Ban'etsu West Line

The name of the East Japan Railway Company's track. The line is 175.6 km long, from Koriyama (Fukushima Prefecture) to Niitsu (Niigata Prefecture), and is single track throughout, with the Koriyama-Kitakata section being AC electrified. It is one of the transverse railways in the Tohoku region. It runs from the Koriyama Basin up the Io River (a tributary of the Abukuma River) basin on the Pacific slope, crosses the watershed of the Ou Mountains near Nakayama Pass, passes through the northern shore of Lake Inawashiro and the Aizu Basin, and follows the Agano River valley to the Echigo Plain. Cities such as Aizuwakamatsu, Kitakata, and Gosen are located along the line, and tourist spots such as Bandai-Asahi National Park, Agano River Line Prefectural Natural Park, and Gozu Mountain Range Prefectural Natural Park are found along the line.

Between 1898 and 1904 (Meiji 31-37), the Ganetsu Railway opened the section between Koriyama and Kitakata, and was nationalized in 1906. In 1909, the line was renamed the Ganetsu Line. Between 1910 and 1914 (Meiji 43-Taisho 3), construction was carried out from the east and west of Kitakata as the Ganetsu Line and the Shinetsu Main Line, respectively, and the line was opened. When the line was completed in 1914, it was unified as the Ganetsu Line, and in 1917 it was renamed the Ban'etsu West Line. With the increasing demand for transporting tourists to the Bandai and Inawashiro areas and the former castle town of Aizuwakamatsu, the aforementioned sections were electrified in 1967 (Showa 42), and the speed was increased. There are no direct trains that run the entire line, and passengers must transfer at Aizuwakamatsu or Kitakata. In 1987, when the Japanese National Railways was divided and privatized, the line became part of the East Japan Railway Company.

[Eiichi Aoki and Ryo Aoki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

東日本旅客鉄道の線路名称。郡山(こおりやま)（福島県）―新津(にいつ)（新潟県）間175.6キロメートル、全線単線、うち郡山―喜多方(きたかた)間が交流電化。東北地方の横断鉄道の一つ。郡山盆地より太平洋側斜面の五百(いお)川（阿武隈(あぶくま)川の支流）流域をさかのぼり、奥羽山脈の分水嶺(れい)を中山峠付近で越えて猪苗代(いなわしろ)湖北岸、会津盆地を経て、阿賀野(あがの)川河谷に沿って越後(えちご)平野に至る。沿線には会津若松、喜多方、五泉(ごせん)などの都市があり、磐梯(ばんだい)朝日国立公園、阿賀野川ライン県立自然公園、五頭(ごず)連峰県立自然公園などの観光地が分布する。

　1898～1904年（明治31～37）岩越(がんえつ)鉄道が郡山―喜多方間を開業し、1906年国有化、1909年線路名称の制定によって岩越線となった。1910～1914年（明治43～大正3）喜多方と新津よりそれぞれ岩越線、信越本線として東西より工事を進めて開業し、1914年の全通とともに岩越線に統一、さらに1917年に磐越西線と改称した。磐梯・猪苗代地区や旧城下町会津若松などの観光客輸送の需要が高まって、1967年（昭和42）前述の区間が電化され、スピードアップされた。全線の直通列車はなく、会津若松または喜多方で乗り換えが必要である。1987年、日本国有鉄道の分割民営化で、東日本旅客鉄道に所属。

［青木栄一・青木　亮］

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