limited express Hamakaze, which connects the Kinki region to the San'in region, uses the Bantan Line to access the San'in Main Line.

History

Originally it was constructed by the private company . The section between Shikama-Kou Station and Nii Station was opened between 1896 and 1901. The remaining part was built by that purchased Bantan Railway in 1906.

Under the Railway Nationalisation Act of 1906, it was purchased by the Japanese government and renamed Bantan Line.

Bantan Railway

• July 26, 1894 The section between Himeji Station and Teramae Station was opened.
• January 15, 1895 It was extended to the north to Hase Station.
• April 17, 1895 It was extended to the north Ikuno Station and to the south Shikama Station (later Shikama-Kou Station).
• August 19, 1896 Nibuno Station was opened.
• November 20, 1897 Tenjin Station (later Shikama Station) was opened.
• February 20, 1898 Kyoguchi Station was opened.
• March 28, 1898 Mizoguchi Station was opened.
• August 29, 1901 It was extended to the north Nii Station.

Sanyō Railway

• June 1, 1903 Sanyō Railway purchased Bantan Railway.
• April 1, 1906 It was extended to the north Wadayama Station.

Japan National Railway / Japan Railway

• December 1, 1906 Sanyō Railway was nationalized.
• October 12, 1906 The line renamed Bantan Line.
• September 21, 1915 Shikama Station was renamed Shikama-Kou Station, and Tenjin Station was renamed Shikama Station.
• October 15, 1925 Tofu-Machi Station was closed.
• August 10, 1934 Aokura Station was opened.
• November 20, 1935 Tohori Station was opened.
• October 15, 1951 Niino Station was opened.
• November 1, 1986 The section between Himeji Station and Shikama-Kou Station was closed.
• April 1, 1987 Japan National Railway was divided and privatized. The line inherited to West Japan Railway Company.
• March 14, 1998 The part between Himeji Station and Teramae Station was electrified.

Stations

Station		Distance from Himeji		Connecting Lines	Location
		km	mi
Himeji Himeji Station on the West Japan Railway Company is located in the heart of Himeji, Japan. Himeji is a major stop on the Sanyō Main Line, and the western end of the JR Kobe Line... 1	姫路	—	—	JR West: Sanyō Main Line (JR Kobe Line JR Kobe Line The is the nickname of portions of the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Sanyō Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture... ), Kishin Line Kishin Line is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company between Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture and Niimi, Okayama Prefecture, Japan.-Stations:*S: Trains stop*s: Some trains stop*｜: Trains pass-Rolling stock:... , Sanyō Shinkansen Sanyō Shinkansen The is a line of the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail network, connecting Shin-Ōsaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka, the two largest cities in western Japan...	Himeji Himeji, Hyogo is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. As of April 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 535,945, with 206,409 households. The total area is 534.43 km².- History :...	Hyōgo Prefecture Hyogo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...
Kyōguchi Kyoguchi Station is a train station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Layout:There is an elevated island platform and two tracks.-Adjacent stations:...	京口	1.7	1.1
Nozato Nozato Station is a train station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Layout:There is an elevated island platform and two tracks.-Adjacent stations:...	野里	4.3	2.7
Tohori Tohori Station is a train station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Layout:There are two side platforms and two tracks.-Adjacent stations:...	砥堀	6	3.7
Nibuno	仁豊野	8.2	5.1
Kōro Koro Station is a train station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Layout:There are an island platform and a side platform with overpass between them and three tracks.-Adjacent stations:...	香呂	11.2	7
Mizoguchi	溝口	13.2	8.2
Fukusaki1	福崎	17.1	10.6		Fukusaki Fukusaki, Hyogo is a town located in Kanzaki District, Hyōgo, Japan.As of 2008, the town has an estimated population of 19,958 and a density of 432.17 persons per km². The total area is 45.82 km².-Transportation system:...
Amaji Amaji Station is a train station in Ichikawa, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Layout:There are two side platforms with overpass between them and two tracks.-Adjacent stations:...	甘地	20.6	12.8		Ichikawa Ichikawa, Hyogo is a town located in Kanzaki District, Hyōgo, Japan.As of 2008, the town has an estimated population of 14,305 and a density of 173 persons per km². The total area is 82.70 km².-Sister city:...
Tsurui Tsurui Station is a train station in Ichikawa, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Layout:There are two side platforms with overpass between them and two tracks.-Adjacent stations:...	鶴居	24.5	15.2
Niino	新野	27.7	17.2		Kamikawa Kamikawa, Hyogo is a town located in Kanzaki District, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.The town was founded on November 7, 2005 by the merger of Kanzaki and Ōkawachi, both from Kanzaki District....
Teramae1	寺前	29.6	18.4
Hase Hase Station (Hyogo) is a railway station on the Bantan Line of West Japan Railway Company located in Kamikawa, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.The station opened on January 15, 1895 as a temporary terminus of the Bantan Railway from Himeji...	長谷	35.9	22.3
Ikuno1	生野	43.6	27.1		Asago Asago, Hyogo Asago was a town located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The town was founded on March 31, 1954 from the merger of the former villages of Yamaguchi and Nakagawa....
Nii	新井	51.9	32.2
Aokura	青倉	55.6	34.5
Takeda	竹田	59.9	37.2
Wadayama Wadayama Station is a train station in Asago, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Layout:There are two island platforms with overpass between them, and four tracks.-Adjacent stations:... 1	和田山	65.7	40.8	JR West: Sanin Main Line
Notes Hamakaze stop All local trains make every stop. Local trains operate from Himeji to Teramae and from Teramae to Wadayama.