was a
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
operator in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. The company's name, which consists of "Kitakinki" meaning northern
Kinki region and "Tango" meaning
Tango Province, is occasionally abbreviated as KTR.
KTR was a so-called "third sector" company jointly funded by local governments and private entities. Its leading shareholder is the
Kyoto Prefecture government with a 44.71% ownership. It headquarters in
Fukuchiyama
250px, Fukuchiyama Castle
250px, Fukuchiyama city center
is a city in northern Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 76,037 in 36412 households and a population density of 140 persons per km². The total area of t ...
, Kyoto Prefecture.
In 2015, the company ceased to operate the trains on its own lines when Willer Trains Inc., under the brand name
Kyoto Tango Railway
The , or , is a railway system in Kyoto Prefecture and Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan operated by Willer Trains Inc. headquartered in Miyazu, Kyoto.
Company
The operating company Willer Trains Inc. is a subsidiary of Willer Alliance Inc. Willer Train ...
, succeeded this function from KTR. KTR continues to own the tracks and rolling stock.
Lines
KTR owns the following two regional railway lines:
*
Miyafuku Line (in
Kyoto Prefecture, 30.4 km)
*
Miyazu Line
The is a railway line of the Kyoto Tango Railway in Kyoto Prefecture and Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Trains on the line are operated by Willer Trains Inc. as part of its Kyoto Tango Railway system.
The and the are the aliases assigned by Wille ...
(in Kyoto Prefecture and
Hyōgo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...
, 83.6 km)
History
In 1982, the company was incorporated as for the purpose of the construction and operation of the Miyafuku Line, the construction of which was suspended due to financial difficulties of the
Japanese National Railways
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 pref ...
(JNR). The Miyafuku Line was completed in 1988. In the same year, local governments selected the company as the operator of the existing Miyazu Line, which was to be separated from
West Japan Railway Company
, 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 ...
(JR West) in 1990.
Following the downturn in the business, investors including the Kyoto Prefecture government decided to introduce a new scheme of business, in which a separate company would operate trains on the tracks of KTR. Willer Group, being the only applicant for this proposal, was selected as the operator and later established Willer Trains Inc. The transfer of business took effect on April 1, 2015.
References
External links
*
Railway companies of Japan
Rail transport in Kyoto Prefecture
Rail transport in Hyōgo Prefecture
Railway companies established in 1982
1982 establishments in Japan
Japanese third-sector railway lines
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