Hokuriku Main Line

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Hokuriku Main Line
A 521 series at Tsuruga Station
Overview
Other name(s)	Biwako Line (Maibara - Nagahama)
Native name	北陸本線
Status	Operational
Owner	JR West
Locale	Shiga Prefecture Fukui Prefecture Ishikawa Prefecture Toyama Prefecture Niigata Prefecture
Termini	Maibara Naoetsu (section between Tsuruga and Naoetsu is now third-sector)
Stations	43
Service
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger/freight rail Regional rail, Intercity rail
System	West Japan Railway Company (JR West) (Maibara to Tsuruga) Hapi-Line Fukui Line (Tsuruga to Daishoji IR Ishikawa Railway (Daishoji to Kurikara) Ainokaze Toyama Railway (Kurikara to Ichiburi) Echigo Tokimeki Railway (Ichiburi to Naoetsu)
Operator(s)	JR West, JR Freight
History
Opened	Stages between 1882 and 1902
Closed	March 14, 2015 (2015-03-14): Kanazawa - Naoetsu (Converted to a third sector railway) March 16, 2024 (2024-03-16): Tsuruga - Kanazawa (Converted to a third sector railway)
Technical
Line length	45.9 km (28.5 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC, 20 kV/60 Hz AC overhead line
Operating speed	130 km/h (81 mph)
Route map

v t e Hokuriku Main Line
Legend
Operating points and lines
Tōkaidō Main Line 0.0 Maibara See Biwako Line 7.7 Nagahama Former Tōkaidō Main Line 12.8 Torahime 15.6 Kawake Nippon Electric Glass 18.2 Takatsuki 22.4 Kinomoto Former Line (Yanagase Line) Until 1964 26.5 Yogo Nakanogo Yamagase/Yogo Tunnel, Shinyogo Tunnel Karigaya Kosei Line 31.4 Ōmi-Shiotsu Kutsukake (Signal Box) Until 1966 Yanagase Tunnel ↑Shiga Prefecture Fukui Prefecture↓ New Hukazaka Tunnel Tōdōnishiguchi Until 1884 Tone (1913-1964) Asoguchi Until 1884 39.2 Shin-Hikida Hikida Hatsuhara (Signal Box) Until 1963 Obama Line Toyobo 45.9 0.0*# Tsuruga Tsuruga Until 1909 　 3.9# Tsuruga New Port 　 2.7# Tsuruga Port 　 2.3* Miyama (Signal Box) ↑ 1500 V DC Current conversion ↓ 20 kV AC 　 5.9* Shimbo 　 9.3* Habara (Signal Box) Habara Tunnel Hokuriku Tunnel 　 12.9* Suizu 　 17.8* Yamanaka (Signal Box) 　 21.1* Ōgiri 62.5 Minami-Imajō Imajō Tunnel 65.1 26.4* Imajō Yunoo Tunnel 68.7 Yunoo 72.2 Nanjō 76.7 Ōshio 81.0 Takefu Left: Shatakefu Fukui Railway (Echizentakefu) Fukui Railway Nanetsu Line Fukui Railway Fukubu Line Hinogawa 86.2 Sabae Fukui Railway Seihō Line 89.4 Kita-Sabae 94.1 Ōdoro Etsumi-Hoku Line 97.3 Echizen-Hanandō 98.1 Minami-Fukui (Freight Terminal) Asuwagawa 99.9 Fukui Fukui Railway (Fukui Station) Shin-Fukui Fukui-Guchi Echizen Railway Katsuyama Eiheiji Line Tawaramachi Echizen Railway Mikuni Awara Line 103.0 Kita-Fukui Until 1951 104.4 Kuzuryū (Temporary Signal Box) (Until 1949) Kuzuryū River 105.8 Morita 108.1 Harue Nishinagata Keifuku Maruoka Line 111.9 Maruoka 114.9 Echizen Shimonoseki Until 1940 Keifuku Eiheiji Line 117.6 Awaraonsen Mikuni Line 121.4 Hosorogi 124.5 Ushinoya Ushinomiya Tunnel ↑Fukui Prefecture Ishikawa Prefecture↓ 127.2 Kumasaka (Signal Box) Until 1963 130.2 Daishōji Hokuriku Railroad Yamanaka Line 134.3 Kagaonsen Hokutetsu Yamashiro Line, Katayamazu Line 137.5 Iburihashi Hokutetsu Awazu Line 142.4 Awazu For former Komatsu Navy Air Base Ogoya Railway Shin-Komatsu 148.2 Komatsu Hokutetsu Komatsu Line Kakehashi River 151.0 Meihō 151.5 Matsunashi (Signal Box) Until 1963 Hokutetsu Nomi Line 154.0 Nomineagari Left： Shin-Terai For Denki Kagaku Kogyo 157.0 Komaiko Tedorigawa 158.8 Mikawa 162.8 Kaga-Kasama Hakusan Rail Yard 167.2 Mattō Kanazawa Rail Yard Hokutetsu Shōkin Line 170.5 Nonoichi Hokutetsu Ishikawa Line 172.9 Nishi-Kanazawa Left: Shin-Nishikanazawa Saigawa Nakabashi/Hokutetsu Kanaiwa Line Hokutetsu Kanazawa City Line (Rokumaimachi) 176.6 Kanazawa (Kanazawa Station) Kanazawa Horikawa Hokutetsu Asanogawa Line Asanogawa Hokuriku Shinkansen Kanazawa Rail Yard IR Ishikawa Railway Line

The Hokuriku Main Line (Japanese: 北陸本線, romanized: Hokuriku-honsen) is a 45.9-kilometer (28.5 mi) railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with Tsuruga Station in Tsuruga, Fukui. The line formerly extended as far as Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata; however, the section between Tsuruga Station and Naoetsu Station is now operated by several third-sector railway companies. The line links the Hokuriku region on the northern central coast of Honshu, the largest island of Japan, to the regions of Kansai, Tōkai, Kantō, and Tōhoku.

The Hokuriku Shinkansen was opened on 14 March 2015 between Nagano and Kanazawa, resulting in the section between Kanazawa Station and Naoetsu Station being transferred to a third-sector railway compant. Narrow gauge limited expresses such as the Thunderbird and Shirasagi are common sights along the line. A further extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Kanazawa to Tsuruga opened on 16 March 2024, resulting in this section of the Hokuriku Main Line being transferred from JR West to the third-sector companies Hapi-Line Fukui and the IR Ishikawa Railway.^[1][2] Of the line's original 354 km (220 mi) between Naoetsu and Maibara, just 45.9 km (28.5 mi) remains under the aegis of JR West.

The Hokuriku Main Line is double tracked and completely electrified: the section from Maibara to Tsuruga use 1,500 V DC power, while the section from Tsuruga to Kanazawa uses 20 kV AC, 60 Hz power.

JR Freight operated a small branch line for freight from Tsuruga Station to a container facility at the port of Tsuruga, but the services ceased in 2009.