The is a Japanese
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
line connecting
Shimodate Station, in
Chikusei, Ibaraki
is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 98,031 in 39,075 households and a population density of 478 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 31.2%. The total area of the ...
and
Motegi Station in
Motegi, Tochigi. It is the only railway line operated by the . The
third-sector company took over the former
JR East
The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...
line in 1988. In addition to regular diesel local trains, the line also operates the ''SL Mooka'' steam service for tourists using a
C12 class
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
.
History
* 1 April 1912: 16.5 km line opens between Shimodate and Mooka.
* 15 December 1920: Entire line opened to Motegi (route length of 42.0 km). The proposed extension to Nagakura was not constructed.
* 2 September 1922: Line renamed Mooka Line.
* 1 November 1982: Freight services discontinued.
* 11 September 1984: Line closure approved.
* 11 April 1988: JR line closes and becomes Mooka Railway Mooka Line. Route length is reduced to 41.9 km.
* 27 March 1994: ''SL Mooka'' steam train operation starts.
* 30 July 2020:
JNR Class C11 steam locomotive #325 moved to
Tobu Railway.
Rolling stock
''(As of October 2022)''
[Mooka Railway company overview]
. Retrieved on 8 October 2008.
* Mooka 14 diesel railcars x9
*
DE10 Class diesel locomotive #1535
* JNR Class C12 steam locomotive #66
* OHa & OHaFu coaches x3
Stations
* The SL Mooka stops at stations marked with "●" and passes stations marked "｜".
* To take the ''SL Mooka'', passengers must purchase the SL ticket (500 yen) vi
Mooka Railways SL Guidean
reserve their seatsat least a day in advance.
* There is "SL・DL Rapid" service only on days SL Mooka is operated. And, boarding on this service costs only fares.
Holidays timetable from/to Shimodate Station around 15 p.m. and 16 p.m.
/ref>
See also
*List of railway companies in Japan
List of railway companies in Japan lists Japanese railway operators.
Those in ''italics'' are the third-sector operators; being half-public, half-private.
Japan Railways Group
The Japan Railways Group consists of the seven companies that were f ...
*List of railway lines in Japan
List of railway lines in Japan lists existing Rail transport, railway lines in Japan alphabetically.
The vast majority of Japanese railways are classified under two Japanese laws, one for and another for . The difference between the two is a leg ...
References
This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
{{Specified local lines, state=collapsed
Railway lines in Japan
Rail transport in Tochigi Prefecture
Rail transport in Ibaraki Prefecture
Railway lines opened in 1912
1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
1912 establishments in Japan
Japanese third-sector railway lines
Heritage railways in Japan