Nanao Line

The Nanao Line (七尾線, Nanao-sen) is a railway line in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and the Noto Railway. It runs between Tsubata Station in Tsubata and Anamizu Station in Anamizu.

Nanao Line
A JR West 521-100 series EMU used on the Nanao Line
Overview
OwnerJR West
LocaleIshikawa Prefecture
Termini
Stations20 (JR West), 8 (Noto Railway)
Service
TypeRegional rail
Operator(s)JR West, Noto Railway
History
Opened1898 (1898)
Technical
Line length59.5 km (37.0 mi) (JR West), 33.1 km (20.6 mi) (Noto Railway)
Track length87.5 km (54.4 mi) (JR West)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification1500 V DC (Tsubata — Wakuraonsen)
Operating speed100 km/h (60 mph)
Route map
JR West
IR Ishikawa Line to Kanazawa
0.0
 Tsubata
Hokuriku Line to Naoetsu
1.8
 Naka-Tsubata
2.9
 Hon-Tsubata
5.1
 Nose
8.8
 Unoke
11.8
 Yokoyama
14.4
 Takamatsu
17.8
 Menden
20.9
 Hōdatsu
24.2
 Shikinami
26.7
 Minami-Hakui
29.7
 Hakui
33.8
 Chiji
37.5
 Kanemaru
41.1
 Notobe
43.9
 Yoshikawa
46.1
 Noto-Ninomiya
48.9
 Tokuda
UpJR West Nanao Line
0.0
 Nanao
Shared right-of-way
5.1
 Wakuraonsen
DownNoto Railway Nanao Line
8.6
 Tatsuruhama
12.7
 Kasashiho
16.3
 Noto-Nakajima
22.5
 Nishigishi
26.8
 Noto-Kashima
33.1
 Anamizu
LeftNoto Railway Noto Line
44.1
 Noto-Mii
49.1
 Noto-Ichinose
53.5
 Wajima

JR West operates the section between Tsubata and Wakuraonsen, while the Noto Railway (the second company with this name, see Former connecting lines section below) operates the section between Nanao and Anamizu. The section between Wakuraonsen and Nanao is served by both companies. A further section of the line between Anamizu and Wajima closed in 2001.

Prior to the transfer of the Wakuraonsen — Wajima section from JR West to Noto Railway in 1991, Noto Railway took control of another former Japanese National Railways (JNR) line in 1988, the Noto Line. It closed in 2005.

In 2015, the IR Ishikawa Railway took over the Hokuriku Main Line at Tsubata, effectively isolating the Nanao Line from the rest of the JR network; however, all JR West Nanao Line services continue to run through into the IR Ishikawa Railway to terminate at Kanazawa.

JR West

JR West owns the entire Nanao Line between Tsubata and Anamizu, but it only operates the southern section while Noto Railway operates the rest of the line.

Nearly all local and rapid trains run between Nanao and Kanazawa or Komatsu. Between Nanao and Anamizu, only Noto Railway operates local trains.

The JR section is electrified and operates both local and limited express trains. Among others, there are nine Thunderbird limited express trains (4½ round trips) per day between Osaka and Wakuraonsen, as well as a single round-trip Shirasagi limited express train between Nagoya and Wakuraonsen.[1] JR West also operates the Hanayome Noren excursion train from Kanazawa to Wakuraonsen Station.

Basic data
  • Operators, distances:
    • West Japan Railway Company (Tracks)
      • Tsubata — Anamizu: 87.5 km (54.4 mi)
    • West Japan Railway Company (Services)
      • Tsubata — Wakuraonsen: 59.5 km (37.0 mi)
    • Noto Railway (Services)
      • Nanao — Wakuraonsen: 5.1 km (3.2 mi)
  • Stations: 20
  • Tracks: Entire line single-tracked
  • Electrification: Tsubata — Wakuraonsen (1,500 V DC)
  • Railway signalling:

Stations

The Nanao Line is entirely within Ishikawa Prefecture.

Station Japanese Distance (km) Thunderbird Rapid Transfers Location
Between
stations		 Total
Tsubata 津幡 0.0 0.0 ● ● IR Ishikawa Railway Line Tsubata, Kahoku District
Naka-Tsubata 中津幡 1.8 1.8 ｜ ｜  
Hon-Tsubata 本津幡 1.1 2.9 ｜ ｜  
Nose 能瀬 2.2 5.1 ｜ ｜  
Unoke 宇野気 3.7 8.8 ｜ ●   Kahoku
Yokoyama 横山 3.0 11.8 ｜ ｜  
Takamatsu 高松 2.6 14.4 ｜ ●  
Menden 免田 3.4 17.8 ｜ ｜   Hōdatsushimizu, Hakui District
Hōdatsu 宝達 3.1 20.9 ｜ ●  
Shikinami 敷浪 3.3 24.2 ｜ ｜  
Minami-Hakui 南羽咋 2.5 26.7 ｜ ｜   Hakui
Hakui 羽咋 3.0 29.7 ● ●  
Chiji 千路 4.1 33.8 ｜ ▲  
Kanemaru 金丸 3.7 37.5 ｜ ▲   Nakanoto, Kashima District
Notobe 能登部 3.6 41.1 ｜ ●  
Yoshikawa 良川 2.8 43.9 ｜ ●  
Noto-Ninomiya 能登二宮 2.2 46.1 ｜ ▲  
Tokuda 徳田 2.8 48.9 ｜ ▲   Nanao
Nanao 七尾 5.5 54.4 ● ● Noto Railway Nanao Line
Wakuraonsen 和倉温泉 5.1 59.5 ●   Noto Railway Nanao Line

Rapid trains stop at stations marked with a "●". Of trains bound for Kanazawa, some stop at stations marked with a "▲" while all stop at stations marked "■". All rapid trains pass stations marked "｜".

Electric

Diesel
  • KiHa 48 (JR West) (Hanayome Noren)
  • NT 200 series (Noto Railway) (Nanao - Wakuraonsen)
  • NT 300 series (Noto Railway) (Nanao - Wakuraonsen)

Noto Railway
Noto Railway NT200 series DMU at Anamizu Station

The Noto Railway section is not electrified (except for the section shared with JR West) and operates local trains only. Between Nanao and Anamizu, only Noto Railway operates local trains; there is no through service to the JR West-operated part of the line south of Nanao.

In addition, のと里山里海号 (Noto Satoyama-Satoumi-go) which is a tourist train, has been run on holidays since 2017. The trains stop at all stations and seats can be reserved for 500 yen.[2] There are also dining cars on partly services.[3]

Basic data

Stations

The Nanao Line is entirely within Ishikawa Prefecture.

Station Japanese Distance (km) Noto Satoyama-Satoumi Transfers Location
Between
stations		 Total
Nanao 七尾 - 0.0 ● JR West Nanao Line Nanao
Wakuraonsen 和倉温泉 5.1 5.1 ● JR West Nanao Line
Tatsuruhama 田鶴浜 3.5 8.6 ↕  
Kasashiho 笠師保 4.1 12.7 ↕  
Noto-Nakajima 能登中島 3.6 16.3 ●[4]  
Nishigishi 西岸 6.2 22.5 ↕  
Noto-Kashima 能登鹿島 4.3 26.8 ↕   Anamizu, Hōsu District
Anamizu 穴水 6.3 33.1 ●  

History

The section between Tsubata Station (now Hon-Tsubata Station) and Yatashin Station (later renamed Nanaominato Station and closed in 1984) via Nanao Station was constructed and opened by the Nanao Railway (七尾鉄道, Nanao-tetsudō) on April 24, 1898. The terminal in Tsubata was moved to the present Tsubata Station on August 2, 1900, and connected to the government-owned Hokuriku Main Line. Nanao Railway was nationalized on September 1, 1907.[5]

The line was extended and had been operated by the Japanese Government Railways. In 1925, the Nanao to Wakura (now Wakuraonsen) section opened, and in 1935 the line was completed with the opening of the Anamizu to Wajima section. In 1991, the Nanao Line was electrified to Wakuraonsen, enabling through operation of trains from the Hokuriku Main Line. Operation of the Nanao to Wajima section was transferred to the Noto Railway. In 2001, the section between Anamizu and Wajima was closed.[6]

A JR 413 series train on the Notoninomiya station in January 2018

See also

References
  1. October 2009 timetable
  2. "のと里山里海号". satoyama-satoumi-go.net. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  3. You must reserve plan for riding on the dining cars before five days.
  4. The Noto Satoyama-Satoumi stop for 10 minutes due to passengers watch the landscape from the platform.
  5. Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory – JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. I. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 162. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
  6. Miyawaki, Shunzō (2002). 鉄道廃線跡を歩くIX [Walking on the Abandoned Railway Track IX] (in Japanese). p. 120. ISBN 4533043747.
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