Mugi Line

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Mugi Line
Local train at Awa-Tachibana Station
Overview
Status	In operation
Owner	JR Shikoku
Locale	Tokushima Prefecture
Termini	Tokushima Awa-Kainan
Stations	29
Service
Type	Heavy rail
Operator(s)	JR Shikoku
Rolling stock	KiHa 185 series DMU KiHa 40 series DMU JR Shikoku 1000 series DMU JR Shikoku 1200 series DMU JR Shikoku 1500 series DMU
History
Opened	1913
Technical
Line length	77.8 km (48.3 mi)
Number of tracks	Entire line single tracked
Character	Relatively rural
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	110 km/h (68 mph)
Route map

The Mugi Line (牟岐線, Mugi-sen) is a railway line in southeastern Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects the prefectural capital of Tokushima with the town of Kaiyō in Kaifu District. The line's official nickname is "Awa-Muroto Seaside Line" (阿波室戸シーサイドライン, Awa-muroto-shiisaido-rain), but this is rarely used by local residents as it does not directly service Muroto, the intended destination of the line.

The Muroto is a limited express service on the Mugi Line, which runs between Tokushima and Awa-Kainan, once a day. In the past, the Home Express Anan ran between Tokushima and Anan.^[1] Between Mugi and Awa-Kainan, all limited express trains are operated as local services. Until 2019, all Tsurugisan and some Muroto trains had through service on the Tokushima and Dosan lines to/from Awa-Ikeda. On the New Year's holiday, the seasonal Yakuōji-gō limited express provides service to/from Takamatsu.

Although there are local trains that run the entire length of the Mugi Line, most services are divided at Mugi. There are trains that serve the Tokushima – Mugi, Tokushima – Awa-Kainan, and Mugi – Awa-Kainan sections, as well as a single round-trip between Tokushima and Anan. Some local trains have through service onto the Kōtoku, Tokushima, and Naruto lines. Driver-only operation is in effect for most daytime trains when there are few passengers.

• All stations are located in Tokushima Prefecture.
• Local trains stop at all stations. For the Muroto and Tsurugisan limited express services, see their respective articles.
• Trains can pass one another at stations marked "◇" and cannot pass at those marked "｜".

• Although the Tokushima and Naruto lines do not officially begin at Tokushima, most trains travel through on the Kōtoku Line to Tokushima.

The Awa Steamship Company, which operated a service between Honshu and Shikoku, first built an 11 km line from a port at Komatsushima to Tokushima which opened in 1913.^{[citation needed]} In 1916, the line was extended by 10 km from Nakata to Furusho, resulting in the creation of the 2 km Komatsushima to Nakata branch line. The lines were nationalised the following year.^{[citation needed]}

In 1936, the line was extended south from Hanoura 17 km to Kumano, and the 2 km Hanoura to Furusho section became a freight-only branch, which closed in 1961.^{[citation needed]} The line was extended a further 35 km to Mugi in three stages opening between 1937 and 1942.^{[citation needed]}

In 1959, it was decided to extend the line to Muroto, where it would connect with the planned extension of the Asa line from Kochi. The first 12 km section to Kaifu opened in 1973, and further construction undertaken until work was suspended in 1980.^{[citation needed]}

The Chūden to Komatsushima branch closed in 1985.^{[citation needed]}

In 1987, with the privatization of JNR, the line became part of the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku).

In 1988 construction work south of Kaifu was recommenced by a private company underwritten by the Tokushima Prefectural Government, and the next section opened in 1992 as the Asa Kaigan Railway Asato Line.

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• April 1, 1988: Muroto express service renamed Asa
• November 3, 1990: Bunkanomori Station opens
• November 21, 1990: Track upgrade allowing speeds up to 110 km/h completed; Three round-trip Uzushio limited express trains begin operation; Asa express service abolished
• March 14, 1998: Tsurugisan limited express begins through operation onto the Mugi Line
• March 13, 1999: Portion of Uzushio limited express operation separated, renamed Muroto
• 1 November 2020: JR Shikoku transferred a section in between Kaifu Station and Awa-Kainan Station to Asa Seaside Railway.

• List of railway lines in Japan

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mugi Line.

• JR Shikoku official website (in Japanese)