Shinetsu Main Line

The Shin'etsu Main Line (信越本線, Shin'etsu-honsen^?) is a pair of lines operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. The bulk of the line runs from Shinonoi Station in Nagano Prefecture to Niigata Station in Niigata Prefecture, with several connections to other lines including Hokuriku Main Line at Naoetsu Station in Niigata Prefecture. The other section of the Shin'etsu Main Line runs from Takasaki Station in Gunma Prefecture to Yokokawa Station in Gunma Prefecture. Additionally, there are three freight branches, namely from Echigo-Ishiyama Station to Niigata Kamotsu Terminal, from Kami-Nuttari Junction to Nuttari Station, and from Kami-Nuttari Junction to Higashi-Niigata-kō Station. The name of the line refers to the old names for Nagano and Niigata Prefectures, Shinano (信濃) and Echigo (越後), which the main section still connects.

The separation of the two sections of the line was a result of the abandonment of the section between Yokokawa and Karuizawa and the assignment of business of the section between Karuizawa and Shinonoi to Shinano Railway, both occurred on October 1, 1997, concurrently to the opening of the Nagano Shinkansen between Takasaki and Nagano stations. The abandoned section through the Usui Pass was famous for its steep 66.7‰ gradient.^[1]

When the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension to Kanazawa, Ishikawa, is completed in 2014, the portion of the Shin'etsu Main Line between Nagano and Naoetsu will also be spun off to a third sector railway operator, dividing the line into three parts.

Stations

Takasaki–Yokokawa

Shinonoi–Niigata

References