The is a railway line operated by Echizen Railway

Echizen Railway

is a railway company located in Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It owns and operates the Katsuyama Eiheiji Line between Fukui and Katsuyama and the Mikuni Awara Line between Fukui and Sakai.-History:...

 in Fukui Prefecture

Fukui Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.- Prehistory :The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed...

. The line stretches 27.8 km from the city of Fukui

Fukui, Fukui

is the capital of Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The city is located in the north-central part of the prefecture on the coast of the Sea of Japan.-Demographics:...

 to Sakai

Sakai, Fukui

is a city located in Fukui, Japan. It lies to the north of Fukui City. It was founded on March 20, 2006, by the merger of the towns of Harue, Maruoka, Mikuni, and Sakai of the former Sakai District, which was dissolved in this merger....

 with a total of 22 stations. It was operated by Keifuku Electric Railway until 2001; Echizen Railway took over the line in 2003.

Service

Although the line technically begins at Fukuiguchi Station, all trains run through and terminate at Fukui Station. Trains run twice per hour during the day in order to connect with Hokuriku Main Line limited express trains. During morning peak hours between 7:00 and 9:00, three trains run per hour. There is a single Fukui-bound rapid train each morning, as well as a local "Mezamashi Train" (lit. "wake-up train") departing Mikuni-Minato at 5:16 every Monday morning that connects with Osaka and Nagoya-bound JR West limited express trains departing from Fukui Station.

All trains run under driver-only operation, but on-board female attendants sell and collect tickets, make station announcements, and assist passengers boarding and alighting. Doors are operated by the driver.

History

Mikuni Awara Electric Railway began operating the line in 1928 between Fukuiguchi Station

Fukuiguchi Station

is an Echizen Railway railway station located in Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It serves the Katsuyama Eiheiji and Mikuni Awara lines.-Station:All Katsuyama Eiheiji Line and Mikuni Awara Line trains serve Fukuiguchi Station. There are two island platforms and one other platform with a total of...

 and Awara Station (now Awara-Yunomachi Station

Awara-Yunomachi Station

is an Echizen Railway Mikuni Awara Line railway station located in Awara, Fukui Prefecture, Japan.-Station:All Mikuni Awara Line trains serve Awara-Yunomachi Station. There are two tracks with two side platforms. The station is staffed all day....

). A year later the line was extended to Mikunichō (now ), and through service began on the Kyōto Dentō Echizen Main Line to Fukui Station. The line became a part of Keifuku Electric Railway in 1942. Two accidents in 2000 and 2001 on the Echizen Main Line forced Keifuku to cease operation on both it and the Mikuni Awara Line in 2001. The line was eventually transferred to Echizen Railway in 2003.

Chronology

• December 30, 1928: Mikuni Awara Electric Railway begins operations between Fukuiguchi — Awara (now ) stations.
• January 31, 1929: Awara — Mikunichō (now ) section opens.
• February 10, 1929: Mikunichō Station renamed Densha-Mikuni Station.
• June 1, 1929: Nakatsuno Station opens.
• October 10, 1929: Through operation on the Kyōto Dentō Echizen Main Line to Fukui Station begins.
• December 1, 1929: Nishi-Betsuin Station opens.
• July 1, 1930: Mikuni-Jinja Station opens.
• April 1, 1937: Tawaramachi Station opens.
• May 28, 1937: Densha-Mikuni — Tōjinbōguchi section opens.
• August 1, 1942: Mikuni Awara Electric Railway merges with Keifuku Electric Railway.
• January 11, 1944: Operation halted between Densha-Mikuni — Tōjinbōguchi.
• April 20, 1944: Tawaramachi, Yatsushima, Tarōmaru, Mikuni-Jinja Stations closes.
• October 11, 1944: Former JNR Mikuni Line electrified; Mikuni — Mikuni-Minato section opens. Densha-Mikuni and JNR Mikuni stations merge.
• April 5, 1945: Tarōmaru, Mikuni-Jinja stations reopen.
• August 15, 1946: Mikuni-Jinja Station closes.
• June 1, 1950: Mikuni-Jinja Station reopen.
• November 27, 1950: Tawaramachi Station reopens. Connecting service with Fukui Railway begins.
• March 21, 1968: Mikuni — Tōjinbōguchi section abolished.
• March 1, 1971: Freight operations end.
• March 1, 1972: Awara Station renamed Awara-Yumachi Station.
• April 20, 1989: Driver-only operation initiated during non-peak hours.
• March 20, 1990: Driver-only operation initiated throughout the day.
• September 10, 1992: Jin'ai Ground-Mae Station opens temporarily.
• June 25, 2001: Due to accidents on the Echizen Main Line, service halted on the Mikuni Awara Line.
• February 1, 2003: Line transferred to Echizen Railway.
• July 20, 2003: Fukuiguchi — Nishi-Nagata section operation restarts. Nishi-Fukui Station renamed Fukudaimae-Nishi-Fukui Station; Awara-Yumachi Station renamed Awara-Yunomachi Station.
• August 10, 2003: Nishi-Nagata — Mikuni-Minato section operation restarts.
• September 1, 2007: Nikkakagakumae, Yatsushima stations open.

Rolling stock

Echizen Railway uses twenty-five cars total in its entire railway. The main type active is the MC6101 with twelve cars, followed by MC2101 with eight cars, MC6001 with two cars, and three other types with one car each.

Stations

Station	Japanese	Distance (km)	Rapid	Transfers	Location
Katsuyama Eiheiji Line
※	福井駅	1.5	●	JR West 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:... : Hokuriku Main Line Hokuriku Main Line The is a 358.3 kilometer line of the West Japan Railway Company from Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga to Naoetsu Station in Jōetsu, Niigata. It serves the Hokuriku region on the northern central coast of Honshū, the largest island of Japan, as well as offering connections to the regions of... Fukui Railway Fukui Railway is a bus and railway company located in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It owns and operates the Fukubu Line between Tawaramachi Station in Fukui and Echizen-Takefu Station in Echizen.-Overview:... : Fukubu Line	Fukui Fukui, Fukui is the capital of Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The city is located in the north-central part of the prefecture on the coast of the Sea of Japan.-Demographics:...
	新福井駅	1.0	●
Mikuni Awara Line
※	福井口駅	0.0	●	Echizen Railway Echizen Railway is a railway company located in Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It owns and operates the Katsuyama Eiheiji Line between Fukui and Katsuyama and the Mikuni Awara Line between Fukui and Sakai.-History:... : Katsuyama Eiheiji Line Katsuyama Eiheiji Line The is a railway line operated by Echizen Railway in Fukui Prefecture. The line stretches 27.8 km from the city of Fukui to Katsuyama with a total of 23 stations. It was operated by Keifuku Electric Railway until 2001; Echizen Railway took over the line in 2003....	Fukui
※	西別院駅	1.6	●
※	田原町駅	2.1	●	Fukui Railway: Fukubu Line
※	福大前西福井駅	2.8	●
	日華化学前駅	3.6	●
	八ツ島駅	4.2	●
※	新田塚駅	4.9	●
	中角駅	5.9	｜
Jin'ai-Ground-Mae (temporary)	仁愛グランド前駅	-	｜
	鷲塚針原駅	8.1	●
	太郎丸駅	9.2	●		Sakai Sakai, Fukui is a city located in Fukui, Japan. It lies to the north of Fukui City. It was founded on March 20, 2006, by the merger of the towns of Harue, Maruoka, Mikuni, and Sakai of the former Sakai District, which was dissolved in this merger....
	西春江駅	10.1	●
※	西長田駅	11.7	●
	下兵庫駅	13.6	●
	大関駅	15.4	●
	本荘駅	17.4	●		Awara Awara, Fukui is a city located in Fukui, Japan.As of October 1, 2005, the city has an estimated population of 31,080 and the density of 265.66 persons per km². The total area is 116.99 km²....
	番田駅	18.3	｜
※	あわら湯のまち駅	20.0	●
	水居駅	22.0	｜		Sakai
	三国神社駅	23.4	｜
※	三国駅	24.2	●
	三国港駅	25.2	●

• All stations are located in Fukui Prefecture.
• Rapid trains: ● - rapid and local trains stop, | - rapid trains pass
• Stations marked with a ※ are staffed.