Minato Line
The Minato Line is a 14.3 km Japanese railway line operated by the third-sector railway operator Hitachinaka Seaside Railway between and, all within Hitachinaka, Ibaraki. It is the only railway line operated by the Hitachinaka Seaside Railway. The line was formerly operated by Ibaraki Kōtsū until 2008.
History
The Minato Railway was established on 18 November 1907, and the line was opened from Katsutato Nakaminato on 25 December 1913, using steam haulage. The entire line to Ajigaura was completed on 17 July 1928. From 1 August 1944, the line was taken over by Ibaraki Kōtsū, becoming the Ibaraki Kōtsū Minato Line.
The Minato Line was the only railway line operated by Ibaraki Kōtsū, whose main business was bus transport. Because of its severe financial situation, Ibaraki Kōtsū decided to withdraw from railway operation. In September 2007, Ibaraki Kōtsū and the city of Hitachinaka agreed to transfer the line to a third-sector company, later incorporated as Hitachinaka Seaside Railway. From 1 April 2008, the line became the Hitachinaka Seaside Railway Minato Line.
From 6 April 2010, all train services became one-man operation.
The line was damaged by the 11 March 2011 Great East Japan earthquake, but the entire line was reopened for business from 23 July of the same year. The line is planned to be extended north by in the future. The two stations will be near the southern gate and the western gate of the Hitachi Seaside Park. As of 2025, these stations are assigned tentative names New Station 1 and New Station 2.
Operations
Train services are normally formed of single-car diesel units, increased to two-car formations during the morning peak.Infrastructure
, the railway operates a fleet of eight single-car diesel railcars, as follows.- KiHa 11 x3
- KiHa 20 x1
- MiKi 300 x1
- KiHa 3710 x2
- KiHa 37100 x1
Future Rolling Stock
One of them is scheduled to be converted to a sightseeing train.Former rolling stock
- KiHa 22 x1
- KiHa 2000 x2