The is a railway line operated by the Kanto Railway

Kanto Railway

is a private Japanese railway company, which operates two unconnected lines in Ibaraki prefecture. The company is a subsidiary of Keisei Electric Railway....

 in Ibaraki Prefecture

Ibaraki Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...

 in 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...

. It is a diesel operated line which runs from Toride

Toride, Ibaraki

is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan.As of March 1, 2008 , the city has an estimated population of 109,926 and the density of 1,570 persons per km². The total area is 69.96 km²....

 to Shimodate

Shimodate, Ibaraki

Shimodate was a city located in Ibaraki, Japan.On March 28, 2005 Shimodate was merged the towns of Akeno, Kyōwa and Sekijō, all from Makabe District, to form the new city of Chikusei. As of this merger, Shimodate no longer exists....

.

The Jōsō Line connects with the Tsukuba Express line, which opened in 2005, at Moriya Station

Moriya Station

is a train station in Moriya, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.- Lines :*Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company**Tsukuba Express *Kantō Railway**Jōsō Line- Adjacent stations :...

, the only interchange other than at its two termini.

In fiscal 1999, the Jōsō Line carried an annual total of 14.16 million passengers (38,000 per day), making it the busiest non-electrified private line in Japan.

History

The Jōsō Line opened on 1 November 1913. Originally all single-track, 17.5 kilometres (11 mi) of the line was doubled between Toride and Mitsukaidō by 15 November 1984.

Rolling stock

• KiHa 0 series (ex-JNR KiHa 20)
• KiHa 100 series (driver-only-operation version of KiHa 300)
• KiHa 300 series (ex-JNR KiHa 30)
• KiHa 310 series (ex-JNR KiHa 16/17)
• KiHa 350 series (ex-JNR KiHa 35/36)
• KiHa 2100 series (introduced 1993)
• KiHa 2200 series
• KiHa 2300 series
• KiHa 2400 series

Stations

Name		Between stations (km)	Distance (km)	Track	Local	Rapid	Connections	Location
	取手	-	0.0	Double	●	●	Jōban Line Joban Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company . It begins at Nippori Station in Taitō, Tokyo and follows the Pacific coasts of Chiba, Ibaraki, and Fukushima Prefectures before the line officially ends at Iwanuma Station in Iwanuma, Miyagi...	Toride Toride, Ibaraki is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan.As of March 1, 2008 , the city has an estimated population of 109,926 and the density of 1,570 persons per km². The total area is 69.96 km²....	Ibaraki Ibaraki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...
	西取手	1.6	1.6		●	●
	寺原	0.5	2.1		●	●
	新取手	1.3	3.4		●	●
	ゆめみ野	0.8	4.2		●	●
	稲戸井	1.2	5.4		●	●
	戸頭	0.9	6.3		●	●
	南守谷	1.1	7.4		●	●		Moriya Moriya, Ibaraki is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan.As of May 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 62,716, with a household number of 23,311, and the density of 1,760.20 persons per km². The total area is 35.63 km²...
	守谷	2.2	9.6		●	●	Tsukuba Express
	新守谷	1.8	11.4		●	｜
	小絹	1.6	13.0		●	｜		Tsukubamirai Tsukubamirai, Ibaraki is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan. The city was formed on March 27, 2006 from the merger of the town of Ina, and the village of Yawara, both from Tsukuba District....
	水海道	4.5	17.5		●	●		Jōsō Joso, Ibaraki is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan.As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 42,342 and the density of 531.40 persons per km². The total area is 79.68 km².The city was founded as Mitsukaido on July 10, 1954....
				Single
	北水海道	1.8	19.3		●	｜
	中妻	1.6	20.9		●	｜
	三妻	3.0	23.9		●	｜
	南石下	3.3	27.2		●	｜
	石下	1.6	28.8		●	●
	玉村	2.2	31.0		●	｜
	宗道	2.0	33.0		●	｜		Shimotsuma Shimotsuma, Ibaraki is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1954.In 2003 the estimated population was 37,150. Since the city area is 61.05 km² this gives a population density of 608.52 persons per km²...
	下妻	3.1	36.1		●	●
	大宝	2.6	38.7		●	｜
	騰波ノ江	2.3	41.0		●	｜
	黒子	2.6	43.6		●	｜		Chikusei Chikusei, Ibaraki is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan. The city was founded March 28, 2005 from the merger of the towns of Akeno, Kyōwa and Sekijō, and the old city of Shimodate, all from the Makabe District, ....
	大田郷	3.7	47.3		●	｜
	下館	3.8	51.1		●	●	Mito Line Mito Line The is a railway line between Oyama Station in Tochigi Prefecture and Tomobe Station in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The line is long and is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company .- Station list :* All trains stop at every station.... Mooka Railway Mooka Line