is a railway infrastructure company and a former

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 ...

operator in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The company's name, which consists of "Kitakinki" meaning northern

Kinki region The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metrop ...

and "Tango" meaning

Tango Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of northern Kyoto Prefecture. Tango bordered on Tanba Province, Tanba to the south, Tajima Province, Tajima to the west, and Wakasa Province, Wakasa to the east. Its abbreviated form name ...

, is occasionally abbreviated as KTR. KTR was a so-called "third sector" company jointly funded by local governments and private entities. Its leading shareholder is the

Kyoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Kyoto Prefecture has a population of 2,561,358 () and has a geographic area of . Kyoto Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the northeast, Shiga Prefecture ...

government with a 44.71% ownership. It headquarters in

Fukuchiyama file:Fukuchiyama City Hall.jpg, Fukuchiyama City Hall file:福知山駅プラットフォームより View toward northeast from platform of Fukuchiyama station 2011.1.10 - panoramio.jpg, Fukuchiyama city center is a Cities of Japan, city in north ...

, Kyoto Prefecture. In 2015, the company ceased to operate the trains on its own lines when Willer Trains Inc., under the brand name Kyoto Tango Railway, succeeded this function from KTR. KTR continues to own the tracks and rolling stock.

Lines

KTR owns the following two regional railway lines: * Miyafuku Line (in

, 30.4 km) *

Miyazu Line The is a railway line of the Kyoto Tango Railway in Kyoto Prefecture and Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Trains on the line are operated by Willer Trains Inc. as part of its Kyoto Tango Railway system. The and the are the aliases assigned by Will ...

(in Kyoto Prefecture and

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

, 83.6 km)

History

In 1982, the company was incorporated as for the purpose of the construction and operation of the Miyafuku Line, the construction of which was suspended due to financial difficulties of the

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). The Miyafuku Line was completed in 1988. In the same year, local governments selected the company as the operator of the existing Miyazu Line, which was to be separated from

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

(JR West) in 1990. Following the downturn in the business, investors including the Kyoto Prefecture government decided to introduce a new scheme of business, in which a separate company would operate trains on the tracks of KTR. Willer Group, being the only applicant for this proposal, was selected as the operator and later established Willer Trains Inc. The transfer of business took effect on April 1, 2015. * 1982-09-22 – Incorporation as Miyafuku Railway Corporation * 1982-12-24 – Issuance of railway business license of the Miyafuku Line * 1988-06-22 – Shareholders' approval to the purchase of Miyazu Line business * 1988-07-16 – Inauguration of the Miyafuku Line * 1989-09-29 – Issuance of railway business license of the Miyazu Line * 1989-08-01 – Change of corporate name to Kitakinki Tango Railway Corporation * 1990-04-01 – Transfer of business of the Miyazu Line from JR West to KTR * 1996-03-16 – Electrification of the entire Miyafuku Line and Miyazu–Amanohashidate segment of the Miyazu Line * 2007-09-01 – Relocation of corporate headquarters from a prefecture government building in Kyoto to a JR West building in Fukuchiyama * 2015-04-01 – Transfer of train operation function to Willer Trains

References

External links

* Railway companies of Japan Rail transport in Kyoto Prefecture Rail transport in Hyōgo Prefecture Railway infrastructure managers Railway companies established in 1982 1982 establishments in Japan Japanese third-sector railway lines {{Japan-rail-company-stub