The Gantoku Line (岩徳線) is a 43.7 km railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Yamaguchi Prefecture, connecting Iwakuni Station in Iwakuni and Kushigahama Station in Shūnan. The line was originally built as a more direct route between its termini than the original San'yō Main Line (see History section below). The San'yō Shinkansen more closely follows this line's route than that of the San'yō Main Line between the same two terminal stations.

Operations

Trains operating on this line continue from Kushigahama Station to Tokuyama Station on the San'yō Main Line.

Stations

Morigahara Junction

Morigahara Junction (森ヶ原信号場) between Kawanishi and Hashirano Stations is the point where the Nishikigawa Seiryū Line diverges from the Gantoku Line. Between this junction and Kawanishi Station, the two lines share the same track.

History

The line was originally built to shorten the Sanyo Main Line along the old San'yōdō. The 3.7 km Iwakuni to Marifu (now Nishi-Iwakuni) section opened in 1929, and the 3.9 km Kushigahama to Suo-Hanaoka section opened in 1932. The remaining 36 km section, including the 3,149 m Kinmeiji tunnel (and six others) opened in 1934, at which time the line became part of the Sanyo Main Line, at that time being the only remaining single line section. In 1944, the original Sanyo alignment via Yanai was double-tracked and reinstated as the Sanyo Main Line, at which time this line became formally known as the Gantoku Line. Freight services ceased in 1974, and CTC signalling was commissioned on the entire line in 1982.