The is a railway

Rail transport

Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

 line operated by 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:...

 in western 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...

 connecting Iwakuni Station in Iwakuni

Iwakuni, Yamaguchi

is a city located in Yamaguchi, Japan.On March 20, 2006, the old city of Iwakuni absorbed the towns of Kuga, Mikawa, Miwa, Nishiki, Shūtō and Yū, and the village of Hongō, all from Kuga District, to form the new, expanded city of Iwakuni.- History :...

, Yamaguchi Prefecture

Yamaguchi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of the prefecture. The largest city, however, is Shimonoseki.- History :...

 and Kushigahama Station

Kushigahama Station

is operated by JR West in Shūnan, Yamaguchi, and serves as the transfer point between Sanyō Main Line and the Gantoku Line. It is located in the Tokuyama part of Shūnan, with Taikazan and the located nearby.-History:*February 11, 1928: Station opens...

 in Shūnan

Shunan, Yamaguchi

is a city located in east central Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.The city was founded on April 21, 2003, merging two former cities, Tokuyama and Shinnan'yō and two towns, Kano and Kumage....

, Yamaguchi Prefecture

Yamaguchi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of the prefecture. The largest city, however, is Shimonoseki.- History :...

.
Trains running on this line continue from Kushigahama Station to Tokuyama Station

Tokuyama Station

is operated by JR West in Shūnan, Yamaguchi, and is a stopping point for the Sanyō Shinkansen and the Sanyō Main Line, and serves as the western terminus of Gantoku Line...

 in Shūnan

Shunan, Yamaguchi

is a city located in east central Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.The city was founded on April 21, 2003, merging two former cities, Tokuyama and Shinnan'yō and two towns, Kano and Kumage....

.

This line has somewhat steep slopes and long tunnel segments as this line was originally established as a shortening of the Sanyō Main Line along the old San'yōdō

San'yodo

is a Japanese term denoting both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. The San'yōdō corresponds for the most part with the modern conception of the San'yō region,San'yō translates to "the sunlight-side of a mountain", while dō, depending on the context, can mean...

. It thus runs more closely parallel to the 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...

 than the Sanyō Main Line.

Basic data

• Operator: 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)
• Distance: Iwakuni–Takamizu
  Takamizu Station
  is operated by JR West on the Gantoku Line in Shūnan, Yamaguchi. It is located in the Kumage part of Shūnan, and the Kumage District Shūnan City Branch Office is nearby.-History:*March 28, 1934: Station opens...
  
  –Kushigahama
  Kushigahama Station
  is operated by JR West in Shūnan, Yamaguchi, and serves as the transfer point between Sanyō Main Line and the Gantoku Line. It is located in the Tokuyama part of Shūnan, with Taikazan and the located nearby.-History:*February 11, 1928: Station opens...
  
   43.7 km

(Note: The 1.9 km segment from Kawanishi to Morigahara Signal Station overlaps with the Nishikigawa Seiryū Line, operated by the Nishikigawa Railway.)

• Gauge
  Rail gauge
  Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
  
  : 1,067 mm
• Number of stations: 15 (including both ends)
• Number of track(s): single
  Single track (rail)
  A single track railway is where trains in both directions share the same track. Single track is normally used on lesser used rail lines, often branch lines, where the traffic density is not high enough to justify the cost of building double tracks....
  
  
• Electrification
  Railway electrification system
  A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
  
  : none

Stations

Station name		| Japanese		| Total distance		| Transfers		| Location
JR West
Iwakuni	岩国駅	0.0 km	JR West: Sanyō Main Line	Iwakuni Iwakuni, Yamaguchi is a city located in Yamaguchi, Japan.On March 20, 2006, the old city of Iwakuni absorbed the towns of Kuga, Mikawa, Miwa, Nishiki, Shūtō and Yū, and the village of Hongō, all from Kuga District, to form the new, expanded city of Iwakuni.- History :...
Nishi-Iwakuni	西岩国駅	3.7 km
Kawanishi	川西駅	5.6 km	Nishikigawa Railway: Nishikigawa Seiryū Line
Morigahara Signal Station	森ヶ原信号場	(7.5 km)	(Actual point of divergence with Nishikigawa Seiryū Line)
Hashirano Hashirano Station is operated by JR West on the Gantoku Line in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi. It is located in a rural area of Iwakuni, southwest of the city center.-History:*December 1, 1934: Station opens...	柱野駅	8.5 km
Kinmeiji	欽明路駅	15.2 km
Kuga Kuga Station is operated by JR West on the Gantoku Line in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi. It is located in central Kuga.- History :*December 1, 1934: Station opens*April 1, 1987: Station operation is taken over by JR West after privatization of Japanese National Railways...	玖珂駅	17.1 km
Suō-Takamori Suo-Takamori Station is operated by JR West on the Gantoku Line in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi. It is located in central Shūtō.-Adjacent stations:West Japan Railway - History :*December 1, 1934: Station opens...	周防高森駅	20.6 km
Yonekawa Yonekawa Station is operated by JR West on the Gantoku Line in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi.-Adjacent stations:West Japan Railway - History :*December 1, 1934: Station opens...	米川駅	24.4 km
Takamizu Takamizu Station is operated by JR West on the Gantoku Line in Shūnan, Yamaguchi. It is located in the Kumage part of Shūnan, and the Kumage District Shūnan City Branch Office is nearby.-History:*March 28, 1934: Station opens...	高水駅	28.8 km		Shūnan Shunan, Yamaguchi is a city located in east central Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.The city was founded on April 21, 2003, merging two former cities, Tokuyama and Shinnan'yō and two towns, Kano and Kumage....
Katsuma Katsuma Station is operated by JR West on the Gantoku Line in Shūnan, Yamaguchi. It is located in the Kumage part of Shūnan, and is near the Sun Wing Kumage community center.-History:*March 28, 1934: Station opens...	勝間駅	31.1 km
Ōkawachi Okawachi Station is operated by JR West on the Gantoku Line in Shūnan, Yamaguchi. It is located in the Kumage part of Shūnan, in a semi-rural area.-History:*March 27, 1987: Station opens...	大河内駅	33.3 km
Suō-Kubo Suo-Kubo Station is operated by JR West on the Gantoku Line in Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi.-Adjacent stations:West Japan Railway - History :*March 28, 1934: Station opens...	周防久保駅	34.7 km		Kudamatsu Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi is a city in Yamaguchi, Japan.As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 53,082 and the density of 594.02 persons per km². The total area is 89.36 km²....
Ikunoya Ikunoya Station is operated by JR West on the Gantoku Line in Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi.-History:*March 27, 1987: Station opens*April 1, 1987: Station operation is taken over by JR West after privatization of Japanese National Railways-Adjacent stations:...	生野屋駅	38.0 km
Suō-Hanaoka Suo-Hanaoka Station is operated by JR West on the Gantoku Line in Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi.-Adjacent stations:West Japan Railway - History :*May 29, 1932: Station opens, in what was then Hanaoka Village...	周防花岡駅	39.8 km
Kushigahama Kushigahama Station is operated by JR West in Shūnan, Yamaguchi, and serves as the transfer point between Sanyō Main Line and the Gantoku Line. It is located in the Tokuyama part of Shūnan, with Taikazan and the located nearby.-History:*February 11, 1928: Station opens...	櫛ヶ浜駅	43.7 km	JR West: San'yō Main Line (toward Yanai)	Shūnan
Tokuyama Tokuyama Station is operated by JR West in Shūnan, Yamaguchi, and is a stopping point for the Sanyō Shinkansen and the Sanyō Main Line, and serves as the western terminus of Gantoku Line... 1	徳山駅	47.1 km	JR West: 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... , Sanyō Main Line (toward Hōfu, Shin-Yamaguchi Station Shin-Yamaguchi Station is a station operated by West Japan Railway Company in Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi, and is a stopping point for the Sanyō Shinkansen and the Sanyō Main Line, and serves as termini of Yamaguchi Line and Ube Line... )

¹: Along the San'yō Main Line.

Morigahara Signal Station

is a junction where Nishikigawa Seiryū Line is divided from Gantoku Line. Between this junction and Kawanishi Station two lines share the track. This junction has no siding tracks. This junction is remote controlled from Hiroshima.34.149444°N 132.160556°W

See also

Other lines built as alternate routes:

• Kure Line
  Kure Line
  The is a rail line operated by JR West within Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. It begins at Mihara Station in Mihara and terminates at Kaitaichi Station in Kaita. It's one of the main lines of JR West. The section between Mihara Station to Hiro Station is nicknamed "Setouchi Sazanami Line" as the...
  
  
• Ako Line
  Ako Line
  is a railway line of West Japan Railway Company between Aioi, Hyōgo Prefecture to Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan.　A branch line off the Sanyō Main Line, Akō Line originates at Aioi, runs south of the main line along the Seto Inland Sea, and rejoins the main line at Higashi-Okayama.The entire ...
  
  
• Ube Line
  Ube Line
  is a railway line of West Japan Railway Company between Yamaguchi and Ube all within Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.-Stations:All stations are in Yamaguchi Prefecture....
  
   and Onoda Line
  Onoda Line
  is a railway line of West Japan Railway Company between Ube and San'yō-Onoda all within Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.- Main Line :- Motoyama Branch Line :...
  
  
• Gotemba Line
• Echigo Line
  Echigo Line
  The is a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company which connects the cities of Kashiwazaki and Niigata in Niigata Prefecture, Japan...
  
   and Hakushin Line
  Hakushin Line
  The is a Japanese railway line that runs between and stations in the cities of Niigata and Shibata in Niigata Prefecture. It is part of the East Japan Railway Company network.-Basic data:*Operators, distances:...
  
  
• Negishi Line
  Negishi Line
  The is a Japanese railway line which runs between Yokohama and Ōfuna stations. It is operated by East Japan Railway Company . Freight trains also run on this line, and it is essential for the southern Keihin region....
  
  
• Keihin Tohoku Line
• Saikyo Line
  Saikyo Line
  The is a railway line between Ōsaki Station in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and Ōmiya Station in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It is a part of the East Japan Railway Company network...