Kesennuma Line
| Kesennuma Line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
North and southbound trains at Motoyoshi Station, April 2005 | |||
| Overview | |||
| Native name | 気仙沼線 | ||
| Status | In operation (Maeyachi - Yanaizu as a railway) (Yanaizu - Kesennuma as a BRT route) | ||
| Owner | JR East | ||
| Locale | Miyagi Prefecture | ||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | 23 (Only 6 are railway stations following the 2011 disaster) | ||
| Service | |||
| Operator(s) | JR East | ||
| Rolling stock | KiHa 110 series DMU, Hino Blue Ribbon City Bus | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | 11 February 1957 | ||
| Closed | 1 April 2020 (Section between Yanaizu - Kesennuma was replaced by bus rapid transit in December 2012 but was only formally closed in 2020) | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 72.8 km (45.2 mi) (Until 2011) 17.5 km (10.9 mi) (After 2011) | ||
| Number of tracks | Entire line single tracked | ||
| Character | Mainly rural with some more urban areas | ||
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | ||
| Electrification | None | ||
| Operating speed | 85 km/h (53 mph) | ||
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The Kesennuma Line (気仙沼線, Kesennuma-sen) is a local railway and bus rapid transit line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Maeyachi Station in the city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi to Kesennuma Station in the city of Kesennuma, Miyagi. The route links the northeastern coast of Miyagi Prefecture with the Ishinomaki Line (and the Tohoku Main Line a few stops farther) available for transfer in the south, and the Ōfunato Line in the north.
Originally a railway from end to end, the line was severely damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, with tracks, stations, and railway bridges between Minami-Kesennuma Station and Rikuzen-Togura Station sustaining major damage. Destroyed stations included Minami-Kesennuma (except for the platform) and Shizugawa Station, as well as various others. As a result of the catastrophic damage to the line and prohibitive costs of restoration as a railway, JR East officially proposed the line's conversion into a dedicated bus rapid transit route on 27 December 2011. At present only the Maeyachi to Yanaizu section is operated as a railway, with services on the remainder of the route provided by buses. The buses have been Level 2 self-driving since December 2022.