Neither the Hoppo Freight Line nor the Kyoto Freight Line carries scheduled passenger trains. The Hoppo Freight Line is a freight branch of the Tokaido Main Line that bypasses Osaka Station, directly connecting the Kyoto and Kobe directions. The Kyoto Freight Line branches off Kyoto Station toward the Umekoji area.
A joint tour by JR West, Nippon Travel Agency, and the Kyoto Railway Museum offered a KiHa 189 series charter train that would pass through both lines and pull directly into the museum. I signed up.
Itinerary
The train was a KiHa 189 series, set H4 (3 cars). This rolling stock normally runs as the limited express “Hamakaze.” The fare was ¥17,800, including a JR Freight container bento (Akashi sea bream rice edition) and admission to the Kyoto Railway Museum.
Okubo and Kobe
Departed Osaka Station from platform 3, heading west on the Tokaido Main Line to Okubo. The reversal at Okubo had no significance for coverage purposes but was part of the tour itinerary. Reversed at Okubo platform 2 and headed back toward Kobe.
At Kobe Station, the train stopped at platform 1—a platform not often used. Doors opened here for a photo opportunity.
The Hoppo Freight Line
Leaving Kobe, we entered the Hoppo Freight Line. This freight line bypasses Osaka Station, running from near Amagasaki along the north side of Shin-Osaka to the Suita Freight Terminal area. No scheduled passenger trains run on it.
The train made a brief stop partway along the freight line, inside what I believe was a freight yard. There was a real sense of riding passenger rolling stock on tracks normally reserved for freight trains. Kobe to Kyoto took about an hour—longer than the regular Tokaido Main Line route, but that was the whole point.
I ate the container bento on board.
Kyoto Freight Line to the Railway Museum
After arriving at Kyoto Station platform 31, we immediately entered the Kyoto Freight Line. This short freight line branches off the west side of Kyoto Station and runs parallel to the San’in Main Line toward Umekoji. No scheduled passenger service. We passed through the Kyoto Freight Station grounds and pulled directly into the Umekoji depot siding. Stepping off the train, we walked straight into the Kyoto Railway Museum.
Coverage Results
Completed both the Hoppo Freight Line (Tokaido Main Line freight branch) and the Kyoto Freight Line. Neither has scheduled passenger service, so a charter tour is the only way to ride them. JR West runs freight line charter tours on an irregular basis, so anyone looking to cover the Kansai freight lines should keep an eye out.