# Ōito Line

The Ōito Line (大糸線, Ōito-sen) is a railway line in Japan which connects Matsumoto Station in Nagano Prefecture with Itoigawa Station in Niigata Prefecture. There are two operators on the line: East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Minami-Otari is the boundary for the two companies. The section of the line operated by JR East, between Minami-Otari and Matsumoto, is electrified and trains are fairly regular along this section. The JR West section from Minami-Otari to Itoigawa, however, is not electrified and sees less use. Trains operate less frequently along this section.

## Route data

* Operators, services:
** East Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks)
*** Matsumoto — Minami-Otari: 70.1 km
** West Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks)
*** Minami-Otari — Itoigawa: 35.3 km
* Stations:
** JR East: 33
** JR West: 8 including Itoigawa, excluding Minami-Otari
* Double-tracked section: None
* Electrification: Matsumoto — Minami-Otari (1,500 V DC) Minami-Otari — Itoigawa (None)
* Railway signalling:
** Matsumoto — Itoigawa: Automatic Train Stop, S-type

## Services
### JR East section
#### Limited express, Rapid

As of March 2025, the following services are operated.
| Name | Through from/to | Start | End | Service frequency (daily) |
| Limited Express Azusa | Shinjuku | Matsumoto | Hakuba | 1 return trip |
| Rapid | Kami-Suwa | Matsumoto | Shinano-Ōmachi | 1 up trip |
| Rapid | - | Shinano-Ōmachi | Minami-Otari | 1 up trip |

#### Local

    Matsumoto – Shinano-Ōmachi: every 30-60 minutes
    Shinano-Ōmachi – Minami-Otari: every 60-180 minutes

### JR West section
#### Local

    Minami-Otari - Itoigawa: every 120-180 minutes
No limited-stop services such as rapids operate on the JR West section. All trains are local services, which stop at every station.

## Rolling stock
### JR East section

* E127-100 series EMU
* 211 series EMU
* E353 series EMU - Azusa

### JR West section

* KiHa 120 series DMU

## Stations
### JR East section

All stations are within Nagano Prefecture.
    A: Limited Express Azusa
    R: Rapid
    Trains stop at stations marked "O", skip at stations marked "|".
| No. | Station | Japanese | Distance(km) | Distance(km) | A | R | Transfers | Location |
| No. | Station | Japanese | Between stations | Total | A | R | Transfers | Location |
| 42 | Matsumoto | 松本 | - | 0.0 | O | O | ■ Shinonoi Line ■ Alpico Kōtsū Kamikōchi Line | Matsumoto |
| 41 | Kita-Matsumoto | 北松本 | 0.7 | 0.7 | | | O | | Matsumoto |
| 40 | Shimauchi | 島内 | 1.9 | 2.6 | | | O | | Matsumoto |
| 39 | Shimatakamatsu | 島高松 | 1.2 | 3.8 | | | O | | Matsumoto |
| 38 | Azusabashi | 梓橋 | 1.4 | 5.2 | | | O | | Azumino |
| 37 | Hitoichiba | 一日市場 | 1.6 | 6.8 | | | O | | Azumino |
| 36 | Nakagaya | 中萱 | 1.6 | 8.4 | | | O | | Azumino |
| 35 | Minami-Toyoshina | 南豊科 | 2.0 | 10.4 | | | O | | Azumino |
| 34 | Toyoshina | 豊科 | 1.0 | 11.4 | O | O | | Azumino |
| 33 | Hakuyachō | 柏矢町 | 2.8 | 14.2 | | | O | | Azumino |
| 32 | Hotaka | 穂高 | 2.0 | 16.2 | O | O | | Azumino |
| 31 | Ariake | 有明 | 2.2 | 18.4 | | | O | | Azumino |
| 30 | Azumi-Oiwake | 安曇追分 | 1.5 | 19.9 | | | O | | Azumino |
| 29 | Hosono | 細野 | 2.9 | 22.8 | | | ↑ | | Matsukawa, Kitaazumi District |
| 28 | Kita-Hosono | 北細野 | 1.0 | 23.8 | | | ↑ | | Matsukawa, Kitaazumi District |
| 27 | Shinano-Matsukawa | 信濃松川 | 2.2 | 26.0 | | | O | | Matsukawa, Kitaazumi District |
| 26 | Azumi-Kutsukake | 安曇沓掛 | 1.6 | 28.6 | | | ↑ | | Ōmachi |
| 25 | Shinano-Tokiwa | 信濃常盤 | 2.3 | 30.9 | | | O | | Ōmachi |
| 24 | Minami-Ōmachi | 南大町 | 3.1 | 34.0 | | | ↑ | | Ōmachi |
| 23 | Shinano-Ōmachi | 信濃大町 | 1.1 | 35.1 | O | O | | Ōmachi |
| 23 | Shinano-Ōmachi | 信濃大町 | 1.1 | 35.1 | O | O | Rapid terminus / transfer | Ōmachi |
| 22 | Kita-Ōmachi | 北大町 | 2.1 | 37.2 | | | ↑ | | Ōmachi |
| 21 | Shinano-Kizaki | 信濃木崎 | 2.2 | 39.4 | | | O | | Ōmachi |
| 20 | Inao | 稲尾 | 2.2 | 41.6 | | | ↑ | | Ōmachi |
| 19 | Uminokuchi | 海ノ口 | 1.3 | 42.9 | | | ↑ | | Ōmachi |
| 18 | Yanaba | 簗場 | 3.4 | 46.3 | | | O | | Ōmachi |
| 16 | Minami-Kamishiro | 南神城 | 4.9 | 52.8 | | | ↑ | | Hakuba, Kitaazumi District |
| 15 | Kamishiro | 神城 | 2.4 | 55.2 | | | O | | Hakuba, Kitaazumi District |
| 14 | Iimori | 飯森 | 1.5 | 56.7 | | | ↑ | | Hakuba, Kitaazumi District |
| 13 | Hakuba | 白馬 | 3.0 | 59.7 | O | O | | Hakuba, Kitaazumi District |
| 12 | Shinano-Moriue | 信濃森上 | 1.9 | 61.6 | | O | | Hakuba, Kitaazumi District |
| 11 | Hakuba-Ōike | 白馬大池 | 3.8 | 65.4 | | ↑ | | Otari, Kitaazumi District |
| 10 | Chikuni | 千国 | 3.4 | 68.7 | | ↑ | | Otari, Kitaazumi District |
| 9 | Minami-Otari | 南小谷 | 1.4 | 70.1 | | O | | Otari, Kitaazumi District |
Closed Stations Yanabaskijōmae Station closed on 16 March 2019

### JR West section

| Station | Japanese | Distance(km) | Distance(km) | Transfers | Location |
| Station | Japanese | Between stations | Total | Transfers | Location |
| Minami-Otari | 南小谷 | - | 70.1 | | Otari, Nagano |
| Nakatsuchi | 中土 | 4.0 | 74.1 | | Otari, Nagano |
| Kita-Otari | 北小谷 | 4.4 | 78.5 | | Otari, Nagano |
| Hiraiwa | 平岩 | 5.5 | 85.0 | | Itoigawa, Niigata |
| Kotaki | 小滝 | 6.8 | 91.8 | | Itoigawa, Niigata |
| Nechi | 根知 | 3.6 | 95.4 | | Itoigawa, Niigata |
| Kubiki-Ōno | 頸城大野 | 4.9 | 100.3 | | Itoigawa, Niigata |
| Himekawa | 姫川 | 1.9 | 102.2 | | Itoigawa, Niigata |
| Itoigawa | 糸魚川 | 3.2 | 105.4 | Hokuriku Shinkansen ETR Nihonkai Hisui Line | Itoigawa, Niigata |

## History

The section between Matsumoto and Shinano-Ōmachi was built between 1915 and 1916 by the Shinano Railway (信濃鉄道, Shinano Tetsudō), which electrified the line in 1926. The company was nationalised in 1937 and was not the same entity as the present Shinano Railway.
The rest of the line was built by the Japanese Government Railways (JGR) and the Japanese National Railways (JNR) between 1929 and 1957. The Shinano-Ōmachi to Minami Otari section was electrified between 1959 and 1967. CTC signalling was commissioned in 1983, and freight services ceased in 1987.
Following privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, the line was divided and assigned to JR East and JR West.
Station numbering was introduced on the line by JR East from 12 December 2016, with stations numbered in sequence from 9 (Minami-Otari) to 42 (Matsumoto).