Kibi Line

Railway line in Okayama Prefecture, Japan

Okayama
Sōja

Stations10ServiceTypeHeavy railOperator(s)JR WestRolling stockKiHa 40 series DMU
KiHa 47 DMUHistoryOpened11 November 1904; 119 years ago (11 November 1904)TechnicalLine length20.4 km (12.7 mi)Number of tracksEntrely Single-trackCharacterUrban and ruralTrack gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)ElectrificationNoneOperating speed85 km/h (53 mph)

Kibi Line (吉備線, Kibi-sen) is a railway line in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The nickname used by JR West in maps and timetables is the Momotaro Line (桃太郎線).

Stations

All stations are in Okayama Prefecture.

No.	Name	Japanese	Distance (km)	Connections	Location
U01	Okayama	岡山	0.0	Sanyo Shinkansen Sanyo Main Line Akō Line Hakubi Line Uno Line ( Seto-Ōhashi Line) Tsuyama Line Okayama Electric Tramway Higashiyama Line/Seikibashi Line	Kita-ku, Okayama
U02	Bizen-Mikado	備前三門	1.9
U03	Daianji	大安寺	3.3
U04	Bizen-Ichinomiya	備前一宮	6.5
U05	Kibitsu	吉備津	8.4
U06	Bitchū-Takamatsu	備中高松	11.0
U07	Ashimori	足守	13.4
U08	Hattori	服部	16.2		Sōja
U09	Higashi-Sōja	東総社	18.8
U10	Sōja	総社	20.4	Hakubi Line ■ Ibara Railway Ibara Line

Rolling stock

KiHa 40 series diesel multiple units

History

The line opened in 1904.^{[citation needed]} The line is named after the historical Kibi Province ("Kibi Province" (吉備国)).

On 1 June 1944, the Chugoku Railway was nationalized, becoming part of Japanese National Railways (JNR).^[1] With the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, the line came under the control of JR West.^[1]

From the start of the 26 March 2016 timetable revision, the line was branded the "Momotaro Line" (桃太郎線).^[2] Leading on from this is the linguistic / phonetic coincidence that "kibi dango" (millet dumplings) is a famous dish associated with the Momotaro legend despite neither the character, nor millet in general, nor millet dumplings specifically have any particular historical connection to Okayama. The coincidence has been commented on for centuries.

References

^ ^a ^b Ishino, Tetsu, ed. (1998). 停車場変遷大辞典国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory - JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. I. Japan: JTB. p. 96. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
^ 岡山・福山エリアの主な路線に「路線記号」「ラインカラー」を導入します [Line codes and line colours to be introduced on main lines in Okayama and Fukuyama areas]. News release (in Japanese). Japan: West Japan Railway Company. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.

JR West lines

Shinkansen

Main

Local

Other

Past

v t e Transit in Okayama Prefecture
Ryobi Group	Okayama Electric Tramway (Okaden) Higashiyama Line Seikibashi Line Defunct: Bancho Line
JR West	Sanyo Shinkansen Sanyo Main Line Akō Line Tsuyama Line Kibi Line Uno Line Honshi-Bisan Line Hakubi Line Kishin Line
JR Shikoku	Yosan Line
Named trains	Marine Liner Uzushio (train) Shiokaze (train) Nanpū Sunrise Seto
Transit terminals	Okayama Station Kurashiki Station Shin-Kurashiki Station Port of Okayama Airports Okayama Airport Kōnan Airport
Misc	Hareca Maritime Ryobi Ferry Tsu Airport Line Co. (Ferry) Teshima Ferry Bus Ryobi Bus Shimoden Bus Chutetsu Bus Great Seto Bridge
Japan transit: Tokyo Keihanshin Nagoya Fukuoka Hakone Fuji Izu Hokkaido Aomori Sendai Akita Niigata Toyama Nagano Okayama Hiroshima Shikoku Metro systems Shinkansen trams (list) aerial lifts (list)