The and are a bus rapid transit line in Iwate Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
History Kesennuma Line BRT Originally a railway from end to end, the line was severely damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, with tracks, stations, and railway bridges between Minami-Kesennuma Station and Rikuzen-Togura Station sustaining major damage. Destroyed stations included Minami-Kesennuma (except for the platform) and Shizugawa Station, as well as various others. As a result of the catastrophic damage to the line and prohibitive costs of restoration as a railway, JR East officially proposed the line's conversion into a dedicated bus rapid transit route on 27 December 2011. The buses have been Level 2 self-driving since December 2022.
Ōfunato Line BRT The eastern section of the Ōfunato Line, a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company, suffered severe damage in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Although other sections of the line resumed operation in January 2012, the eastern section between Kesennuma and Sakari remained closed, and in February 2012, JR East formally proposed to close this section and utilize the site as a bus rapid transit (BRT) line.
The first section of the busway replacing the Kesennuma – Sakari section opened in March 2013.
Station list Express trains do not stop at station “○”. Light green (■) indicates a dedicated road section, and light blue (■) indicates a general road section. The ＋ in the station name indicates a new station after BRT conversion. Kesennuma Line Station nameDistance (km) fromVia AkaiwaminatoVia Kesennuma City HospitalConnectionsLocationprevious stationMaeyachiMaeyachi Station-(-17.5)● Ishinomaki Line, Kesennuma LineIshinomakiYanaizu Station17.50.0● Kesennuma LineTomeRikuzen-Yokoyama Station4.84.8● Rikuzen-Togura Station7.212.0● MinamisanrikuShizugawa Station4.216.2● Minami-Sanriku Town Office·Hospital Station＋0.817.0○ Shizugawa-Chūōdanchi Station＋1.118.1○ Shizuhama Station2.620.7● Utatsu Station4.124.8● Rikuzen-Minato Station2.627.4● Kurauchi Station1.829.2● KesennumaRikuzen-Koizumi Station2.031.2● Motoyoshi Station2.834.0●● Koganezawa Station3.137.1●● Ōyakaigan Station3.740.8●●Ōyamachi Station＋1.141.9●● Rikuzen-Hashikami Station2.244.1●● Saichi Station1.745.8●● Iwatsuki Station＋1.046.8●● Matsuiwa Station1.348.1●● Akaiwaminato Station＋1.349.4●∥Kesennuma City Hospital Station＋0.349.7∥● Minami-Kesennuma Station1.150.8●● Fudōnosawa Station1.352.1●● Higashi-Shinjō Station＋1.453.5●● Kesennuma Station1.855.3●●Ōfunato Line, Ōfunato Line BRT
Ōfunato Line Station nameDistance (km) fromKesennuma sectionRikuzen-Yahagi sectionConnectionsLocationprevious stationKesennumaKesennuma Station -0.0● Ōfunato Line, Kesennuma Line BRTKesennuma, Miyagi PrefectureNaiwan-Iriguchi (Yōkamachi) Station＋1.01.0● Shishiorikarakuwa Station1.22.2● Hachiman-Ōhashi (Tōryō High School) Station＋1.13.3● Driving on the Sanriku Coast ExpresswayKarakuwaōsawa Station＋6.013.5● Osabe Station＋2.315.8● Iwate PrefectureRikuzentakataRikuzen-Yahagi Station1.717.5∥● Rikuzen-Imaizumi Station＋2.720.2○∥ Kiseki-no-Ippon-Matsu Station＋0.220.4●∥Takekoma Station0.120.5∥● Tochigasawa-Kōen Park Station＋1.221.7∥● Rikuzen-Takata Station1.723.4●●Takatakōkōmae Station＋0.824.2○● Takata Hospital Station＋1.425.6○● Wakinosawa Station0.726.3●● Nishishita Station＋2.128.4●● Otomo Station2.430.8●● Goishikaiganguchi Station＋2.633.4●● ŌfunatoHosoura Station1.735.1●● Ōfunatomarumori Station＋1.736.8●● Shimofunato Station1.438.2●● Ōfunato Fish Market Station＋1.539.7●● Ōfunato Station1.441.1●● Jinomori Station＋0.942.0●●Tamoyama Station＋1.043.0●●Sakari Station0.743.7●●Rias Line
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