Kusatsu Line

 ( Lines Of West Japan Railway Company ) 

The Kusatsu-sen is a railway line in western Japan operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It connects Tsuge Station on the Kansai Main Line with Kusatsu on the Biwako Line (Tōkaidō Main Line).

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Overview Kusatsu line mainly runs through area around Kōka City, on the mostly flat terrain along Somagawa and . Due to the long distance between consecutive stations, the scheduled speed is fast for a single-track train, with a top speed of 95 km/h. The symbol of the route is C.

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History The Kansai Railway Co. opened the entire line in 1889/90, and was nationalised in 1907. The section of railway between Kusatsu Station and Tsuge Station received the name "Kusatsu Line" on October 12, 1909.

CTC signalling was commissioned in 1979, the line was electrified in 1980 and freight services ceased in 1987.

Construction of a new station, "Minami-Biwako", began in May 2006 and was planned to be completed in 2012. The station was proposed to allow passengers to transfer between the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and Kusatsu lines. However, in September 2006, the Otsu district court concluded that Ritto City issuing bonds to fund the station's construction was illegal under local finance law and the project was halted; the project was officially abandoned in October 2007.

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Stations

Tsuge Station	柘植	0.0	Kansai Main Line	Iga, Mie Prefecture
Aburahi Station	油日	5.3		Kōka	Shiga Prefecture
Kōka	甲賀	7.4
Terashō	寺庄	10.5
Kōnan	甲南	12.5
Kibukawa Station	貴生川	15.3	■ Shigaraki Kōgen Railway Shigaraki Line ■ Ohmi Railway Main Line
Mikumo Station	三雲	20.5		Konan
Kōsei	甲西	24.3
Ishibe Station	石部	27.6
Tehara Station	手原	32.7		Ritto
Kusatsu	草津	36.7	Tokaido Main Line (Biwako Line)	Kusatsu
Continuing service on the Biwako Line to Kyoto Station in mornings and evenings, and to Osaka Station in mornings only.

Train stops at all stations and operates as a local train within the line.

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See also

• List of railway lines in Japan

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