Minato Line

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Minato Line
300px
A pair of KiHa 3710 diesel railcars in March 2010
Overview
Native name 湊線
Locale Ibaraki Prefecture
Termini Katsuta
Ajigaura
Stations 9
Operation
Opened 1913
Owner Hitachinaka Seaside Railway
Depot(s) Nakaminato
Technical
Line length 14.3 km (8.9 mi)
No. of tracks Single
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Minimum radius 200 m
Electrification None
Operating speed 60 km/h (35 mph)

The Minato Line (湊線 Minato-sen?) is a 14.3 km Japanese railway line operated by the third-sector railway operator Hitachinaka Seaside Railway (ひたちなか海浜鉄道 Hitachinaka Kaihin Tetsudō?) between Katsuta and Ajigaura, all within Hitachinaka, Ibaraki. It is the only railway line operated by the Hitachinaka Seaside Railway. The line was formerly operated by Ibaraki Kōtsū until 2008.

Operations

Train services are normally formed of single-car diesel units, increased to two-car formations during the morning peak.[1]

Stations

Name Between (km) Distance (km) Connections Location
Katsuta 勝田 - 0.0 Jōban Line Hitachinaka, Ibaraki
Nikkōmae 日工前 0.6 0.6  
Kaneage [金上 1.2 1.8  
Nakane 中根 3.0 4.8  
Takadano-tekkyō 高田の鉄橋 2.3 7.1  
Nakaminato 那珂湊 1.1 8.2  
Tonoyama 殿山 1.4 9.6  
Hiraiso 平磯 1.2 10.8  
Isozaki 磯崎 2.5 13.3  
Ajigaura 阿字ヶ浦 1.0 14.3  

Takadano-tekkyō Station opened on 1 October 2014, the first new station on the line in 52 years, after the opening of Nikkōmae in April 1962.[2]

Rolling stock

As of 1 April 2015, the railway operates a fleet of eight single-car diesel railcars, as follows.[3]

  • KiHa 20 x1 (car number 205, former Mizushima Rinkai Railway KiHa 20, same as JNR KiHa 20)
  • KiHa 22 x1 (car number 222, former Haboro Mining Railway KiHa 22, same as JNR KiHa 22)
  • MiKi 300 x1 (car number 300-103, former Miki Railway MiKi 300)
  • KiHa 2000 x2 (car numbers 2004 and 2005, former Rumoi Railway KiHa 2000, as JNR KiHa 22)
  • KiHa 3710 x2 (car numbers 3710-01 and 3710-02)
  • KiHa 37100 x1 (car number 37100-03)
  • Ibaraki-kotsu-kiha205.jpg

    KiHa 205 in May 2011

  • Ajigaura-Sta-201401.JPG

    KiHa 222 in January 2014

  • Hitachinakakaihin Railway miki300.JPG

    MiKi 300-103 in October 2009

  • Minato kiha2005.JPG

    KiHa 2005 in January 2010

  • Ibaraki-kotsu-kiha3710-01.jpg

    KiHa 3710-01 in Ibaraki Kotsu livery in November 2009

  • Hitachinaka Seaside Railway kiha37100-03.jpg

    KiHa 37100-03

In April 2015, three former JR Central KiHa 11 diesel cars, KiHa 11-123/203/204, were sold to the Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway.[4] Two more KiHa 11-200 series cars, formerly owned by Tokai Transport Service Company (TKJ) in Aichi Prefecture, are scheduled to be purchased by the Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway between 2015 and 2016.[5] Of these, KiHa 11-201 was moved by road to the Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway in September 2015.[6]

History

File:Hitachinaka kaihin railway minato line no2.JPG
Trackbed damaged by the March 2011 Great East Japan earthquake

The Minato Railway (湊鉄道 Minato Tetsudō?) was established on 18 November 1907, and the line was opened from Katsuta to Nakaminato on 25 December 1913, using steam haulage.[1] The entire line to Ajigaura was completed on 17 July 1928.[1] From 1 August 1944, the line was taken over by Ibaraki Kōtsū (茨城交通?), becoming the Ibaraki Kōtsū Minato Line.[1]

The Minato Line was the only railway line operated by Ibaraki Kōtsū, whose main business was bus transport. Because of its severe financial situation, Ibaraki Kōtsū decided to withdraw from railway operation. In September 2007, Ibaraki Kōtsū and the city of Hitachinaka agreed to transfer the line to a third-sector (funded jointly by local government and private sector) company, later incorporated as Hitachinaka Seaside Railway. From 1 April 2008, the line became the Hitachinaka Seaside Railway Minato Line.[1]

From 6 April 2010, all train services became wanman driver-only operation.[1]

The line was damaged by the 11 March 2011 Great East Japan earthquake, but the entire line was reopened for business from 23 July of the same year.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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