
The Sagano Line (嵯峨野線, Sagano-sen) is the popular name for a portion of the San’in Main Line in the suburbs of Kyoto, Japan. The electrified and double-tracked railway is a commuter rail line in the Keihanshin (Kyoto–Osaka–Kobe) metropolitan area, and is owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line starts at Kyoto Station and ends at Sonobe Station.
The Sagano Line forms part of JR West’s “Urban Network”. This name has been in official use since 1988.
Sagano Scenic Railway
The Sagano Scenic Railway (嵯峨野観光鉄道, Sagano Kankō Tetsudō) is a sightseeing railway that uses an abandoned section of the San’in Main Line originally built in 1897. In 1989, the San’in Main Line was rerouted between the present day Saga-Arashiyama Station to Umahori to accommodate track duplication and electrification. However the old route, which ran along the Hozu River, had been popular with tourists. The Sagano Scenic Railway, a subsidiary of JR West developed jointly with the city of Kameoka, was founded, and the Sagano Scenic Line began operation in 1991.
The track and stations were all formerly used by the San’in Main Line and are still owned by JR West, while trains are composed of former JR West Class DE10 diesel locomotives and torokko open-sided cars (derived from the English “truck“) converted from former freight gondola cars.[1]
The Sagano Scenic Line stations are as follows (corresponding JR Sagano Line stations in parentheses):
- Torokko Saga (Saga-Arashiyama) – Torokko Arashiyama – Torokko Hozukyo (Hozukyō) – Torokko Kameoka (Umahori)
Stations
- All stations on the Sagano Line are located in Kyoto Prefecture
- Rapid services stop at Kyoto, Nijo, Emmachi, Saga-Arashiyama, and every station from Kameoka to Sonobe.
- Limited Express services stop at Kyoto, Nijo, Kameoka and Sonobe on this section of the San’in Line.
| No. | Station | Japanese | Distance (km) | Rapid | Connections | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San’in Main Line | ||||||
| JR-E01 | Kyoto | 京都 | 0.0 | ● |
|
Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto |
| JR-E02 | Umekōji-Kyōtonishi | 梅小路京都西 | 1.7 | | | ||
| JR-E03 | Tambaguchi | 丹波口 | 2.5 | | | ||
| JR-E04 | Nijo | 二条 | 4.2 | ● |
|
Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto |
| JR-E05 | Emmachi | 円町 | 5.8 | ● | ||
| JR-E06 | Hanazono | 花園 | 6.9 | | | Ukyo-ku, Kyoto | |
| JR-E07 | Uzumasa | 太秦 | 8.6 | | | ||
| JR-E08 | Saga-Arashiyama | 嵯峨嵐山 | 10.3 | ● |
| |
| JR-E09 | Hozukyo | 保津峡 | 14.3 | | | Kameoka | |
| JR-E10 | Umahori | 馬堀 | 18.1 | | |
| |
| JR-E11 | Kameoka | 亀岡 | 20.2 | ● | ||
| JR-E12 | Namikawa | 並河 | 23.4 | ● | ||
| JR-E13 | Chiyokawa | 千代川 | 25.2 | ● | ||
| JR-E14 | Yagi | 八木 | 28.2 | ● | Nantan | |
| JR-E15 | Yoshitomi | 吉富 | 32.2 | ● | ||
| JR-E16 | Sonobe | 園部 | 34.2 | ● | ||
| Continuing service on the San’in Main Line to Fukuchiyama and beyond | ||||||