100km of line less - JR West Sankō Line to close

[railsquid]

News report in Japanese: http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160901-00000058-jij-soci

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sank%C5%8D_Line

[Sacto1985]

And YouTube member nimo5 is deeply saddened. This member has filmed a LOT of videos on this line.

 

I do know that JR West has been test running a lot of bus service between Miyoshi and Gotsu along the Gonokawa River in recent years. This means that the connector bus service between these two towns will become permanent starting in October 2016.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Sacto1985

[railsquid]

Yes, they'll be running a replacement bus service.

 

Gah, I don't suppose I'll have a chance to get down that way in the next few months...

[westfalen]

I'm glad I did it in 2011.  It is one of those lines that is hard to do because of the sparse service, it is odd in Japan to look at a departure board at a station and see six or seven hour gaps between trains, the opposite end of the spectrum from the Yamanote Line.

[kvp]

Any frequency above 2 hours is an end to a line as people couldn't use it anymore, so it won't have traffic and could/would be closed. The yamanote would be underused too if they started running with a 7 hours frequency.

[Densha]

Sacto1985,

 

I believe the line is intended to close from October 2017, not 2016: http://mainichi.jp/articles/20160901/k00/00e/040/280000c

 

Also, maybe I'll be able to ride this line somewhere during the upcoming few months. I am planning on visiting the Chuugoku region after all.

[westfalen]

In 2011 I travelled from Hiroshima to Gotsu returned via Masuda and Shin-Yamaguchi.

[railsquid]

I was planning to do those inland lines in the Chugoku area back when I was eligible for a rail pass in the early 2000s, but the connections didn't work in the time available. Hopefully the Squidlet will be more amenable for long-distance travel next summer... I really must go through my records and work out exactly where I have been, memories are fading but I'm sure I did Yamaguchi-Matsue-Okayama one time.

[Sacto1985]

It'll be interesting to see how much bus service JR Chūgoku will run between Gōtsu and Miyoshi once the Sankō Line closes. Will it be increased to at least once every 90 minutes to 2 hours?

[kvp]

I would guess that they will keep the same schedule and/or let the local councils sort it out themselves. Many of the stops are in heavily depopulated areas and unaccessible by road. Personally i think the end portions of the line, near the larger city centers should have been kept as two independent commuter lines, but i guess buses are cheaper as there is almost no infastruture to maintain.

 

ps: Uzui station, located on that huge bridge is really impressive