Ise Line

The route began as a national project. It was added to the railway construction plan on 16 June 1961, designated a Japanese National Railways construction line, and entrusted to the Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation in 1964; construction began on 4 November 1965. The corporation built it as a trunk-grade shortcut so that traffic on the Kisei Main Line, which then had to reverse direction or detour at Kameyama, could reach Nagoya more directly.

The Ise Line opened on 1 September 1973 as a Japanese National Railways line, running 26.0 km from Minami-Yokkaichi on the Kansai Main Line to Tsu, with six new stations: Suzuka, Tamagaki, Inō, Nakaseko, Kawage and Higashi-Ichishida. Almost immediately it began carrying through limited expresses: from 1 October 1973 the limited express Kuroshio (one round trip) and the express Kishū (three round trips) were rerouted off the Kameyama route to run via the new line, shortening the path between Nagoya and the Kii Peninsula.

Through-service patterns then shifted over the following decade. On 2 October 1978 the Kuroshio service was discontinued and the express (later limited express) Nanki was introduced over the line, while on 17 May 1982 the limited express Kishū was returned to the Kameyama route. As a relatively short, lightly used JNR line, the Ise Line was designated a second-phase Specified Local Line on 22 June 1984, marking it for conversion to third-sector operation or closure under the reforms that accompanied the break-up of Japanese National Railways.

Rather than close, the line was handed to a new local operator. The third-sector company Ise Railway was established on 1 October 1986, and on 27 March 1987 — days before JNR was privatised — the JNR Ise Line was abolished and the route reopened under Ise Railway, now measured at 22.3 km from Kawarada to Tsu. On the same day Ise-Ueno Station opened and Inō Station was renamed Suzuka Circuit Inō, reflecting the line's role in carrying spectators to the nearby Suzuka Circuit.

Under Ise Railway the line was upgraded for faster through running by JR. The rapid service Mie began operating over it on 10 March 1990, running between Nagoya and the Kisei and Sangū lines; on 16 March 1991 Tokuda Station opened and the line's maximum speed was raised to 110 km/h. Double-tracking of the busiest section was completed in 1993, with the Kawarada–Tamagaki stretch finished by 7 March and the Tamagaki–Nakaseko stretch by 4 July, increasing capacity for the through expresses.

The combination of faster running and the fees paid by JR Central for its through trains transformed the line's finances, and from the 1996 fiscal year the Ise Railway turned a profit for the first time. Today the JR Central limited express Nanki and rapid Mie use the Ise Line to through-run between Nagoya and destinations on the Kisei Main Line (toward Shingū and Kii-Katsuura) and the Sangū Line (toward Ise-shi and Toba), and these JR services, operated with JR Central rolling stock over Ise Railway track, remain the line's principal source of revenue alongside its own local trains.

• 196116 June: the route is added to the national railway construction plan.
• 1964The construction of the line is entrusted to the Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation as a trunk-grade project.
• 19654 November: construction of the line begins.
• 19731 September: the Ise Line opens as a Japanese National Railways line, 26.0 km from Minami-Yokkaichi to Tsu, with six new stations (Suzuka, Tamagaki, Inō, Nakaseko, Kawage, Higashi-Ichishida).
• 19731 October: the limited express Kuroshio (1 round trip) and the express Kishū (3 round trips) are rerouted off the Kameyama route to run via the new Ise Line.
• 19782 October: the Kuroshio service is discontinued and the express (later limited express) Nanki is introduced over the line.
• 198217 May: the limited express Kishū is returned to the Kameyama route.
• 198422 June: the Ise Line is designated a second-phase Specified Local Line, marking it for third-sector conversion or closure.
• 19861 October: the third-sector company Ise Railway is established to take over the line.
• 198727 March: the JNR Ise Line is abolished and reopens under Ise Railway as a 22.3 km line from Kawarada to Tsu; Ise-Ueno Station opens and Inō Station is renamed Suzuka Circuit Inō.
• 199010 March: the rapid service Mie begins operating over the line between Nagoya and the Kisei and Sangū lines.
• 199116 March: Tokuda Station opens and the line's maximum speed is raised to 110 km/h.
• 1993Double-tracking of the busiest section is completed: Kawarada–Tamagaki by 7 March and Tamagaki–Nakaseko by 4 July. (EN summarises this as the Kawarada–Nakaseko section being doubled in 1993.)
• 1996From the 1996 fiscal year the Ise Railway turns a profit for the first time, aided by fees from JR through services.