Sanriku Railway

Retro styled Sanriku Railway 36-600 series train

The Sanriku Railway (三陸鉄道 Sanriku Tetsudō) is a railway company in Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan. The company and its lines are also known as Santetsu (三鉄). The company was founded in 1981, as the first "third sector" (half public, half private) railway line in the country, excluding special cases such as freight railways in seaports. Its lines are former Japanese National Railways (JNR) lines, that were going to be closed. Santetsu acquired these lines in 1984. The company also operates a travel agency and other businesses.

History

line map
red:Kita-Riasu Line
blue:Minami-Riasu Line

The Japanese National Railways (JNR) opened the Miyako - Taro section in 1972 and the Kuji - Fudai section in 1975. It constructed the Taro - Fudai section, and transferred the entire line to Sanriku on the day it opened in 1984. The line features 42 tunnels, including the Masaki (6532m) and the Omoto (5174m), both opened in 1984.

JNR opened the Sakari - Ryori section in 1970, extending the line to Yoshihama in 1973. It constructed the section to Kamaishi and transferred the entire line to Sanriku on the day it opened in 1984. The line features 20 tunnels.

2011 earthquake and tsunami damage

Both lines were heavily damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[1] The two lines suffered damage at 300 locations, including damage to station buildings and bridges. The tsunami washed away 5.8 km of railway tracks on the lines. Full restoration of service on the lines was completed in April 2014.[2]

Diesel railcars damaged by the earthquake and tsunami were replaced by three new diesel railcars funded by Kuwait. The new cars were introduced in January 2014.[3]

See also

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

  1. ↑ Archived 22 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Tsunami-hit Sanriku line fully operational". The Japan Times. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  3. ↑ 三陸鉄道、新車両3両投入へ [Sanriku Railway to introduce 3 new cars]. Tetsudo.com (in Japanese). Japan: Asahi Interactive. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2012.

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