Yunomae Line

The line was built and opened by the state. The whole route between Hitoyoshi and Yunomae was opened by the then Japanese Government Railways on 30 March 1924, giving the upper Kuma valley a rail connection to the Hisatsu Line at Hitoyoshi. In its early decades it remained a steam-worked rural branch; diesel-railcar operation was introduced on 1 December 1951, and additional intermediate stations were added through the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s as the communities along the valley grew.

As a lightly used country line, the Yunomae Line carried freight only modestly, and that traffic was wound down in the post-war decades. Freight services beyond Taragi ceased on 1 October 1974, and freight working ended entirely on 1 June 1980, leaving the line a passenger-only operation.

In the final years of Japanese National Railways the line was marked for disposal. It was designated a Specified Local Line — a category of unprofitable rural lines slated for conversion or closure — on 3 February 1987. When JNR was broken up and privatised on 1 April 1987, the line passed to the new Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu), but only as a caretaker pending conversion.

The decision to convert the line to a third-sector railway was taken on 27 February 1989, and on 1 October 1989 it was transferred to the newly formed Kumagawa Railroad. The handover was accompanied by a modernisation of the line's stops: new stations including Okadome-Kōfuku, Kōritsu-Byōin-mae and Shin-Tsuruwa were opened, and Higashi-Hitoyoshi Station was renamed. Even so, the company's railway operations have not turned an operating profit at any point since its creation in 1989, and the line has depended on public support to keep running.

The Yunomae Line was devastated by the torrential rains of early July 2020, the disaster officially designated the July 2020 heavy rain (Reiwa 2). On 4 July 2020 floodwaters along the swollen Kuma River swept away the line's Fourth Kuma River Bridge and inundated many other facilities, and the entire line was suspended. The same flooding heavily damaged the parallel JR Hisatsu Line in the same valley. On 27 August 2020 Kumagawa Railroad resolved to rebuild and reopen as a railway rather than abandon the route; restoration was estimated to cost around 4.6 billion yen, with the national government meeting 97.5 per cent of the bill and local governments the remaining 2.5 per cent.

Reconstruction has proceeded in stages. The upper, less-damaged part of the line reopened first: services resumed between Higo-Nishimura and Yunomae on 28 November 2021. The lower section between Hitoyoshi-Onsen and Higo-Nishimura, including the destroyed Fourth Kuma River Bridge, remained out of service, with the line operating only in part while rebuilding continued. Full restoration of the whole Hitoyoshi-Onsen–Yunomae route, reconnecting the line end to end, is planned for 20 September 2026.

• 192430 March: the entire Hitoyoshi–Yunomae line is opened by the Japanese Government Railways as the Yunomae Line.
• 19511 December: diesel-railcar operation is introduced on the line.
• 19741 October: freight services beyond Taragi are discontinued.
• 19801 June: freight working on the line ends entirely, leaving it passenger-only.
• 19873 February: the line is designated a Specified Local Line (an unprofitable rural line slated for conversion or closure).
• 19871 April: on the privatisation of Japanese National Railways, the line passes to JR Kyushu as a caretaker pending conversion.
• 198927 February: the decision is taken to convert the line to a third-sector railway.
• 19891 October: the line is transferred to the newly formed Kumagawa Railroad; new stations (Okadome-Kōfuku, Kōritsu-Byōin-mae, Shin-Tsuruwa) open and Higashi-Hitoyoshi Station is renamed.
• 20204 July: the July 2020 heavy rain (Reiwa 2) washes away the Fourth Kuma River Bridge and inundates many facilities; the entire line is suspended. The same flooding also heavily damages the parallel JR Hisatsu Line.
• 202027 August: Kumagawa Railroad resolves to rebuild and reopen the line as a railway. Restoration is estimated at about 4.6 billion yen, with the national government covering 97.5% and local governments 2.5%.
• 202128 November: services resume on the upper section between Higo-Nishimura and Yunomae; the lower Hitoyoshi-Onsen–Higo-Nishimura section, including the destroyed bridge, stays out of service.
• 202620 September: full restoration of the Hitoyoshi-Onsen–Yunomae line is planned, reopening the Hitoyoshi-Onsen–Higo-Nishimura section and reconnecting the line end to end.