is a private railway company in
Mie Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to ...
, Japan, which also operates bus lines. The company was founded in 1928 and its initial line, the Sangi Line, originally functioned as a freight line transporting
cement
A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...
, but in recent years it became important as a commuter railway line for
Yokkaichi
is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 310,259 in 142162 households and a population density of 1500 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Yokkaichi is located in north-central ...
. The
Hokusei Line was transferred from
Kintetsu ''Kintetsu'' is the abbreviation of , or Kintetsu Railway, a Japanese railway corporation.
It may also refer to:
Companies
* Kintetsu Group Holdings, the holding corporation of the Kintetsu Railway
** Kintetsu Bus, a bus company and a subsidiary ...
ownership in 2003, when Kintetsu abandoned the line. Whereas the Sangi Line has a track gauge of , the Hokusei Line is one of only a few
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
lines remaining in the country.
History
The Sangi Line was opened by Onoda Cement in 1931 as a freight-only line to service its cement plant at Nishi-Fujiwara. Passenger services were introduced in 1952, and in 1954, the line was electrified at 1,500 V DC, and the company purchased an electric locomotive from
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 pref ...
to haul its cement trains.
CTC signalling was commissioned on the line in 1974.
Rolling stock
Sangi Line
EMUs
* 801 series - Former
Seibu 701 series trains acquired in 1989
* 101 series - Former Seibu 401 series trains acquired in 1990
* 851 series - Former Seibu 701 series trains acquired in 1995
* 751 series 3-car EMUs - Former Seibu 101 series trains acquired in 2009
[Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō (鉄道ダイヤ情報) March 2009 issue, p.70-71]
File:Sangi Railway 801 Series.jpg, 801 series
File:Sanki101Series01.jpg, 101 series
File:0903150740 hobo sangi S751.jpg, 751 series
Electric locomotives
* Class ED45: Since 1954 (includes former
Tobu Railway
is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longes ...
locomotives)
* Class ED301: Former
Nankai Class ED5201 acquired in 1984
* Class DeKi 200: Former
Chichibu Railway Class DeKi 200
The is a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement DC electric locomotive type operated by the private railway operator Chichibu Railway in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, since 1963.
, one (DeKi 201) out of the original three locomotives is in operation. The loco ...
acquired in July 2000 and withdrawn in March 2011
Hokusei Line
EMUs
* 130 series - Built in 1954
* 200 series - Built in 1959
* 140 series - Built in 1960
* 270 series - Built in 1977
File:Hokusei 272 cooler train.JPG, Hokusei Line 270 series train
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 fo ...
References
This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.
External links
{{Authority control
Railway companies of Japan
Bus companies of Japan
Rail transport in Mie Prefecture
Railway companies established in 1928
1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
2 ft 6 in gauge railways in Japan
1928 establishments in Japan
Companies based in Mie Prefecture