Naruto Line

The line began as a private venture. On 1 July 1916 the Awa Electric Railway Company opened a route running from Furukawa through Nakahara, Yoshinari, Ikenotani and on to Muya. The Yoshinari–Ikenotani portion of that original alignment is today part of the Kōtoku Line, while the surviving Ikenotani–Muya stretch forms the basis of the present Naruto Line. In its first years the line gradually added stops, with the station now called Kyōkaimae opening on 1 January 1924 under the name Tenrikyō-mae.

In 1926 the operator changed its name from the Awa Electric Railway Company to the Awa Railway Company. Two years later, on 18 January 1928, the company opened the final segment between Ebisumae — the station that had been called Muya — and a new terminus also named Muya, completing the route through to what is now Naruto; on the same day the existing Muya station was renamed Ebisumae. This extension gave the line its present northern endpoint at the edge of the city.

The Awa Railway was nationalised on 1 July 1933, becoming a state line under the name Awa Line, and Ebisumae station was at the same time renamed Hirukomae. A wider reorganisation followed in 1935: when the Kōtoku Main Line was completed on 20 March, the Yoshinari–Ikenotani section was absorbed into that trunk line and the short Furukawa–Yoshinari section was abolished, leaving the Ikenotani–Muya remnant to be designated the Muya Line. The branch thus took on roughly the form and role it still has today.

Two further changes settled the line's modern identity. On 1 August 1948 the station names were rearranged so that Hirukomae reverted to Muya while the 1928-built Muya terminus was renamed Naruto, and on 1 March 1952 the route itself was renamed the Naruto Line after that terminus. A new intermediate station, Awa-Ōtani, opened on 15 April 1961, bringing the line closer to its present complement of stops.

From the 1970s the line was modernised and streamlined as a local service. Centralised traffic control (CTC) was introduced on 15 March 1977, and freight operations were discontinued on 1 February 1984. With the division and privatisation of Japanese National Railways on 1 April 1987, the Naruto Line passed to the newly created Shikoku Railway Company, which has operated it ever since. One-man (driver-only) operation began on 10 April 1989, reflecting the line's modest passenger numbers.

Today the Naruto Line remains a quiet local branch whose trains generally continue beyond Ikenotani to Tokushima over the Kōtoku Line, giving Naruto a direct rail link to the prefectural capital. From 1 June 2006 a seasonal service marketed as the "Naruto Kintoki Liner" ran between Tokushima and Naruto, operating until 30 November that year. The line continues to serve commuters and local travellers along the 8.5-kilometre corridor between Ikenotani and Naruto.

• 19161 July: the Awa Electric Railway Company opens its line from Furukawa via Nakahara, Yoshinari and Ikenotani to Muya; the Ikenotani–Muya portion is the basis of today's Naruto Line.
• 19241 January: the station now called Kyōkaimae opens, under the name Tenrikyō-mae.
• 192630 April: the operator is renamed from the Awa Electric Railway Company to the Awa Railway Company.
• 192818 January: the Ebisumae(formerly Muya)–Muya(now Naruto) segment opens, completing the line; the existing Muya station is renamed Ebisumae.
• 19331 July: the Awa Railway is nationalised and becomes the state-run Awa Line; Ebisumae station is renamed Hirukomae.
• 193520 March: with the Kōtoku Main Line completed, Ikenotani–Muya is designated the Muya Line; Yoshinari–Ikenotani is incorporated into the Kōtoku Main Line and Furukawa–Yoshinari is abolished.
• 19481 August: Hirukomae station is renamed Muya, and the 1928-built Muya terminus is renamed Naruto.
• 19521 March: the route is renamed the Naruto Line.
• 196115 April: Awa-Ōtani station opens.
• 197715 March: centralised traffic control (CTC) is introduced on the line.
• 19841 February: freight operations on the line are discontinued.
• 19871 April: on the division and privatisation of Japanese National Railways, the line passes to the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku).
• 198910 April: one-man (driver-only) operation begins.
• 20061 June: the seasonal "Naruto Kintoki Liner" begins running between Tokushima and Naruto, continuing until 30 November.