Haebaru Main Line

The Haebaru Railway Haebaru Main Line is a Soranese railway line in Iwate Prefecture that runs from Nishi-Haebaru to Haebaru Port. It is operated by the Haebaru Railway Company. Construction of the line began in 1970, to coincide with the opening of the Iwate Line. However, the line was plagued by numerous delays, and the line was finished 6 years late in 1978, as a third-sector line, between Reihoku and Tabuse. The section from Tabuse to Ojika was opened in 1982.The line features the longest wooden viaduct in the world from Reihoku to Tabuse, and after the absorption of the 2,703m Kamichiiba Tunnel with the handover of the western portion of the Iwate Line.

Unlike most third-sector lines, the Haebaru Main Line made steady profits after the full opening of the line, as the former Haebaru Limited Express used the line, serving as the primary rail link between Lamtsu and West Joban, until the opening of the Seiyo Shinkansen in 2022. The line's former speed limit of 160km/h meant that the Haebaru was the fastest non-shinkansen service in the region, matched only by HRT (Joban)'s Icefire Express. However, following the withdrawal of Haebaru services from the line on 1st June 2022, the line's maximum speed limit was reduced from 160km/h to 120km/h.

Technical Details

• Distance: 8.4km
• Operators
  • Haebaru Railway Company (Category 1)
• Track: Fully double-tracked
• Electrification: 1500V DC
• Signalling: Token
• Maximum Speed:
  • Haebaru Port-Kamichiba: 60km/h
  • Kamichiba-Higashi-Reihoku: 120km/h
  • Higashi-Reihoku-Reihoku: 60km/h
  • Reihoku-HRT Maglev Technology Research Institute: 120km/h
  • HRT Maglev Technology Research Institute-Nishi-Haebaru: 60km/h

Services

After the opening of the Seiyo Shinkansen in 2022, many services have been withdrawn.

Service List

Service	Stops at	Time taken	Tpd
Daily
Local	Ojika, HRT Maglev Technology Research Institute, Tabuse, Reihoku, Higashi-Reihoku, Kamichiiba, Haebaru Port	12m	4
Rapid	Nishi-Haebaru, Shin-Haebaru, Ojika, Reihoku, Haebaru Port	7m	4
Shuttle	Nishi-Haebaru, Shin-Haebaru, Ojika	2m	2
Seasonal
Express	Ojika, Haebaru Port	6m	1
Reihoku	Ojika, Reihoku, Haebaru Port	6m	1
Withdrawn
Haebaru	Misato, Iwate, Ojika	17m	6

Station List

Legend

●: All trains stop

| : All trains pass

Haebaru Main Line

Jap	Station	Local	Rapid	Express	Shuttle	Chiba Line	Haebaru	Ojika Line	Distance from Ojika	Transfers	Locale
西南風原	Nishi-Haebaru	N.A.	●	N.A.	●	N.A.	N.A.	Through to Ojika Line	0.4	Ojika Line	Ojika Town, Haebaru District
新南風原	Shin-Haebaru	N.A.	●	N.A.	●	N.A.	N.A.	●	0.2	Seiyo Shinkansen Ojika Line
小値賀	Ojika	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	0.0	Ojika Line Chiba Line Reihoku Line
調和鉄道輸送リニアモーターカー技術研究所	Harmony Rail Transit Maglev Technology Research Institute	●	|	|	N.A.	|	|	N.A.	0.6
田布施	Tabuse	●	|	|	N.A.	●	|	N.A.	2.3	Chiba Line	Reihoku Town, Haebaru District
苓北	Reihoku	●	●	|	N.A.	●	|	N.A.	4.7	Chiba Line Reihoku Line
東苓北	Higashi-Reihoku	●	|	|	N.A.	|	|	N.A.	5.0
上地伊庭	Kamichiiba	●	|	|	N.A.	Service to Chiba Line		N.A.	7.9		Chiba Town, Haebaru District
南風原港	Haebaru Port	●	●	●	N.A.			N.A.	8.4

History

The Haebaru Main Line was constructed by the Lamtsu Development Bank in 1982, connecting the Fung Yuen Main Line to the Ome Line via the Iwate Line. The Haebaru Main Line also would increase transport connections in the Haebaru District. When the permafrost melting due to global warming caused the Iwate Line to be closed from Kawabe to Reihoku, the Haebaru Main Line absorbed the remainder, and a branch was constructed from Higashi-Reihoku to Haebaru Port, allowing for ferries to the Iwate Line.