Yamaguchi Line

The line was built in stages by the national railway. Before it opened, a light railway run by the Dai-Nippon Kidō company already connected the towns of Ogōri and Yamaguchi; that line was abolished on 19 February 1913, the day before the state railway opened. The first government section, from Ogōri (now Shin-Yamaguchi) to Yamaguchi — about 7.9 miles, or roughly 12.71 km — opened on 20 February 1913, together with Ōtoshi, Yuda (now Yudaonsen) and Yamaguchi stations.

From there the line was pushed steadily north. The Yamaguchi–Shinome section opened on 1 July 1917, followed by extensions to Mitani on 28 April 1918 and to Tokusa on 3 November 1918. On 5 August 1922 the line reached Tsuwano, by which point the route was being referred to as the Tsuwano Line. The final section, from Tsuwano to Iwami-Masuda (now Masuda) — about 19.3 miles, or roughly 31.06 km — opened on 1 April 1923, completing the through route between the Sanyō and San'in coasts and opening Nichihara, Iwami-Yokota and Iwami-Masuda stations.

In the following decades the line was modernised and its stations were renamed. Diesel railcar operation between Ogōri and Yamaguchi began on 1 September 1933. Yuda Station was renamed Yudaonsen on 20 March 1961, and Iwami-Masuda Station became simply Masuda on 1 October 1966. Steam locomotives were retired from regular service and the line was dieselised on 1 October 1973. With the full opening of the Sanyō Shinkansen on 10 March 1975, the Yamaguchi Line gained its first limited express, the "Oki".

The line is closely associated with the revival of steam in Japan. Japanese National Railways (JNR) had ended all of its steam operation by December 1975, but in response to requests from local communities and railway enthusiasts the "SL Yamaguchi" excursion, hauled by the preserved Class C57 locomotive C57 1, began running on 1 August 1979. The service became a lasting attraction and is widely credited with encouraging the revival of steam excursions elsewhere on the JNR and later JR networks. Centralised traffic control (CTC) was commissioned on 1 February 1984.

When JNR was broken up and privatised on 1 April 1987, the Yamaguchi Line passed to JR West, while Japan Freight Railway (JR Freight) became a Type II operator over the whole line. One-man operation was introduced on 1 June 1990. On 1 October 2003 Ogōri Station was renamed Shin-Yamaguchi, and the same timetable revision brought the first reduction of services since the JR era began; a few days later, on 6 October 2003, an imperial special train ran on the line for a visit by the Emperor and Empress to Shimane Prefecture.

The line suffered its worst disaster on 28 July 2013, when torrential rain in Yamaguchi and Shimane prefectures destroyed the fourth, fifth and sixth Abu River bridges and triggered landslides, severing the Miyano–Masuda section. Services and the "SL Yamaguchi" were progressively restored — first to Jifuku in August 2013, then on the Tsuwano–Masuda section in November 2013 — and the line was fully reopened on 23 August 2014, with the reconstruction of the three bridges funded jointly by JR West and Yamaguchi Prefecture. Conventional freight, which by then no longer originated on the line, ended and JR Freight's Type II operation was formally abolished on 1 April 2014.

In its more recent years the line has continued to be modernised while facing the pressures common to rural lines. A small-scale automatic route-control system (SRC) was introduced across the whole line on 22 May 2017. During 2018, detour freight trains briefly ran over the Yamaguchi Line when storm damage closed parts of the parallel Sanyō Main Line. From 12 March 2022 all local and rapid trains became one-man operated, and on 1 April 2023 the ICOCA smart card became usable on the Shin-Yamaguchi–Yamaguchi section. Today the line is worked by diesel railcars, with the C57 1 and D51 200 locomotives hauling the celebrated "SL Yamaguchi", and the tilting KiHa 187 series running the "Super Oki" limited express through to the San'in Main Line.

• 191319 February: the Dai-Nippon Kidō light railway between Ogōri and Yamaguchi is abolished, the day before the state railway opens.
• 191320 February: the Yamaguchi Line opens between Ogōri (now Shin-Yamaguchi) and Yamaguchi (about 12.71 km); Ōtoshi, Yuda (now Yudaonsen) and Yamaguchi stations open.
• 19171 July: the line is extended from Yamaguchi to Shinome; Miyano, Niho and Shinome stations open.
• 191828 April and 3 November: the line is extended to Mitani, then to Tokusa, opening Jifuku and Tokusa stations.
• 19225 August: the line is extended from Tokusa to Tsuwano; at this stage the route is referred to as the Tsuwano Line.
• 19231 April: the Tsuwano–Iwami-Masuda (now Masuda) section opens (about 31.06 km), completing the line; Nichihara, Iwami-Yokota and Iwami-Masuda stations open.
• 19331 September: diesel railcar operation begins between Ogōri and Yamaguchi.
• 196120 March: Yuda Station is renamed Yudaonsen.
• 19661 October: Iwami-Masuda Station is renamed Masuda.
• 19731 October: steam locomotives are retired from the line and operation is dieselised.
• 197510 March: with the full opening of the Sanyō Shinkansen, the line's first limited express, the 'Oki', begins.
• 19791 August: the 'SL Yamaguchi' steam excursion, hauled by C57 1, begins, after JNR had ended all steam operation by December 1975.
• 19841 February: centralised traffic control (CTC) is commissioned.
• 19871 April: on the privatisation of JNR, JR West takes over the line and JR Freight becomes a Type II operator over the whole line.
• 19901 June: one-man (driver-only) operation begins.
• 20031 October: Ogōri Station is renamed Shin-Yamaguchi; the same revision brings the first service reduction of the JR era. On 6 October an imperial special train runs for the Emperor and Empress's visit to Shimane.
• 201328 July: torrential rain destroys the fourth, fifth and sixth Abu River bridges and severs the Miyano–Masuda section; staged reopening follows through 2013.
• 20141 April: JR Freight's Type II operation is abolished. 23 August: the line is fully reopened after the 2013 disaster, the three bridges rebuilt with joint JR West / Yamaguchi Prefecture funding.
• 201722 May: a small-scale automatic route-control system (SRC) is introduced across the whole line.
• 202212 March: all local and rapid trains become one-man operated.
• 20231 April: the ICOCA smart card becomes usable on the Shin-Yamaguchi–Yamaguchi section (Shin-Yamaguchi, Yudaonsen and Yamaguchi stations).