Sanriku Railway

Rias Line
Rias Line
	<img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/%E5%A4%A7%E6%B2%A2%E6%A9%8B%E6%A2%81_-_panoramio.jpg/300px-%E5%A4%A7%E6%B2%A2%E6%A9%8B%E6%A2%81_-_panoramio.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="200" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="5472" data-file-height="3648"> A train crossing the Ōsawa Viaduct, September 2015
Overview
Native name	リアス線
Status	In operation
Owner	Sanriku Railway
Locale	Iwate Prefecture
Termini	Sakari; Kuji;
Stations	41
Service
Type	Heavy rail
Operator(s)	Sanriku Railway
Rolling stock	Sanriku Railway 36 series DMU
History
Opened	Former JR East Yamada Line joined with Kita-Rias and Minami-Rias Line on 23 March 2019 to make Rias Line
Technical
Line length	163.0 km (101.3 mi)
Number of tracks	Entire line single tracked
Character	Rural
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	90 km/h (56 mph)
Route map
Route map
	Legend
Rias Line
	Iwate Development Railway
	Daily city line & Akasaki line
	Kesennuma Line
	& Ōfunato Line
	Iwate Development Railway
	Akasaki Line
	closed
	c.1992
	Rasa Industries
	Miyako factory dedicated line
	closed
	1984
	Saru-tōge
	(Monkey Pass) tunnel

The Sanriku Railway (三陸鉄道, Sanriku Tetsudō) is a railway company in Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan. The company and its lines are also known as Santetsu (三鉄). The company was founded in 1981, as the first "third-sector" (half public, half private) railway line in the country, excluding special cases such as freight railways in seaports. Its lines are former Japanese National Railways (JNR) lines, that were going to be closed. Santetsu acquired these lines in 1984. The company also operates a travel agency and other businesses.

Lines

■ Rias Line (リアス線) (163.0 km, Sakari - Kuji)

Rias Line

Line map
Red:Kita-Riasu Line
Blue:Minami-Riasu Line

Station list

Station		Distance (km)		Transfers	Location
Name	Japanese	Between Stations	Total	Transfers	Location
Sakari	盛	-	0.0	■ Ōfunato Line BRT service	Ōfunato, Iwate
Rikuzen-Akasaki	陸前赤崎	3.7	3.7
Ryōri	綾里	5.4	9.1
Koishihama	恋し浜	2.9	12.0
Horei	甫嶺	2.3	14.3
Sanriku	三陸	2.7	17.0
Yoshihama	吉浜	4.6	21.6
Tōni	唐丹	6.1	27.7		Kamaishi, Iwate
Heita	平田	5.4	33.1
Kamaishi	釜石	3.5	36.6	■ Kamaishi Line
Ryōishi	両石	6.1	42.7
Unosumai	鵜住居	2.2	44.9
Ōtsuchi	大槌	4.0	48.9		Ōtsuchi, Iwate
Kirikiri	吉里吉里	3.4	52.3
Namiita-Kaigan	浪板海岸	1.8	54.1
Iwate-Funakoshi	岩手船越	6.4	60.5		Yamada, Iwate
Orikasa	織笠	3.8	63.3
Rikuchū-Yamada	陸中山田	1.2	65.5
Toyomane	豊間根	11.1	76.6
Haraigawa	払川	4.1	80.7		Miyako, Iwate
Tsugaruishi	津軽石	2.1	82.8
Yagisawa Miyakotandai	八木沢・宮古短大駅	5.4	88.2
Sokei	磯鶏	1.8	90.0
Miyako	宮古	2.0	92.0	■ Yamada Line
Yamaguchi Danchi	山口団地	1.6	93.6
Ichinowatari	一の渡	4.6	98.2
Sabane	佐羽根	2.9	101.1
Tarō	田老	3.6	104.7
Shin-Tarō	新田老	0.5	105.2
Settai	摂待	8.3	113.5
Iwaizumi-Omoto	岩泉小本	3.6	117.1		Iwaizumi, Iwate
Shimanokoshi	島越	8.5	125.6		Tanohata, Iwate
Tanohata	田野畑	2.0	127.6		Tanohata, Iwate
Fudai	普代	9.3	136.9		Fudai, Iwate
Shiraikaigan	白井海岸	3.4	140.3
Horinai	堀内	3.1	143.4
Noda-Tamagawa	野田玉川	4.5	147.9		Noda, Iwate
Tofugaura-Kaigan	十府ヶ浦海岸	1.7	149.6
Rikuchū-Noda	陸中野田	2.3	151.9
Rikuchū-Ube	陸中宇部	3.4	155.3		Kuji, Iwate
Kuji	久慈	7.7	163.0	■ Hachinohe Line	Kuji, Iwate

History

Kita-Rias Line

The Japanese National Railways (JNR) opened the Miyako to Taro section in 1972 and the Kuji to Fudai section in 1975. It constructed the Taro to Fudai section, and transferred the entire line to Sanriku on the day it opened in 1984. The line features 42 tunnels, including the Masaki (6,532 m) and Omoto (5,174 m) tunnels, both opened in 1984.

Minami-Rias Line

JNR opened the Sakari to Ryori section in 1970, extending the line to Yoshihama in 1973. It constructed the section to Kamaishi and transferred the entire line to Sanriku on the day it opened in 1984. The line features 20 tunnels. ^{[citation needed]}

2011 earthquake and tsunami damage

Both lines were heavily damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.^[1] The two lines suffered damage at ~300 locations, including damage to station buildings and bridges. The tsunami washed away 5.8 km of railway tracks on the lines. Full restoration of service on the lines was completed in April 2014.^[2]

Diesel railcars damaged by the earthquake and tsunami were replaced by three new diesel railcars funded by Kuwait. The new cars were introduced in January 2014.^[3]

The two sections of the Sanriku Railway were for a long time separated by a destroyed segment of the Yamada Line.

On 23 March 2019, the Yamada Line section from Miyako to Kamaishi was reopened and transferred to Sanriku Railway. This joined up with the Kita-Rias Line on one side and the Minami-Rias Line on the other, which together constitutes the entire Rias Line restored. The result is a resumption of continuous rail service between Kuji and Sakari Station where it links with the Ōfunato Line.^[4]^[5]

Typhoon Hagibis damage

Following the Typhoon Hagibis in 2019 which caused further damage to the railway, the operator Sanriku Railway Co,.Ltd. have received around ¥40 million in donations to help with repairs.^[6]

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

^ [1] ^{[dead link]}
^ "Tsunami-hit Sanriku line fully operational". The Japan Times. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
^ 三陸鉄道、新車両3両投入へ [Sanriku Railway to introduce 3 new cars]. Tetsudo.com (in Japanese). Japan: Asahi Interactive. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
^ 三陸鉄道はいま、ひとつにつながるリアス線 (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 June 2018.
^ 東日本大震災復興鉄路つながった８年ぶり宮古－釜石、三陸鉄道に [Great East Japan Earthquake Railway have been rebuilt and connected after 8 years reconstruction between Miyako-Kamaishi, Sanriku Railway]. mainichi.jp (in Japanese). Japan: The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
^ "Sanriku Railway, icon of 3/11 recovery, back to full service after typhoon". The Japan Times. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2021.

External links

Official website (in English) (Note: As of September 3, 2024, site is geoblocked for some countries including Australia: "Reason: Blocked country: Australia The connection was denied because this country is blocked in the Geolocation settings").
Official website (in Japanese) (Note: As of September 3, 2024, site is geoblocked for some countries including Australia: "Reason: Blocked country: Australia The connection was denied because this country is blocked in the Geolocation settings").

[1] [1] ^{[dead link]}

[2] "Tsunami-hit Sanriku line fully operational". The Japan Times. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.

[3] 三陸鉄道、新車両3両投入へ [Sanriku Railway to introduce 3 new cars]. Tetsudo.com (in Japanese). Japan: Asahi Interactive. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2012.

[4] 三陸鉄道はいま、ひとつにつながるリアス線 (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 June 2018.

[5] 東日本大震災復興鉄路つながった８年ぶり宮古－釜石、三陸鉄道に [Great East Japan Earthquake Railway have been rebuilt and connected after 8 years reconstruction between Miyako-Kamaishi, Sanriku Railway]. mainichi.jp (in Japanese). Japan: The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.

[japantimes-6] "Sanriku Railway, icon of 3/11 recovery, back to full service after typhoon". The Japan Times. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2021.

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