Kosei Line

Kosei Line
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Special Rapid Service train (right) and Thunderbird limited express (left) at Hira Station
Overview
Native name	湖西線
Type	Heavy rail
System	Urban Network (Yamashina - Nagahara)
Locale	Kyoto Prefecture and Shiga Prefecture
Termini	Yamashina Ōmi-Shiotsu
Stations	21
Operation
Opened	1974
Owner	JR West
Operator(s)	JR West JR Freight
Technical
Line length	74.1 km (46.0 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC, overhead lines
Operating speed	130 km/h (80 mph)

The Kosei Line (湖西線, Kosei-sen^?) is a commuter rail line in Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line was completed in 1974 by the former Japanese National Railways (JNR) to provide faster access from the Kansai region to the Hokuriku region. It originates at Yamashina Station in Yamashina-ku, Kyoto and ends at Ōmi-Shiotsu Station in Nagahama, Shiga.

Its name means "the line to the west of the lake," indicating that it approximately parallels the western shore of Biwako. Trains continue from Yamashina to Kyoto Station on the Tōkaidō Main Line for convenient transfer to lines serving the Kansai as well as the Tōkaidō Shinkansen.

In addition to local, Rapid and Special Rapid services, limited express trains such as Raichō, Thunderbird and Nihonkai as well as freight trains are frequently operated on the line. Some of limited express trains stop at Ōtsukyō or Katata and others skip all stations on the line.