The Kagoshima Main Line ( 鹿児島本線 , Kagoshima-honsen ) is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) between Mojikō in Kitakyushu , and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima City , at the southern end of Kyushu . Until March 13, 2004, it extended 393 km (244 mi) between its two termini; however, with the opening of the Kyushu Shinkansen on March 13, the section between Yatsushiro and Sendai was transferred to the third-sector Hisatsu Orange Railway Company . The line is an important line in Kyushu, connecting Fukuoka ( Hakata Station ) to many other major cities. It is the main line through the Fukuoka urban district, and as such many long-distance express trains from all parts of Kyushu use the section between Kokura Station (Kitakyushu) and Tosu Station , where the Nagasaki Main Line meets the Kagoshima Main Line.
6-665: This section was transferred to the Hisatsu Orange Railway Line from March 13, 2004. Some through services operate over this section. Yatsushiro - Higo-Kōda - Hinagu ( Hinagu-Onsen ) - Higo-Futami - Kami-Tanoura - ( Tanoura-Otachimisaki-Kōen ) - Higo-Tanoura - Uminoura - Sashiki - Yunoura - Tsunagi - ( Shin-Minamata ) - Minamata - Fukuro - Komenotsu - Izumi - Nishi-Izumi - Takaono - Nodagō - Origuchi - Akune - Ushinohama - Satsuma-Ōkawa - Nishikata - Satsuma-Taki - Kusamichi - Kami-Sendai - Sendai The Kyushu Railway opened
12-618: The Kyushu Shinkansen , the Yatsushiro to Sendai section was transferred to the third-sector Hisatsu Orange Railway . The Moji to Kokura section was double-tracked in 1897. The 14 km Kokura to Kurosaki section (on a new alignment to the west of the original line) opened in 1908, and was completed to Hakata by 1913. The line was double-tracked south of Hakata to Tosu between 1917 and 1921, with Tosu to Hizen Asahi opening 1934, and to Kurume in 1942. The next section to Araki
18-606: The Nippo Main Line was opened in 1903 for the same reason. However, following Japan's success in the 1904 Russo-Japanese War , this concern diminished and the Kokura to Kurosaki section was rebuilt (and duplicated) on a new easier (though 3 km longer) alignment to the west of the original line in 1908. The original 11 km section was then renamed the Okura Line and operated until 1911, when it closed together with
24-539: The 197 km Mojiko - Hakata - Kumamoto section between 1889 and 1891, extended the line south to Yatsushiro by 1896 and the company was nationalised in 1907. At the southern end the line from Kagoshima to Hayato (now part of the Nippo Main Line ) opened as part of the Hisatsu Line in 1901. The Hayato to Yoshimatsu section of the Hisatsu line opened in 1903, the Yatsushiro to Hitoyoshi section opened in 1908, and
30-722: The Hitoyoshi to Yoshimatsu section in 1909, providing the original connection from Kagoshima to Yatsushiro. The Kagoshima to Sendai line opened between 1913 and 1914, and the Sendai to Yatsushiro section opened between 1922 and 1927, at which time this route replaced the Hisatsu Line to become the southern part of the Kagoshima Main Line. In 2004, following the opening of the Kagoshima to Shin-Yatsushiro section of
36-532: Was double-tracked in 1961, to Kumamoto in 1968 and Yatsushiro in 1970. The Yunoura to Tsunagi section was double-tracked between 1966 and 1968. The line was double-tracked from Kagoshima to Higashichiki between 1969 and 1980. The original Kokura to Kurosaki alignment avoided the coastline due to the Japanese army expressing concern at the vulnerability of a coastal route to enemy naval gunfire. A 3 km "Kokura Bypass" line (junctioning 2 km north of Kokura) to
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