The is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects KÃ Âriyama Station in KÃ Âriyama, Fukushima Prefecture and Niitsu Station in Niigata, Niigata Prefecture. The name "Ban'etsu" is taken from the first characters of the names of the ancient provinces of and , which the Ban'etsu East and Ban'etsu West lines connect. means "west" in Japanese.
The line's nickname is the , also rendered in English as "Railway of Forests, Water, and Adventure".
, the following rolling stock is used on the Ban'etsu West Line.
The private Ganetsu Railway opened the initial section from KÃ Âriyama to Nakayamajuku on July 26, 1898, and extended the line to Aizu-Wakamatsu the following year.
Japanese National Railways (JNR) started to modernize the line in the 1960s, introducing the line's first limited express service (as a part of the Yamagata-bound Yamabata) in 1965 between Ueno Station in Tokyo and Aizu-Wakamatsu via the TÃ Âhoku Main Line. In 1968 the train was renamed Aizu Yamabata, but from 1993 onward it was renamed Viva Aizu and ran only between Koriyama and Aizu-Wakamatsu. The train was finally discontinued as a limited express service in 2003.
In 1967, JNR electrified the section between KÃ Âriyama and Kitakata at 20 kV AC.
In 2011 the line was closed for 15 days in March following the Tohoku earthquake, two days in April as a result of aftershocks, and for 10 weeks following torrential rain at the end of July.
A new station, called , opened on 1 April 2017 between and KÃ Âriyama and Kikuta stations.
The railway bridge connecting Kitakata and Yamato collapsed due to heavy rain on 4 August 2022. Services were temporarily suspended between Kitakata and Nozawa. Full service was restored on 1 April 2023. In the timetable revision at December 3rd 2022, Rapid Ageo services ceased operations.
Electric services between Aizu-Wakamatsu and Kitakata ceased on 12 March 2022, and the section was deelectrified by May 2024.