Sanyō Main Line

Sanyō Main Line
A     S     W     X     G     R
321 series and 223-1000 series EMUs on a 4-track section in Kobe
Overview
Native name	山陽本線
Type	Heavy rail, commuter rail
System	Urban Network (Kōbe - Kamigōri, Hyōgo - Wadamisaki) Hiroshima City Network (Shiraichi - Minami-Iwakuni)
Locale	Kansai, Chugoku, Kyushu regions
Termini	Kōbe, Hyōgo Moji, Wadamisaki
Stations	124
Operation
Opened	1872
Owner	JR West JR Kyushu
Operator(s)	JR West JR Kyushu JR Freight
Technical
Line length	537.1 km (333.7 mi) 528.1 km (328.1 mi) (Kōbe - Shimonoseki) 6.3 km (3.9 mi) (Shimonoseki - Moji) 2.7 km (1.7 mi) (Hyōgo - Wadamisaki)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC overhead catenary (Kōbe - Shimonoseki, Hyōgo - Wadamisaki) 20 kV AC 60 Hz overhead catenary (Shimonoseki - Moji)
Operating speed	130 km/h (81 mph) (Kōbe - Okayama) 120 km/h (75 mph) (Okayama - Shimonoseki) 85 km/h (55 mph) (Shimonoseki - Moji, Hyōgo - Wadamisaki)

The Sanyō Main Line (山陽本線, San'yō-honsen^?) is major railway line owned by JR Group companies in western Japan, connecting Kobe Station and Moji Station, largely paralleling the coast of the Inland Sea, in other words the southern coast of western Honshu. The Sanyō Shinkansen line largely parallels its route. The name Sanyō derived from the ancient region and highway Sanyōdō, the road on the sunny (south) side of the mountains.

The Sanyō Main Line is operated by the two JR companies West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). The Wadamisaki Line, a short section of line in length of 2.7 km between Hyōgo and Wadamisaki stations in Kobe is technically part of the Sanyō Main Line. A short section connecting Kitakyushu Freight Terminal also forms part of the Sanyō Main Line.

New 2- and 3-car 227 series electric trains are scheduled to be introduced in the Hiroshima area on the Sanyo Main Line during fiscal 2014, replacing older 115 series trains.

The entire line between Kobe Station and Shimonoseki Station was originally opened by the private Sanyō Railway company. The section between Hyōgo Station (in Kobe) and Akashi Station (in Akashi, Hyōgo) opened first in 1888. In 1889 the line was extended to the east to Kobe Station (as a dual track section) and Tatsuno Station (in Tatsuno, Hyōgo Prefecture) to the west. The Sanyō Railway was progressively extended to the west, reaching Okayama and the Fukuyama in 1891, Hiroshima in 1894 and in 1901 it reached Bakan (now Shimonoseki) Station. Under the Railway Nationalization Act of 1906 it was purchased by the Japanese government and renamed Sanyō Main Line.