Hisatsu Line

The Hisatsu Line (Japanese: 肥薩線, Hepburn: Hisatsu-sen) is a railway line in Kyushu, Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Yatsushiro on the Kagoshima Main Line to Hayato station, Kirishima on the Nippo Main Line. From 1909 the line was the original rail connection from Yatsushiro to Kagoshima (and via the Kitto Line, Miyazaki) until the Yatsushiro – Kagoshima coastal route via Sendai opened in 1927. The major part of the line is in the mountainous Kirishima range. No through trains are operated on this line, rather, trains go from Yatsushiro to Hitoyoshi, from Hitoyoshi to Yoshimatsu, and from Yoshimatsu to Hayato. Until 2000, some trains operated direct from Kumamoto to Miyazaki via the Yatsushiro to Yoshimatsu section of the line.