Nanao Line

Nanao Line
A JR West 521-100 series EMU used on the Nanao Line
Overview
OwnerJR West
LocaleIshikawa Prefecture
Termini
Stations20 (JR West), 8 (Noto Railway)
Service
TypeRegional rail
Operator(s)JR West, Noto Railway
History
Opened1898 (1898)
Technical
Line length59.5 km (37.0 mi) (JR West), 33.1 km (20.6 mi) (Noto Railway)
Track length87.5 km (54.4 mi) (JR West)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification1500 V DC (Tsubata — Wakuraonsen)
Operating speed100 km/h (60 mph)
Route map
IR Ishikawa Line to Kanazawa
0.0
 Tsubata
Hokuriku Line to Naoetsu
1.8
 Naka-Tsubata
2.9
 Hon-Tsubata
5.1
 Nose
8.8
 Unoke
11.8
 Yokoyama
14.4
 Takamatsu
17.8
 Menden
20.9
 Hōdatsu
24.2
 Shikinami
26.7
 Minami-Hakui
29.7
 Hakui
33.8
 Chiji
37.5
 Kanemaru
41.1
 Notobe
43.9
 Yoshikawa
46.1
 Noto-Ninomiya
48.9
 Tokuda
JR West Nanao Line
0.0
 Nanao
Shared right-of-way
5.1
 Wakuraonsen
Noto Railway Nanao Line
8.6
 Tatsuruhama
12.7
 Kasashiho
16.3
 Noto-Nakajima
22.5
 Nishigishi
26.8
 Noto-Kashima
33.1
 Anamizu
Noto Railway Noto Line
44.1
 Noto-Mii
49.1
 Noto-Ichinose
53.5
 Wajima

The Nanao Line (七尾線, Nanao-sen) is a railway line in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and Noto Railway. It runs between Tsubata Station in Tsubata and Anamizu Station in Anamizu.

JR West operates all services on the section between Tsubata and Nanao (with Noto Kagaribi Limited Express services continuing to Wakuraonsen), while Noto Railway (the second company with this name, see Former connecting lines section below) operates the section between Nanao and Anamizu. A further section of the line between Anamizu and Wajima closed in 2001.

Before the transfer of the Wakuraonsen — Wajima section from JR West to Noto Railway in 1991, Noto Railway took control of another former Japanese National Railways (JNR) line in 1988, the Noto Line. It closed in 2005.

In 2015, IR Ishikawa Railway took over the Hokuriku Main Line at Tsubata, effectively isolating the Nanao Line from the rest of the JR network; however, all JR West Nanao Line services operate a through service on the IR Ishikawa Railway Line to/from Kanazawa.

JR West

Basic data

  • Operators, distances:
    • West Japan Railway Company (Tracks)
      • Tsubata — Anamizu: 87.5 km (54.4 mi)
    • West Japan Railway Company (Services)
      • Tsubata — Wakuraonsen: 59.5 km (37.0 mi)
    • Noto Railway (Services)
      • Nanao — Wakuraonsen: 5.1 km (3.2 mi)
  • Stations: 20
  • Tracks: Entire line single-tracked
  • Electrification: Tsubata — Wakuraonsen (1,500 V DC)
  • Railway signalling:

Services

Noto Kagaribi Limited Express operates 5 round trips per day between Kanazawa and either Nanao or Wakuraonsen.[1]

Hanayome Noren tourist service operates between Kanazawa and Wakuraonsen using a custom-refurbished 2-car KiHa 48 DMU.[2] Regular service was suspended following the 2024 Noto earthquake, with the service subsqeuntly only operating chartered tours.[3]

All other trains are Local services operating between Kanazawa and Nanao, stopping at every station.[4]

Stations

The Nanao Line is entirely within Ishikawa Prefecture.

Station Japanese Distance (km) Noto Kagaribi Transfers Location
Between
stations 		Total
↑Through service to/from Kanazawa on the IR Ishikawa Railway Line↑
Tsubata 津幡 0.0 0.0 ▲ IR Ishikawa Railway Line Tsubata, Kahoku District
Naka-Tsubata 中津幡 1.8 1.8 ｜  
Hon-Tsubata 本津幡 1.1 2.9 ｜  
Nose 能瀬 2.2 5.1 ｜  
Unoke 宇野気 3.7 8.8 ｜   Kahoku
Yokoyama 横山 3.0 11.8 ｜  
Takamatsu 高松 2.6 14.4 ▲  
Menden 免田 3.4 17.8 ｜   Hōdatsushimizu, Hakui District
Hōdatsu 宝達 3.1 20.9 ｜  
Shikinami 敷浪 3.3 24.2 ｜  
Minami-Hakui 南羽咋 2.5 26.7 ｜   Hakui
Hakui 羽咋 3.0 29.7 ●  
Chiji 千路 4.1 33.8 ｜  
Kanemaru 金丸 3.7 37.5 ｜   Nakanoto, Kashima District
Notobe 能登部 3.6 41.1 ｜  
Yoshikawa 良川 2.8 43.9 ▲  
Noto-Ninomiya 能登二宮 2.2 46.1 ｜  
Tokuda 徳田 2.8 48.9 ｜   Nanao
Nanao 七尾 5.5 54.4 ● Noto Railway Nanao Line
Wakuraonsen † 和倉温泉 5.1 59.5 ● Noto Railway Nanao Line

† JR West's Local services operate to/from Nanao. Only Noto Kagaribi Limited Express services continue to Wakuraonsen.

Noto Kagaribi stops: "●": all services stop; "▲": selected services stop; "｜": all services pass.

Rolling stock

Local services

Noto Kagaribi Limited Express services

Hanayome Noren Tourist service

  • Refurbished JR West KiHa 48 2-car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit)

Noto Railway

The Noto Railway section is not electrified (except for the section shared with JR West) and operates local trains only. Between Nanao and Anamizu, only Noto Railway operates local trains; there is no through service to the JR West-operated part of the line south of Nanao.

In addition, のと里山里海号 (Noto Satoyama-Satoumi-go) which is a tourist train, has been run on holidays since 2017. The trains stop at all stations and seats can be reserved for 500 yen.[5] There are also dining cars on partly services.[6]

Basic data

Stations

The Nanao Line is entirely within Ishikawa Prefecture.

Station Japanese Distance (km) Noto Satoyama-Satoumi Transfers Location
Between
stations 		Total
Nanao 七尾 - 0.0 ● JR West Nanao Line Nanao
Wakuraonsen 和倉温泉 5.1 5.1 ● JR West Nanao Line
Tatsuruhama 田鶴浜 3.5 8.6 ↕  
Kasashiho 笠師保 4.1 12.7 ↕  
Noto-Nakajima 能登中島 3.6 16.3 ●[7]  
Nishigishi 西岸 6.2 22.5 ↕  
Noto-Kashima 能登鹿島 4.3 26.8 ↕   Anamizu, Hōsu District
Anamizu 穴水 6.3 33.1 ●  

Noto Railway Rolling stock

  • NT 200 series DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit)
  • NT 300 series DMU

History

The section between Tsubata Station (now Hon-Tsubata Station) and Yatashin Station (later renamed Nanaominato Station and closed in 1984) via Nanao Station was constructed and opened by the Nanao Railway (七尾鉄道, Nanao-tetsudō) on April 24, 1898. The terminal in Tsubata was moved to the present Tsubata Station on August 2, 1900, and connected to the government-owned Hokuriku Main Line. Nanao Railway was nationalized on September 1, 1907.[8]

The line was extended and had been operated by the Japanese Government Railways. In 1925, the Nanao to Wakura (now Wakuraonsen) section opened, and in 1935 the line was completed with the opening of the Anamizu to Wajima section. In 1991, the Nanao Line was electrified to Wakuraonsen, enabling through operation of trains from the Hokuriku Main Line. Operation of the Nanao to Wajima section was transferred to the Noto Railway. In 2001, the section between Anamizu and Wajima was closed.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kanazawa | Noto Kagaribi ‧ Hanayome Noren for Tsubata Timetable". Japan Travel by NAVITIME. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  2. ^ "Nanao Line Tourist Train HANAYOME NOREN | JR-WEST". www.westjr.co.jp. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  3. ^ "20250106.pdf" (PDF). jr-odekake.net. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  4. ^ "Tsubata | JR Nanao Line for Nanao/Wakura Onsen Timetable". Japan Travel by NAVITIME. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  5. ^ "のと里山里海号". satoyama-satoumi-go.net. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  6. ^ You must reserve plan for riding on the dining cars before five days.
  7. ^ The Noto Satoyama-Satoumi stop for 10 minutes due to passengers watch the landscape from the platform.
  8. ^ Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory – JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. I. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 162. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
  9. ^ Miyawaki, Shunzō (2002). 鉄道廃線跡を歩くIX [Walking on the Abandoned Railway Track IX] (in Japanese). p. 120. ISBN 4533043747.
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