The is a railway line in Japan operated by the " third sector" publicly and privately owned operator Iwate Galaxy Railway Company. It connects

Morioka Station Morioka Station (, ) is a major railway station in Morioka, Iwate, Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by JR East. Lines Morioka Station is a major junction station, and is where the Akita Shinkansen splits off from the Tōhoku Shi ...

Morioka, Iwate is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 August 2023, the city had an estimated population of 283,981 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of t ...

Metoki Station is a railway station in the town of Sannohe in the Sannohe District of Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the third sector railway operators Aoimori Railway Company and Iwate Galaxy Railway Company. Location Metoki Station is the ...

Sannohe, Aomori is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 9,146 in 4141 households, and a population density of 60 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Sannohe occupies an inland area in sout ...

. Formerly part of the

East Japan Railway Company 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 ...

(JR East) Tohoku Main Line, it was separated from 1 December 2002 with the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen which parallels the route. JR Freight services continue to travel over the line.

Station list

Rolling stock

The Iwate Galaxy Railway Company owns a fleet of IGR 7000 series 2-car

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

(EMU) trains. The fleet consists of four 7000-0 series sets, which were originally JR East 701-1000 series sets transferred from Morioka in December 2002, and three newly built 7000-100 series sets.

History

The section of the line between Morioka and Metoki first opened on 1 September 1891, and was nationalized on 1 November 1906. The line was double-tracked by 12 July 1968, and it was electrified on 22 August 1968. With the privatization of

Japanese National Railways 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 pre ...

(JNR) on 1 April 1987, the line came under the control of

(JR East). From 1 December 2002, with the opening of the parallel Tohoku Shinkansen extension to Hachinohe, ownership of the line was transferred to the third-sector Iwate Galaxy Railway Company.

References

External links

* {{Parallel_Conventional_Lines_(Japan) Railway lines in Japan Rail transport in Iwate Prefecture Railway lines opened in 2002 2002 establishments in Japan 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Japanese third-sector railway lines