# Deficit 83 Lines

Deficit 83 Lines (赤字83線, Akaji-Hachijyusansen) is a list of railway lines owned by Japanese National Railways (JNR) proposed for abolishment or transferring to third sector companies as it has fulfilled its goals in 1968.

## Criteria

The criteria for a railway line being listed are the following:
* The length of the track is under 100 kilometers, and the function seen from the line is small, and there is a small population along the tracks.
* The one-way transportation volume of regular customers is less than 3,000 people, and the daily departure and arrival of cargo is within 600 tons.
* The transportation volume growth is lower than that of competing transportation institutions, and both passengers and cargo are decreasing.
The idea to close lines and replace them with bus services that cost less to operate was formulated as early as 1968.
By these criteria, 83 railway lines of 2,590 km (1,610 mi) in length have been listed, and the JNR began talks with the local municipalities to close the lines. However, due to furious protests from the local residents, out of the 83 lines, before 1972 only 11 of those listed were closed, i.e. 116 km (72 mi).
However, the Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation continued to build local lines, and most of the 11 lines opened during the talks were generating negative income, resulting in no improvements from the closure of the 11 lines.
In 1972, when Kakuei Tanaka became the prime minister, all efforts to close the remaining lines were cancelled. However, most of the lines that continued service after being listed as 83 deficit lines were abolished by Specified local lines movement.

## Aftermath of all 83 lines

This table shows the current status of the lines.

### Lines that were closed as a part of deficit 83 lines movement

| Name of the line | Prefecture | Sections | Operational Length (km) | Date of abolishment | Notes |
| Kōbukuro Line | Fukuoka | Kotake - Futase | 7.6 km | 8 December 1969 | After the abolition, Nishitetsu Bus, including the following branch lines, took over, but it was split into Kaho Kotsu (now Nishitetsu Bus Chikuho) on 3 April 1988. |
| Kōbukuro Line (Cargo branch) | Fukuoka | Kōbukuro - Ikisu | 2.5 km | 8 December 1969 | The 1.6 km section between Kōbukuro and Kawazu signal station is a duplicate section with the main line. |
| Konpoku Line | Hokkaido | Shari - Koshikawa | 12.8 km | 1 December 1970 | Transferred to Shari bus Koshikawa Line. Bus line abolished 27 April 2004. |
| Karatsu Line (Kishitake Branch) | Saga | Yamamoto - Kishitake | 4.1 km | 20 August 1971 | Main line continued operations. Line transferred to Showa bus. |
| Sechibaru Line | Nagasaki | Hizen-Yoshii - Sechibaru | 6.7 km | 26 December 1971 | Turned into a cycling road. Transferred to Saihi Bus Sechibaru Line. |
| Usunoura Line | Nagasaki | Saza - Usunoura | 3.8 km | 26 December 1971 | Transferred to Saihi bus. |
| Kajiyabara Line | Tokushima | Itano - Kajiyabara | 6.9 km | 16 January 1972 | JNR bus (later JR Shikoku bus) converted to Awa Line. Abolished on 1 April 1996. Alternative transportation on the former Kajiyahara Line section will be integrated with the competing Tokushima Bus Kajiyahara Line. |
| Sasanoyama Line | Hyogo | Sasayamaguchi - Fukusumi | 17.6 km | 1 March 1972 | Converted to JNR Bus (later West Japan JR Bus) Sono Shino Line. Converted to Shinki Bus (currently Shinki Green Bus) in 2002. |
| Mikuni Line | Fukui | Awaraonsen - Awara-Yunomachi | 4.5 km | 1 March 1972 | Transferred to JNR bus Kanazu Mikuni Line. In 1987, it was converted to the Keifuku Bus Kanazu/Tojinbo Line. |
| Mikuni Line (Partial) | Fukui | Awaraonsen - Mikuni | 4.2 km | 1 March 1972 | Transferred to JNR bus Kanazu Mikuni Line. In 1987, it was converted to the Keifuku Bus Kanazu/Tojinbo Line. |
| Mikuni Line (Partial) | Fukui | Mikuni - Mikuni-Minato | 1.0 km | 1 March 1972 | Interged into the Keifuku Electric Railroad Mikuni Awara Line (current Echizen Railway Mikuni Awara Line). |
| Ujina Line | Hiroshima | Hiroshima - Kamiōkō | 2.4 km | 1 April 1972 | Even after the abolition date, it was operated once a day as a JNR side line of the Ujina Four-Party Agreement Line, but it was abolished in 1986. |
| Kawamata Line | Fukushima | Matsukawa - Iwashiro-Kawamata | 12.2 km | 14 May 1972 | Converted to JNR Bus (later JR Bus Tohoku) Kawamata Line. On March 31, 2005, it was transferred to bus services by the local government. |
| Sasshō Line (Partial) | Hokkaido | Shin-Totsukawa - Ishikari-Numata | 34.9 km | 19 June 1972 | Transferred to JNR bus (later JR Hokkaido Bus Company) Ishikari Line. Transferred to Hokkaido Chuo Bus Some sections transferred to bus services by Numata. |
| Hososhima Line | Miyazaki | Hyūgashi - Hososhima | 3.5 km | 1 February 1972 | Passenger service abolished on the mentioned date. Continued service until December 1, 1993, as a nameless cargo branch of Nippō Main Line.Miyazaki Kōtsu operates a bus line nearby. |

### Lines that continued service after the movement, but were abolished in later movements

| Name of the Line | Prefecture | Section | Operational length (km) | Date of abolishment | Notes |
| Kesennuma Line | Miyagi | Minami-Kesennuma - Kesennumakō | 1.6 km | 1 November 1979 | Cargo branch |
| Kesennuma Line | Miyagi | Kesennuma - Motoyoshi | 21.3 km | 1 April 2020 | Yanaizu - Motoyoshi 34.0 km extension opened December 11, 1977. Incorporated Yanaizu Line, 17.5 km between Maeyachi and Yanaizu. 55.3 km section between Yanaizu and Kesennuma transferred to BRT as a result of Aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Abolished as a railway line on April 1, 2020. |
| Shiranuka Line | Hokkaido | Shiranuka - Kami-Charo | 25.2 km | 23 October 1983 | Kami-Charo - Hokushin 7.9 km extension opened 8 September 1972. Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to bus service. First line to be abolished under JNR Reconstruction act. |
| Nicyū Line | Fukushima | Kitakata - Atsushio | 11.6 km | 1 April 1984 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to Aizu Bus. |
| Akatani Line | Niigata | Shibata - Higashi-Akatani | 18.9 km | 1 April 1984 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to Niigata Kotsu. |
| Uonuma Line | Niigata | Raikōji - Nishi-Ojiya | 12.6 km | 1 April 1984 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to Echigo Kotsu. |
| Kuroishi Line | Aomori | Kawabe - Kuroishi | 6.6 km | 1 November 1984 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and transferred to Kōnan Railway. Railway line abolished April 1, 1998 and transferred to Kōnan Bus. |
| Tsuma Line | Miyazaki | Sadowara - Sugiyasu | 19.3 km | 1 December 1984 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and transferred to Miyazaki Kotsu. |
| Miyanoharu Line | Ōita Kumamoto | Era - Higo-Okuni | 26.6 km | 1 December 1984 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and transferred to Oita Transportation Bus. Bus line abolished in 2013 except for some sections. |
| Komatsushima Line | Tokushima | Chūden - Komatsushima | 1.9 km | 14 March 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to Komatsu Bus (Later Tokushima Bus). |
| Aioi Line | Hokkaido | Bihoro - Kitami-Aioi | 36.8 km | 1 April 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to Kitami Bus and Tsubetsu Bus. |
| Shokotsu Line | Hokkaido | Shokotsu - Kitami-Takinoue | 34.3 km | 1 April 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to Hokumon Bus. |
| Yahiko Line (Partial) | Niigata | Higashi-Sanjō - Echigō-Nagasawa | 7.9 km | 1 April 1985 | Transferred to Echigo Kotsu. |
| Hōjō Line | Hyogo | Ao - Hōjōmachi | 13.8 km | 1 April 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and transferred to Hōjō Railways. |
| Miki Line | Hyogo | Yakujin - Miki | 6.8 km | 1 April 1985 | Later Listed as specified local lines (1st) and transferred to Miki Railway Miki Line. Railway line abolished 1 April 2008 and transferred to Shinki Bus. |
| Kurayoshi Line | Tottori | Kurayoshi - Yamamori | 20.0 km | 1 April 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Converted to Nippon Kotsu/Hinomaru Motor Bus/Chutetsu Bus (currently Chutetsu Mimasaka Bus). |
| Katsuki Line | Fukuoka | Nakama - Katsuki | 3.5 km | 1 April 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Converted to Nishitetsu Bus (currently Nishitetsu Bus Kitakyushu). |
| Katsuta Line | Fukuoka | Yoshizuka - Chikuzen-Katsuta | 13.8 km | 1 April 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to Nishitetsu Bus. |
| Soeda Line | Fukuoka | Kawara - Soeda | 12.1 km | 1 April 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to Seitetsu Bus Chikuho. |
| Muroki Line | Fukuoka | Ongagawa - Muroki | 11.2 km | 1 April 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished, transferred to Nishitetsu Bus. Bus service abolished 1996. |
| Yabe Line | Fukuoka | Hainuzuka - Kuroki | 19.7 km | 1 April 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to Horikawa Bus. |
| Iwanai Line | Hokkaido | Kozawa - Iwanai | 14.9 km | 1 July 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to Nisseki Bus. |
| Kōhin-Hoku Line | Hokkaido | Hama-Tombetsu - Kitami-Esashi | 30.4 km | 1 July 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to Soya Bus. |
| Ōhata Line | Aomori | Shimokita - Ōhata | 18.0 km | 1 July 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and transferred to Shimokita Kotsu Ōhata Line. Railway Line abolished on April 1, 2001. Transferred to Shimokita Bus. |
| Kōhin-nan Line | Hokkaido | Okoppe - Omu | 19.9 km | 15 July 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to Hokumon Bus. |
| Bikō Line | Hokkaido | Bifuka - Niupu | 21.2 km | 17 September 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and abolished. Transferred to Meishi Bus. |
| Yashima Line | Akita | Ugo-Honjō - Ugo-Yashima | 23.0 km | 1 October 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and transferred to Yuri Kōgen Railway Chōkai Sanroku Line. |
| Akechi Line | Gifu | Ena - Akechi | 25.2 km | 16 November 1985 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and transferred to Akechi Railroad Akechi Line. |
| Uchiko Line (Partial) | Ehime | Gorō - Niiya | 5.0 km | 3 March 1986 | Rest of the line continues operation as listed below. |
| Takamori Line | Kumamoto | Tateno - Takamori | 17.7 km | 1 April 1986 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and transferred to Minamiaso Railway Takamori Line. |
| Tominai Line | Hokkaido | Mukawa - Hidakachō | 83.0 km | 1 November 1986 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and abolished. Transferred to Donan Bus. |
| Aniai Line | Akita | Takanosu - Hitachinai | 46.1 km | 1 November 1986 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and transferred to Akita Nairiku Railways Akita Nairiku North Line. 29.0 km extension between Hitachinai - Matsuba opened 1 April 1989. Incorporated Akita Nairiku South Line and renamed to Akita Nairiku Line on the same date. |
| Etsumi-Nan Line | Gifu | Mino-Ōta - Hokunō | 72.2 km | 11 December 1986 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and transferred to Nagaragawa Railway Etsumi-Nan Line. |
| Miyanojyō Line | Kagoshima | Sendai - Satsuma-Ōkuchi | 66.1 km | 10 January 1987 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and abolished. Transferred to Nangoku Kotsu Bus. |
| Furue Line | Kagoshima | Shibushi - Kaigata | 64.8 km | 14 March 1987 | 33.5 km extension between Kaigataonsen - Kokubu opened 9 September 1972. Renamed to Ōsumi Line. Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and abolished. Transferred to JR Kyushu bus and Kagoshima Kotsu Bus. (JR Kyushu Bus ended service later) |
| Senata Line | Hokkaido | Kunnui - Senata | 48.4 km | 16 March 1987 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and abolished. Transferred to Hakodate Bus. |
| Yūmō Line | Hokkaido | Naka-Yūbetsu - Abashiri | 89.8 km | 20 March 1987 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and abolished. Transferred to Abashiri Bus. Abashiri bus abandoned sections between Naka-Yūbetsu and Tokoro on 1 October 2010. (Some sections continues operations by local municipalities) |
| Saga Line | Saga Fukuoka | Saga - Setaka | 24.1 km | 28 March 1987 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and abolished. Transferred to Seitetsu Bus, Saga City Bus and Horikawa Bus.(Saga City Bus route abandoned 1998) |
| Shigaraki Line | Shiga | Kibukawa - Shigaraki | 14.8 km | 13 July 1987 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and transferred to Shigaraki Kohgen Railway. |
| Aizu Line (Partial) | Fukushima | Nishi-Wakamatsu - Aizukōgen-Ozeguchi | 57.4 km | 16 July 1987 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and transferred to Aizu Railway Aizu Line. |
| Gannichi Line | Yamaguchi | Kawanishi - Nishikichō | 32.7 km | 25 July 1987 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and transferred to Nishikigawa Seiryū Line. |
| Wakasa Line | Tottori | Kōge - Wakasa | 19.2 km | 14 October 1987 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and transferred to Wakasa Railway Wakasa Line. |
| Yamano Line | Kumamoto Kagoshima | Minamata - Kurino | 55.7 km | 1 February 1988 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and abolished. Transferred to Nangoku Kotsu Bus. |
| Kihara Line | Chiba | Ōhara - Kazusa-Nakano | 26.9 km | 24 March 1988 | Later listed as specified local lines (1st) and transferred to Isumi Railways Isumi Line. |
| Noto Line | Ishikawa | Anamizu - Takojima | 61.1 km | 25 March 1988 | Later listed as specified local lines (3rd) and transferred to Noto Railway. Railway line abolished on 1 April 2005. Transferred to Hokutetsu Okunoto Bus. |
| Nakamura Line | Kochi | Kubokawa - Tosa-Saga | 20.7 km | 1 April 1988 | 22.7 km extension between Tosa-Saga - Nakamura opened 1 October 1970. Later listed as specified local lines (3rd) and transferred to Tosa Kuroshio Railway Nakamura Line. |
| Mooka Line | Ibaraki Tochigi | Shimodate - Motegi | 42.0 km | 11 April 1988 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and transferred to Mooka Railways Mooka Line. |
| Nagai Line | Yamagata | Akayu - Arato | 30.6 km | 25 October 1988 | Later listed as specified local lines (3rd) and transferred to Yamagata Railways Flower Nagai Line. |
| Hinokage Line | Miyazaki | Nobeoka - Hinokage | 37.6 km | 28 April 1989 | 12.5 km extension between Hinokage - Takachiho opened 22 July 1972. Renamed to Takachiho Line. Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and transferred to Takachiho Railway Takachiho Line. Suspended operations on 6 September 2005, due to a typhoon and abolished 28 December 2008. Transferred to Miyazaki Kotsu Bus. |
| Shibetsu Line | Hokkaido | Shibecha - Nemuro-Shibetsu | 69.4 km | 30 April 1989 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and abolished. Transferred to Akan Bus. |
| Shibetsu Line | Hokkaido | Nakashibetsu - Attoko | 47.5 km | 30 April 1989 | Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) and abolished. Transferred to Nemuro Kotsu Bus. |
| Yunomae Line | Kumamoto | Hitoyoshi - Yunomae | 24.9 km | 1 October 1989 | Later listed as specified local lines (3rd) and transferred to Kumagawa Railway Yunomae Line. |
| Kajiya Line | Hyogo | Nomura - Kajiya | 13.2 km | 1 April 1990 | Later listed as specified local lines (3rd) and abolished. Transferred to Shinkai Bus. |
| Taisha Line | Shimane | Izumoshi - Taisha | 7.5 km | 1 April 1990 | Later listed as specified local lines (3rd) and abolished. Transferred to Ichibata Bus. |
| Shinmei Line | Hokkaido | Fukagawa - Nayoro | 121.8 km | 4 September 1995 | Transferred to JR Hokkaido Bus. |
| Kabe Line (Partial) | Hiroshima | Kabe - Kake | 32.0 km | 1 December 2003 | 14.2 km extension between Kake - Sandankyō opened 27 July 1969. 46.2 km unelectrified section between Kabe - Sandankyō abolished 1 December 2003. Transferred to Hiroshima Katsu Bus and Hiroden Bus. Section between Kabe - Aki-Kameyama reopened and electrified 4 March 2017. |
| Iwaizumi Line | Iwate | Moichi - Asanai | 31.2 km | 1 April 2014 | 7.4 extension between Asanai - Iwaizumi opened 6 February 1972. Renamed to Iwaizumi Line. Later listed as specified local lines (2nd) but unlisted due to lack of replacement roads. Continued operations until 31 July 2010, due to a natural disaster. Abolished on 1 April 2014, and transferred to East Japan Kotsu Bus. |
| Esashi Line | Hokkaido | Kikonai - Esashi | 42.1 km | 12 May 2014 | Abolished before the opening of Hokkaido Shinkansen. Transferred to Hakodate Bus. |
| Esashi Line | Hokkaido | Kikonai - Goryōkaku | 37.8 km | 26 March 2016 | Transferred to South Hokkaido Railway Company before the opening of Hokkaido Shinkansen. |
| Sankō-Hoku Line | Shimane | Gōtsu - Hamahara | 50.1 km | 1 April 2018 | 26.9 km extension between Hamahara - Kuchiba opened 31 August 1975. Incorporated Sankō-Minami Line and renamed to Sankō Line on the same date. Continued operations as a part of Sankō Line, but abolished 1 April 2018. Transferred to Yamato Kanko Bus. |
| Sankō-Minami Line | Hiroshima Shimane | Miyoshi - Kuchiba | 28.4 km | 1 April 2018 | Incorporated into Sankō-Hoku Line on 31 August 1975. Continued operations as a part of Sankō Line, but was abolished on 1 April 2018. Transferred to several bus services. |

### Lines that continue service

| Name of the line | Prefecture | Section | Operational length (km) | Notes |
| Hachinohe Line (Partial) | Aomori | Same - Kuji | 53.1 km | After the opening of Tohoku Shinkansen, the line is isolated from other JR lines. |
| Ōminato Line | Aomori | Noheji - Ōminato | 58.4 km | Similar as above, but the line does not connect to the Tohoku Shinkansen unlike Hachinohe Line. |
| Aizu Line (Partial) | Fukushima | Aizu-Miyashita - Tadami | 43.0 km | Continues operations as a part of Tadami Line. |
| Tadami Line | Niigata | Koide - Ōshirakawa | 26.0 km | 20.8 km extension between Tadami - Ōshirakawa opened 29 August 1971. Incorporated the section Aizu-Wakamatsu - Tadami of Aizu Line on the same date. |
| Karasuyama Line | Tochigi | Hōshakuji - Karasuyama | 20.4 km | |
| Etsumi-Hoku Line | Fukui | Minami-Fukui - Kadohara | 43.1 km | 10.2 km extension between Kadohara and Kuzuryūko opened 15 December 1972. Changed starting point of the line to Echizen-Hanandō on 1 April 1987. |
| Meishō Line | Mie | Matsusaka - Ise-Okitsu | 43.5 km | Listed for specified local lines (2nd) but were unlisted due to lack of roads to replace it. Section between Ieki - Ise-Okitsu suspended operations due to typhoon in 2009, but resumed service in 2016. |
| Sangū Line (Partial) | Mie | Iseshi - Toba | 14.1 km | |
| Uwajima Line | Kochi Ehime | Kita-Uwajima - Ekawasaki | 33.6 km | 42.7 km extension between Ekawasaki - Wakai opened 1 March 1974. Renamed into Yodo Line and continues operation as it. |
| Naruto Line | Tokushima | Ikenotani - Naruto | 8.3 km | |
| Mugi Line (partial) | Tokushima | Anan - Mugi | 43.3 km | 11.6 km extension between Mugi and Kaifu opened 1 October 1973. 1.5 km section between Awa-Kainan abolished and transferred to Asa Coast Railway Company on 1 November 2020. |
| Uchiko Line (Partial) | Ehime | Niiya - Uchiko | 5.3 km | On 3 March 1986, the extension of the Yosan Main Line between Mukaihara and Uchiko and Shintani and Iyo-Ozu was incorporated into the short-circuit route, and other 4.1 km between Kitayama and Uchiko (Shin-Uchiko) was changed to a new route. Gōrō Station was abolished from Uchiko Line as a result. (Station remains as a station belonging to Yosan Line) |
| Kashii Line (Partial) | Fukuoka | Kashii - Umi | 14.1 km | |
| Ibusuki Makurazaki Line (Partial) | Kagoshima | Yamakawa - Makurazaki | 37.9 km | |
| Nichinan Line | Miyazaki Kagoshima | Minami-Miyazaki - Shibushi | 89.0 km | |