Hokkaido Railway Company

Hokkaido Railway Company

Native name	北海道旅客鉄道株式会社
Type	Corporation
Industry	Private railroad
Predecessor	Japanese National Railways (JNR)
Founded	April 1, 1987 (privatization of JNR)
Headquarters	Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Area served	Hokkaido
Products	Kitaca (a rechargeable contactless smart card)
Services	Passenger rail Freight services Intercity bus
Owner	Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (100%)
Number of employees	7,970 (as of April 1, 2007)
Subsidiaries	JR Hokkaido Bus
Website	www2.jrhokkaido.co.jp/global/index.html

The Hokkaido Railway Company (北海道旅客鉄道株式会社, Hokkaidō Ryokaku Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha) is one of the constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of JR Hokkaido (JR北海道, Jeiāru Hokkaidō). It operates intercity rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart card ticketing system, from autumn 2008.

At the time of its privatization in 1987, JR Hokkaido operated 21 railway lines totalling 3,176.6 kilometres (1,973.8 mi) of narrow-gauge (1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)) track, as well as a ferry service to Aomori. Since then, that number has dwindled to just below 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi), as unprofitable lines have been shut down or spun off (in the case of the Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway). The ferry service has also been replaced by the Seikan Tunnel.

Hokkaido Railway's headquarters are in Chūō-ku, Sapporo.

History

• April 1, 1987: Upon the privatization of the Japanese National Railways (JNR), the Hokkaido Railway Company was formed
• October 25, 2008: Kitaca contactless smart card introduced in Sapporo area
• March 26, 2016: First Hokkaido Shinkansen service between Shin-Aomori and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto launched.

Headquarters and branch offices

Headquarters building

• Headquarters: 1-1-15 Kita-11-jō-Nishi, Chūō-ku, Sapporo
• Branch offices:
  • Asahikawa branch office: 6-4152-2 Miyashita-dōri, Asahikawa
  • Hakodate branch office: 12-5 Wakamatsu-chō, Hakodate
  • Kushiro branch office: 5-14 Kita-ōdōri, Kushiro

Lines and key stations

KiHa 283 series DMU Super Hokuto

789-1000 series EMU Super Kamui

Shinkansen

• Hokkaido Shinkansen:
  • Shin-Aomori - Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto (148.9 km (92.52 mi))

Trunk lines

• Chitose Line:
  • Shiroishi - Numanohata (60.2 km (37.41 mi))
  • Minami-Chitose - New Chitose Airport (2.6 km (1.62 mi))
• Hakodate Main Line()
  • Hakodate - Ōnuma-Kōen - Otaru - Sapporo - Asahikawa (423.1 km (262.90 mi))
  • Nanae - Oshima-Sawara - Mori (35.3 km (21.93 mi))
• Muroran Main Line
  • Oshamanbe - Higashi-Muroran - Oiwake - Iwamizawa (211.0 km (131.11 mi))
  • Higashi-Muroran - Muroran (7.0 km (4.35 mi))
• Nemuro Main Line
  • Takikawa - Obihiro - Nemuro (443.8 km (275.76 mi))
• Sekishō Line
  • Minami-Chitose - Shintoku (132.4 km (82.27 mi))
  • Shin-Yūbari - Yūbari (16.1 km (10.00 mi))

Other lines

Sapporo Station

• Furano Line
  • Furano - Asahikawa (54.8 km (34.05 mi))
• Hidaka Main Line
  • Tomakomai - Samani (146.5 km (91.03 mi))
• Sekihoku Main Line
  • Shin-Asahikawa - Kitami - Abashiri (234.0 km (145.40 mi))
• Kaikyō Line
  • Naka-Oguni - Tsugaru-Imabetsu - Kikonai (87.3 km (54.25 mi))
• Rumoi Main Line
  • Fukagawa - Mashike (66.8 km (41.51 mi))
• Sasshō Line
  • Sōen - Shin-Totsukawa (76.5 km (47.53 mi))
• Senmō Main Line
  • Higashi-Kushiro - Abashiri (166.2 km (103.27 mi))
• Sōya Main Line
  • Asahikawa - Nayoro - Wakkanai (259.4 km (161.18 mi))

Under construction

• Hokkaido Shinkansen
  • Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto - Sapporo (211.3 km (131.30 mi)) scheduled to open in 2031

Former lines

• Chihoku Line
  • Ikeda - Kitami (140.0 km (86.99 mi)) transferred to Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway Company on June 4, 1989
• Esashi Line
  • Goryōkaku - Kikonai (37.8 km (23.49 mi)) transferred to South Hokkaido Railway Company on March 26, 2016
  • Kikonai - Esashi (42.1 km (26.16 mi)) closed on May 12, 2014
• Hakodate Main Line branch
  • Sunagawa - Kami-Sunagawa (7.3 km (4.54 mi)) closed on May 16, 1994
• Horonai Line
  • Iwamizawa - Ikushumbetsu (18.1 km (11.25 mi)) and Mikasa - Horonai (2.7 km (1.68 mi)) closed on July 13, 1987
• Matsumae Line
  • Kikonai - Matsumae (50.8 km (31.57 mi)) closed on February 1, 1988
• Nayoro Main Line
  • Nayoro - Engaru (138.1 km (85.81 mi)) and Naka-Yūbetsu - Yūbetsu (4.9 km (3.04 mi)) closed on May 1, 1989
• Shibetsu Line
  • Shibecha - Nemuro-Shibetsu (69.4 km (43.12 mi)) and Naka-Shibetsu - Attoko (47.5 km (29.52 mi)) closed on April 30, 1989
• Shimmei Line
  • Fukagawa - Nayoro (121.8 km (75.68 mi)) closed on September 4, 1995
• Tempoku Line
  • Otoineppu - Minami-Wakkanai (148.9 km (92.52 mi)) closed on May 1, 1989
• Utashinai Line
  • Sunagawa - Utashinai (14.5 km (9.01 mi)) closed on April 25, 1988

The company also operated the Seikan Ferry until 1988.

External links

• JR Hokkaido - Official site (Japanese)
• JR Hokkaido - Official site (English)
• Wiki collection of bibliographic works on Hokkaido Railway Company