Type Heavy rail Opened 1900 Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Owner Kantō Railway Locale Ibaraki Prefecture | System Kantō Railway Line length 4.5 km (2.8 mi) Old gauge 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) Termini Sanuki Station Stations 3 | |
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The Ryūgasaki Line (竜ヶ崎線, Ryūgasaki-sen) operated by the Kantō Railway in Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan. It is a non-electrified line which connects Sanuki, on the Jōban Line, to Ryūgasaki, with one intermediate station at Ireji.
History
The Ryuzaki Railway Co. opened the line on 14 August 1900 as a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge steam-operated line. The line was regauged to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) in July 1915.
The company merged with the Kashima Sangu Railway Co. in 1944, which merged with the Kanto Railway Co. in 1965.
Freight services ceased in 1971, the same year the line switched to driver-only-operation (in August 1971), becoming the first driver-only-operation line in Japan.
References
Ryūgasaki Line Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA