Miki Railway Miki Line

The Miki Line (三木線, Miki-sen) was a Japanese railway line in Hyōgo Prefecture, between Yakujin Station in Kakogawa and Miki Station in Miki. This was the only railway line Miki Railway Company (三木鉄道株式会社, Miki Tetsudō) operated. The line linked Miki and the West Japan Railway Company Kakogawa Line at Yakujin station.

Miki Line
Train on Miki Line near Nishi-Hōda
Overview
Native name	三木線
Owner	Miki Railway
Locale	Hyōgo Prefecture
Termini	Yakujin Miki
Stations	9
History
Opened	1916
Closed	2008
Technical
Line length	6.6 km (4.1 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map Legend km JR-W Kakogawa Line 0.0 Yakujin JR-W Kakogawa Line 1.0 Kunikane 1.5 Sōsa 2.0 Shimo-Ishino 2.6 Ishino 4.3 Nishi-Hōda 5.3 Bessho 6.0 Takagi 6.6 Miki Mino River Miki Shintetsu Ao Line This diagram: view talk edit

Basic data

• Distance: 6.6 kilometres (4.1 mi)
• Gauge: 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
• Stations: 9
• Track: Single
• Power: Internal combustion (Diesel)
• Railway signalling: Staff token

History

The Banshū Railway (播州鉄道, Banshū Tetsudō) opened the line from 1916 to 1917. The railway was acquired by the Bantan Railway (播丹鉄道, Bantan Tetsudō) in 1923 and nationalised in 1943 together with other Bantan Railway lines, i.e. the Kakogawa Line, the Takasago Line, the Kajiya Line and the Hōjō Line.^[1]

Freight services ceased in 1974. Miki Railway, a third sector company, took over the line from Japanese National Railways in 1985.^[2]

The majority of commuters used Kobe Electric Railway's (Shintetsu) Ao Line to get to Kobe instead of the Miki–Kakogawa Line route. As a result, Miki Railway had been unable to justify continued financial support from the city. On March 1, 2007, the Miki City Council officially decided to abandon the line with the company agreeing on April 26, 2007. The line was closed on April 1, 2008.^[3] This was the fourth third-sector railway operator to cease operations, and the fifth third-sector line closed.

Stations

Name		Distance (km)	Connections	Location
Yakujin	厄神	0.0	JR West: Kakogawa Line	Hyōgo	Kakogawa
Kunikane	国包	1.0
Sōsa	宗佐	1.5
Shimo-Ishino	下石野	2.0			Miki
Ishino	石野	2.6
Nishi-Hōda	西這田	4.3
Bessho	別所	5.3
Takagi	高木	6.0
Miki	三木	6.6

See also

• List of railway companies in Japan
• List of railway lines in Japan

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

1. Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory – JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. I. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 171. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
2. Bushell, Chris, ed. (2006). Railway Directory 2006 (111th ed.). Reed Business Information. p. 122. ISBN 0-617-01031-5.
3. "三木鉄道ミキ300-105が樽見鉄道へ" [Miki Railway 300-series unit 105 transferred to Tarumi Railway]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). 12 December 2008. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2024.

External links

• Interest Spots including Miki Rail-Bus, in Miki City Council English official website. (in English)
• Miki City Transport Policy Division^{[permanent dead link]} from Miki City Council official website. (in Japanese)