Hisatsu Orange Railway

Hisatsu Orange Railway Co., Ltd. (肥薩おれんじ鉄道株式会社, Hisatsu Orenji Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha) is a third-sector railway company which operates Hisatsu Orange Railway Line in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures. The line follows the former part of the JR Kyushu Kagoshima Main Line that connected Yatsushiro and Sendai in Kumamoto and Kagoshima Prefectures, known historically as Higo and Satsuma Provinces. The length of the line is 116.9 km.

Hisatsu Orange Railway Line
Hisatsu Orange Railway 100 series train
Route map ↔ Kagoshima Main Line : Hisatsu Line → 0.0 Yatsushiro 6 m 2.6 Kuma River 528 m 4.8 Higo-Kōda 6 m 10.1 Hinagu-Onsen 6 m 10.9 Hinagu Tunnel 219 m Route 3 13.7 Higo-Futami 2 m 14.1 Futami River 58 m 18.0 Kami-Tanoura 4 m 18.4 Hatajiri Tunnel 85 m 20.7 Tanoura Tunnel 757 m 22.1 Tanoura-Otachimisaki-Kōen 4 m 22.5 Tanoura River 51 m 23.6 Higo-Tanoura 2 m Route 3 25.8 Uminoura Tunnel 307 m 26.7 Uminoura 27 m 26.8 Sashiki Tunnel 1501 m 29.2 Sashiki River 63 m 29.8 Sashiki 2 m 33.7 Yunoura 7 m ↔ Kyūshū Shinkansen 35.2 Yunoura River 41 m 37.1 Tsunagi Tunnel ↓ 1348 m / ↑ 1416 m 40.1 41.8 ↔ Kyūshū Shinkansen 42.4 Tsunagi 9 m 42.7 44.3 ↔ Kyūshū Shinkansen 45.8 Shin-Minamata 32 m 46.9 Minamata River 123 m 48.3 49.6 Minamata 2 m Route 3 54.0 Fukuro River 46 m 55.4 Fukuro 41 m Route 3 56.0 57.1 61.3 Komenotsu 4 m ↔ Kyūshū Shinkansen 65.6 Izumi 14 m 66.2 68.3. Nishi-Izumi 41 m 71.0 Takaono River 79 m 72.1 Takaono 46 m 74.2 Nodagō River 134 m 75.3 Nodagō 26 m Route 3 80.2 80.7 Origuchi 5 m 83.1 Akasegawa Signal Box 19 m Route 3 86.2 Akune 5 m 86.8 92.2 Ushinohama 13 m 93.9 Ōkawa Tunnel 253 m 94.2 Ōkawa River 35 m 95.7 Satsuma-Ōkawa 9 m ← old Track 95.8 Shin-Shirinasi Tunnel 413 m Route 3 99.6 Nishikata 7 m 100.4 Nishikata Tunnel 129 m Route 3 101.6 102.3 Satsuma-Taki 9 m 102.4 103.0 Sayama Tunnel 207 m 107.3 Kusamichi 3 m Route 3 111.4 113.7 Kami-Sendai 7 m 115.0 116.0 Sendai River 244 m 116.9 Sendai 9 m ↓ for Kagoshima-Chūō

Hisatsu Orange Railway went into service on March 13, 2004, when ownership was transferred from JR and the high speed Kyushu Shinkansen service began. The Hisatsu Orange Railway runs close to the Yatsushiro Sea and East China Sea and connects to the Kagoshima Main Line on both ends. The route is indirect and winding, but connects several cities along the coast.

The company has a total of 19 diesel cars, but two of them are reserved for special events.

Shareholders in the railway include prefectures of Kumamoto and Kagoshima, cities of Yatsushiro, Minamata, Izumi, Akune and Satsumasendai, towns of Tsunagi and Ashikita, and the Japan Freight Railway Company.