Жапонияның Хёго префектурасының Бантан темір жол желісі

Railway line in Hyogo prefecture, Japan

The Bantan Line (播但線) is a railway line that connects Himeji and Wadayama station in Asago City, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The line is operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and serves as a connector between the Sanyo Main Line and the Sanin Main Line. The name refers to the ancient provinces of Harima (播磨) and Tajima (但馬), which the line connects. The line is long, with 18 stations.

Local train operation is divided into the electrified section between Himeji and Teramae, and the non electrified section between Teramae and Wadayama. All local trains makes every stop on the line, and no local train runs the entire length of the line. The Hamakaze limited express, which connects the Kinki region to the San'in region, uses the Bantan Line to access the Sanin Main Line.

The 29.6km section from Himeji north to Teramae was constructed by the private Bantan Railway (播但鉄道) company and opened in 1894, with the 6.3km section to Hase opening in January the following year, and the 7.7km section to Ikuno three months later. The 8.3km section to Nii opened in 1901. The Bantan Railway was purchased by the Sanyō Railway (山陽鉄道) in 1903, which extended the line 13.8km to Wadayama, opening in April 1906, 8 months before the company was nationalised. Individual section opening dates are given below. The line was named the Bantan Line in anticipation of the Sanyo Railway company being purchased by the Japanese government under the Railway Nationalisation Act of 1906. The Bantan Railway Co. also built a ~15.7km line from Himeji east to Shikama Kou (near Kakogawa), opened in 1895 and closed in 1986. CTC signalling was commissioned between Himeji and Wadayama in 1978, and freight services ceased between 1984 and 1986. The Himeji Teramae section was electrified in 1998.

July 26, 1894: Himeji Teramae opens. January 15, 1895: Teramae Hase opens. April 17, 1895: Hase Ikuno opens. August 19, 1896: Nibuno Station opens. February 20, 1898: Kyoguchi Station opens. March 28, 1898: Mizoguchi Station opens. August 29, 1901: Ikuno Nii opens.

June 1, 1903: Sanyō Railway purchased Bantan Railway. April 1, 1906: Nii Wadayama opens. October 12, 1906: Line renamed Bantan Line.

December 1, 1906: Sanyō Railway company nationalised. October 15, 1925: Tofu Machi Station closed. August 10, 1934: Aokura Station opens. November 20, 1935: Tohori Station opens. October 15, 1951: Niino Station opens. April 1, 1987: Japanese National Railways (JNR) was privatised and regionalised, with the line transferring to the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). March 14, 1998: Himeji Teramae electrified.

April 17, 1895: Himeji Shikama Station (later Shikama Kou Station) opened. November 20, 1897: Tenjin Station (later Shikama Station) opened. September 21, 1915: Shikama Station was renamed Shikama Kou Station, and Tenjin Station was renamed Shikama Station. November 1, 1986: Himeji Shikama Kou closed.