Kansai Railways

Kansai Main Line
CJ   V
KiHa 120 diesel car on a rural section
Overview
Type	Heavy rail
Locale	Aichi Prefecture Mie Prefecture Kyoto Prefecture Nara Prefecture Osaka Prefecture
Termini	Nagoya JR Namba
Stations	52
Operation
Opened	1889
Owner	JR Central JR West
Technical
Line length	179.6 km (111.6 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC, overhead line (Nagoya–Kameyama, Kamo–JR Namba)
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph) (Nagoya–Kawarada, Nara–Tennoji) 95 km/h (59 mph) (Kawarada–Nara, Tennoji–JR Namba)

The Kansai Main Line (関西本線, Kansai-honsen, also called the "Kansai Line") is a railway line in Japan, which connects Nagoya Station with JR Namba Station in Osaka. It is jointly run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the boundary between both companies being located at Kameyama Station in Kameyama, Mie.

The section from Kamo Station west to JR Namba Station is electrified and a part of the JR West "Urban Network", and is nicknamed the Yamatoji Line. The JR Central section from Nagoya to Kameyama is also electrified.

Despite its name, for much of its length it is a very local line with mainly single track sections and no regular express services. The line was originally built in the 1890s by Kansai Railway (later under the Japanese Government Railways and Japanese National Railways) as an alternate route from south Osaka to Nara and Nagoya, but competition from the Kintetsu lines and declining ridership forced the line to become two commuter lines to Osaka and Nagoya respectively, with a less-used section in the middle.

Formerly a Kasuga limited express train went the whole of the Kansai Main Line, but this service was discontinued in March 2006.

The Osaka Railway Co. opened the Minato-Machi (now Namba) - Nara section between 1889 and 1892. The company merged with the Kansai Railway Co. in 1900.

The Nara Railway Co. opened the Nara - Kizu section in 1896. It merged with the Kansai Railway Co. in 1905.

The Kansai Railway Co. opened the Nagoya - Kizu section between 1890 and 1897, completing the line. The company was nationalised in 1907.

The Minato-Machi - Tennoji section was duplicated in 1903 and extended to Kashiwabara in 1908. The Nara - Kizu section was duplicated in 1914, and the Kashiwabara - Nara section between 1923 and 1926. In 1944 the Oji - Nara section was returned to single track and the materials recycled for the Japanese war effort. The section was re-duplicated in 1961.