The is a third-sector railway company based in

Kurashiki, Okayama is a historic city located in western Okayama Prefecture, Japan, sitting on the Takahashi River, on the coast of the Inland Sea. As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 483,576 and a population density of 1,400 persons per ...

, Japan. The company took over operation of three former Kurashiki City Transportation Bureau lines in 1970. It mainly transports freight for the industrial area around the Port of Mizushima, but also operates a passenger service on the Mizushima Main Line

Rolling stock

, the railway operates a fleet of 12 diesel railcars and three diesel locomotives.

Diesel multiple units

* KiHa 20 x1 * MRT300 x6 * KiHa 30 x1 * KiHa 37 x3 * KiHa 38 x1 In 2013, the company purchased six former KiHa 30, KiHa 37, and

KiHa 38 The is a Japanese diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type introduced by the Japanese National Railways (JNR) in 1986. These were converted from ageing KiHa 35's to meet modern standards as new rolling stock before the company was privatized in 19 ...

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

(DMU) cars, which formerly operated on the JR East Kururi Line in

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the ...

until they were withdrawn in December 2012. These entered service from 12 May 2014. The KiHa 20 diesel car KiHa 205 is scheduled to be withdrawn following its last day in service on 19 March 2017. File:MR kiha20 203 205.jpg, A pair of KiHa 20 DMUs File:MR MRT300 series 304 20201115.jpg, An MRT300 series "Himawari" DMU

Diesel locomotives

* Class DE70 x1 (DE70 1) * Class DD500 x2 (DD501 and DD506) * Class DD200

History

The 11.2 km between Kurashiki-shi, Mitsubishi-jikō-mae, and Kurashiki Freight Terminal opened in 1943 to serve an aircraft factory. In 1947, the line was transferred to the city of Mizushima for industrial development, and a passenger service between Kurashiki and Mizushima commenced the following year. The 3.6 km freight-only between Mizushima and Higashi-Mizushima, and the 0.8 km freight-only between Mitsubishi-Jikō-Mae and Nishi-Futō both opened in 1962. CTC signalling was commissioned between Kurashiki and Mizushima in 1971, and the passenger service was extended to Mitsubishi-Jikō-Mae the following year.

References

External links