As of April 2023, the ICOCA card can be used in all stations between Kurashiki Station and Niimi Station.[1]
Line data
The Okayama Division of JR West has jurisdictional control over operations between Kurashiki and Niizato stations, with the Yonago Division having control between Kami-Iwami and Hōki-Daisen Station. The boundary is midway between Niizato and Kami-Iwami Stations. The line color for the portion covered by the Okayama Division is vermillion orange, while the section covered by the Yonago Division is the standard blue.
The experimental "Smart BEST" battery electric train was tested on the Hakubi Line between October and December 2012.[3]
History
The first section of the Hakubi Line to open was the northern section, initially named the Hakubihoku Line (伯備北線, lit. "Hakubi North Line"), between Hōki-Mizoguchi and Hōki-Daisen on 10 August 1919.[4] The northern section was then progressively extended south, to Ebi Station on 25 March 1922, to Neu Station on 30 July 1922, to Kurosaka Station on 10 November 1922, to Shōyama Station on 28 November 1923, to Kami-Iwami Station on 6 December 1924, and to Ashidachi Station on 1 December 1926.[4]
The first section of the southern part of the Hakubi Line, named the Hakubinan Line (伯備南線, lit. "Hakubi South Line"), was opened on 17 February 1925, between Shisawa (now Gōkei) and Kurashiki.[4] The southern section was gradually extended north, extending to Bitchū-Kawamo on 31 July 1927, with connection between the north and south sections being made on 25 October 1928, from which date the entire line was named the Hakubi Line.[4]
The Kiyone to Bitchu-Takahashi section was double-tracked between 1968 and 1973, with the Kurashiki to Kiyone and Niimi to Nunohara sections being double-tracked in 1979, and the Ishiga to Ikuta section double-tracked between 1982 and 1983 in conjunction with a realignment which shortened the route by 1.2 km.[citation needed] CTC signalling was commissioned on the entire line in 1972, and the Kurashiki to Hokidaisen section was electrified in 1982.[citation needed]
^"227系500番台「Urara」が営業運転を開始" [227-500 series "Urara" starts commercial operation]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
^近畿車輛株式会社が開発した自己充電型バッテリー車両の走行試験について [Test running of battery train developed by Kinki Sharyo]. Press release (in Japanese). Japan: West Japan Railway Company. 30 October 2012. Archived from the original on 6 June 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
JR West
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