The Ryūgasaki Line (竜ヶ崎線, Ryūgasaki-sen) is a railway line 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.[1]

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.[1]

Stations

Station Japanese Distance
(km) 		Transfers Location
Sanuki 佐貫 0.0 ■ Jōban Line Ryūgasaki Ibaraki
Prefecture
Ireji 入地 2.2
Ryūgasaki 竜ヶ崎 4.5

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

  1. ^ a b Terada, Hirokazu (July 2002). データブック日本の私鉄 (Databook: Japan's Private Railways). Japan: Neko Publishing. ISBN 4-87366-874-3.