The is a Japanese third-sector railway company established in 2012 to operate passenger railway services on the section of the

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

Hokuriku Main Line The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwee ...

within

Ishikawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...

. The main line was separated from the JR West network on 14 March 2015, coinciding with the opening of the

Hokuriku Shinkansen The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The first section, between and in Nagano Pr ...

extension from to . The company was founded on 28 August 2012 and has its headquarters in

Kanazawa, Ishikawa is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape ...

Shareholders

Shares in the company are owned by

, the city of

Kanazawa is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape File:もてな ...

, the town of Tsubata, and private-sector businesses.

IR Ishikawa Railway Line

From 14 March 2015, the IR Ishikawa Railway took over control of local passenger operations on the 17.8 km section JR West

between and , with five stations (although Kanazawa Station remains under the control of JR West).

Service outline

All services inter-run either to and from the

Ainokaze Toyama Railway Line The is a Japanese third-sector railway operating company established in 2012 to operate passenger railway services on the section of the JR West Hokuriku Main Line within Toyama Prefecture when it was separated from the JR West network in Mar ...

(and

Echigo Tokimeki Railway Nihonkai Hisui Line The (ETR) is a Japanese third-sector railway operating company established in 2010 to operate passenger railway services on the sections of the JR East Shinetsu Main Line and JR West Hokuriku Main Line within Niigata Prefecture when they were ...

) to the east or over the JR West

Nanao Line The is a railway line in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and the Noto Railway. It runs between Tsubata Station in Tsubata and Anamizu Station in Anamizu. JR West operates the section between Tsu ...

branching off at . Limited-stop "Rapid" services named are operated between Kanazawa and by Ainokaze Toyama Railway during the weekday morning and evening peaks, but these do not serve any IR Ishikawa Railway stations other than Kanazawa. '' Noto Kagaribi'' (Kanazawa - ) and ''

Thunderbird Thunderbird, thunder bird or thunderbirds may refer to: * Thunderbird (mythology), a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture * Ford Thunderbird, a car Birds * Dromornithidae, extinct flightless birds ...

'' ( - Wakura-Onsen) limited express services also operate over the section of the line between Kanazawa and Tsubata, with some services calling at Tsubata.

Stations

Rolling stock

The company operates a fleet of five two-car 521 series EMU trains; three second-batch sets (10, 14, and 30) were transferred from JR West, and two third-batch sets (55 and 56) were newly built. The two new sets were initially delivered in February 2015 in standard JR West livery but were repainted into the IR Ishikawa Railway livery before entering service. Trains are normally operated as two- or four-car formations. , the 521 series fleet is as follows. File:IR Ishikawa Railway 521 tsubata station.JPG, IR Ishikawa 521-0 series EMU set IR03, June 2015

History

The line eastward from Kanazawa was opened on 1 November 1898 on the

. With the

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

JNR The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

on 1 April 1987, the line came under the control of JR West. The new third-sector operating company was founded on 28 August 2012 and was renamed IR Ishikawa Railway from 1 August 2013. The company was formally granted a railway operating license by the

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government.国土交通省設置法 ...

on 28 February 2014.

References

External links

* {{Hokuriku_Main_Line_(undivided), station=0, i=true Railway companies of Japan Companies based in Ishikawa Prefecture Japanese companies established in 2012 Railway lines opened in 1898 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Japanese third-sector railway lines