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Sangi Railway Co., Ltd. (三岐鉄道株式会社, Sangi Tetsudō) is a private railway company in Mie Prefecture, Japan, which also operates bus lines. The company was founded in 1928 and its initial line, the Sangi Line, originally functioned as a freight line transporting cement, but in recent years it became important as a commuter railway line for Yokkaichi. The Hokusei Line was transferred from Kintetsu ownership in 2003, when Kintetsu abandoned the line. Whereas the Sangi Line has a track gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in), the Hokusei Line is one of only a few 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge lines remaining in the country.
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History
The Sangi Line was opened by Onoda Cement in 1931 as a freight-only line to service its cement plant at Nishi-Fujiwara. Passenger services were introduced in 1952, and in 1954, the line was electrified at 1,500 V DC, and the company purchased an electric locomotive from JNR to haul its cement trains. CTC signalling was commissioned on the line in 1974.