is a third-sector railway company which operates Hisatsu Orange Railway Line in

Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

and

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

prefectures. The line follows the former part of the

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait ...

Kagoshima Main Line The is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) between Mojikō in Kitakyushu, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima City, at the southern end of Kyushu. Until March 13, 2004, it extended 393 km between its two ...

that connected

Yatsushiro is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Geography Located at the geographic center of Kyushu, Yatsushiro City is situated on the aptly named Yatsushiro Sea in between Kumamoto and Ashikita City. Climate Yatsushiro has a humid subtro ...

and

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

and

Prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

, known historically as Higo and

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a sou ...

Provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

. The length of the line is 116.9 km. Hisatsu Orange Railway went into service on March 13, 2004, when ownership was transferred from JR and the high speed

Kyushu Shinkansen The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed railway network. It is an extension of the San'yō Shinkansen from Honshu connecting the city of Fukuoka (Hakata Station) in the north of Japan's Kyushu Island to the city of Kagoshima ( Kagoshima-Chuo St ...

service began. The Hisatsu Orange Railway runs close to the

Yatsushiro Sea The , which is also called the , is a shallow semi-enclosed inland sea separating the island of Kyūshū from the Amakusa Islands. It lies mostly within Kumamoto Prefecture and at the southern end of the sea it also borders Kagoshima Prefecture ...

and

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

and connects to the

on both ends. The route is indirect and winding, but connects several cities along the coast. The company has a total of 19 diesel cars, but two of them are reserved for special events. Shareholders in the railway include prefectures of

and

, cities of

Minamata is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is on the west coast of Kyūshū and faces Amakusa islands. Minamata was established as a village in 1889, re-designated as a town in 1912 and grew into a city in 1949. As of March 2017, the ...

, Izumi,

Akune is a Cities of Japan, city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1952. As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 23,887 and a population density of 178 persons per km2. The total area is 134.30 k ...

and

Satsumasendai is a city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The modern city of Satsumasendai was established on October 12, 2004, from the merger of the city of Sendai, the towns of Hiwaki, Iriki, Kedōin and Tōgō, and the Koshikijima Islands (which ...

, towns of Tsunagi and

Ashikita is a town located in Ashikita District (葦北郡, ''Ashikita-gun''), Kumamoto, Japan. Ashikita is situated on the south west coast of the island of Kyushu in Southern Japan, and it is known for its attractive coastlines, beaches and its pro ...

, and the

Japan Freight Railway Company , or , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It provides transportation of cargo nationwide throughout Japan. Its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo near Shinjuku Station. The Japan Railways Group was foun ...

History

The Sendai - Yatsushiro section was built by the (then) Japanese Imperial Railway and opened between 1922–27, at which time this route replaced the

Hisatsu Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Yatsushiro on the Kagoshima Main Line to Hayato station, Kirishima, Kagoshima , Kirishima on the Nippo Main Line. Fro ...

to become the southern part of the Kagoshima Main Line. The Yunoura - Tsunagi section was duplicated between 1966 and 1968. CTC signalling was commissioned from Yatsushiro - Sendai in 1969/70, and the line was electrified in 1970. In 2004, following the opening of the Kagoshima - Shin Yatsushiro section of the

, operation of the section was transferred under the Third Sector arrangements.

Former connecting lines

Minamata Station: The first section of the Yamano line was opened from Kurino (on the

) 24 km to Yamano in 1921. The 14 km Minamata - Kugino section opened in 1934, and the 10 km Yamato - Satsuma section the following year. In 1937 the 8 km Kugino - Satsuma section, including the Okawa spiral opened. Freight services ceased in 1986, and the line closed in 1988.

Hisatsu Orange Railway Line

JR Freight , or , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It provides transportation of cargo nationwide throughout Japan. Its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo near Shinjuku Station. The Japan Railways Group was foun ...

operates Hisatsu Orange Railway Line as a Category-2 operator.

Overview

*Length: 116.9 km *Gauge: *Number of Stations: 28 *Track **Double: between Yunoura and Tsunagi **Single: the rest of the line *Electrification: 20 kV AC, 60 Hz Hisatsu Orange Railway

Stations

*● = Trains stop *, = Trains pass *The stations are going to be stopped by all trains from 13 March 2021.Timetable will be revised on 13 March 2021
/ref>

Free ticket

Selling

' at 2100 yen is timed coincide to release

Seishun 18 Kippu The is a special discount ticket issued in Japan that allows holders one-day unlimited rides on the local trains of Japan Railways Group (JR) during limited periods of the year. One ticket is valid for five (not necessarily continuous) days (mi ...

. It releases for passengers who have vail ticket (Seishun 18 Kippu).

References

*Route diagram: p. 15-17, Vol. 14, October 25, 2006 - JTB Publishing Inc

External links

* {{Parallel_Conventional_Lines_(Japan) Railway companies of Japan Rail transport in Kagoshima Prefecture Rail transport in Kumamoto Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway companies established in 2004 Japanese third-sector railway lines