Ube Line

The line began as a private venture. On 9 January 1914 the Ube Light Railway Company (宇部軽便鉄道) opened the first section, between Ube and Ube-Shinkawa, in the heart of the coal-mining and industrial town of Ube. The company changed its name to the Ube Railway Company (宇部鉄道) on 20 December 1921. It then pushed the line steadily north-east: to Tokonami on 1 August 1923, to Hon-Ajisu (now Ajisu) on 17 August 1924, and finally to Ogori — today's Shin-Yamaguchi — on 26 March 1925, which completed the through route from Ube to Ogori.

The Ube Railway electrified its line at 1,500 V DC on 29 October 1929, making the Ube–Ogori route one of the earliest electric railways in the region. Meanwhile a second company, the Ube Electric Railway (宇部電気鉄道) — a subsidiary of the Okinoyama coal-mine interests that later became Ube Industries — opened its own electrified network around Ube from 1929, including a line through Inō towards the coal mines. The two operators ran side by side, with separate, poorly connected terminals, until 1 December 1941, when they merged: the old company was dissolved and a new Ube Railway Company was established to take over both.

As coal and other strategic materials grew vital in wartime, the Ube Railway was nationalised on 1 May 1943 as a wartime buy-out of a private railway. The Ube–Ube-Shinkawa–Ogori section became the Ube East Line (宇部東線), while the former Ube Electric Railway lines around the port became the Ube West Line (宇部西線). On nationalisation the stations were renumbered and renamed in a confusing reshuffle: the line's Ube-Shinkawa station took the name "Ube", while the San'yō Main Line's Ube station was renamed Nishi-Ube — an arrangement that lasted until 1964.

Because the three small private railways absorbed in 1943 had been built independently, the newly unified national railway found their tracks and facilities disjointed, and set about reorganising them after the war. On 1 February 1948 the Ube East Line was renamed the Ube Line, and the Ube West Line became the Onoda Line. As part of a three-year emergency improvement plan, new connecting tracks were built, and on 20 April 1952 the line between Iwahana and Ube-Shinkawa was rerouted from its original alignment via Fujimagari onto a new electrified line via Inō, abolishing the old 3.3 km section. The various freight branches serving the coal mines and the port were progressively cut back, with the remaining branch services closing in 1961.

Through the Japanese National Railways (JNR) era the Ube Line carried heavy limestone and coal freight for Ube Industries between the San'yō, Mine and Ube lines, alongside local passenger services, and centralised traffic control (CTC) was commissioned on 8 March 1983. When JNR was broken up and privatised on 1 April 1987, the Shin-Yamaguchi–Ube line passed to JR West, placed under its Hiroshima branch, while Japan Freight Railway (JR Freight) took over freight operations on the port branch and the Ubemisaki–Ube section.

Under JR West the line was steadily converted to driver-only "one-man" operation, beginning with the Ube-Shinkawa–Inō section on 1 June 1990 and extending to the whole line on 14 March 1992, using 105 series and 123 series electric multiple units. The limestone freight that had been the line's mainstay was discontinued in 1998 once a dedicated Ube Industries road opened, and the last freight working ran in 1999, after which the port branch fell out of use (formally abolished in 2006). Ogori Station was renamed Shin-Yamaguchi on 1 October 2003 to mark its role as the San'yō Shinkansen gateway. From 18 March 2023 every train on the line runs as one-man operation. Today the Ube Line is a local commuter line; its current 105 and 123 series units are based at the Shimonoseki General Rolling Stock Depot.

• 19149 January: the Ube Light Railway Company opens the first section, Ube–Ube-Shinkawa.
• 192120 December: the company is renamed the Ube Railway Company (Ube Tetsudō).
• 19231 August: the line is extended from Ube-Shinkawa to Tokonami.
• 192417 August: the line is extended from Tokonami to Hon-Ajisu (now Ajisu).
• 192526 March: the line is extended from Hon-Ajisu to Ogori (now Shin-Yamaguchi), completing the through route from Ube to Ogori.
• 192929 October: the Ube–Ogori line is electrified at 1,500 V DC; that year the Ube Electric Railway also opens its own electrified lines around Ube.
• 19411 December: the Ube Railway and the Ube Electric Railway merge; the old company is dissolved and a new Ube Railway Company is established.
• 19431 May: the Ube Railway is nationalised as a wartime buy-out; the Ube–Ube-Shinkawa–Ogori section becomes the Ube East Line and the former Ube Electric Railway lines become the Ube West Line.
• 19481 February: the Ube East Line is renamed the Ube Line, and the Ube West Line becomes the Onoda Line.
• 195220 April: the Iwahana–Ube-Shinkawa stretch is rerouted from the Fujimagari alignment onto a new electrified line via Inō; the old 3.3 km section is abolished.
• 1961The remaining freight and passenger branches serving the mines and port are closed.
• 196415 September: Ube Station (the former Ube-Shinkawa) is renamed Ube-Shinkawa; on 1 October the San'yō Main Line's Nishi-Ube Station is renamed Ube, ending the wartime name swap.
• 19838 March: centralised traffic control (CTC) is commissioned on the line.
• 19871 April: with the privatisation of Japanese National Railways, the Shin-Yamaguchi–Ube line passes to JR West (Hiroshima branch); JR Freight takes over freight on the port branch and the Ubemisaki–Ube section.
• 19901 June: driver-only 'one-man' operation begins on the Ube-Shinkawa–Inō section, using 105 and 123 series EMUs.
• 199214 March: one-man operation is extended to the entire line.
• 19981 April: the limestone freight trains for Ube Industries between Mine and Ube-kō cease, ending the line's principal freight traffic.
• 19991 July: the last freight working ceases and the Inō–Ube-kō freight branch falls dormant (formally abolished in 2006).
• 20031 October: Ogori Station is renamed Shin-Yamaguchi Station.
• 202318 March: all trains on the line are switched to one-man operation.