Hisatsu Orange Railway Line
Hisatsu Orange Railway 100 series train
Route map Legend km elev (M) or length (m) in metres Kagoshima Main Line 0.0 Yatsushiro 6 M Hisatsu Line 2.6 Kuma River 528 m 4.8 Higo-Kōda 6 M 10.1 Hinagu-Onsen 6 M 10.9 Hinagu tunnel 219 m National 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 National Route 3 25.8 Uminoura tunnel 307 m 26.7 Uminoura 27 M 26.8 Sashiki tunnel 1,501 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 ↑ 1,416 m ↓ 1,348 m 40.1 41.8 Kyūshū Shinkansen 42.4 Tsunagi 9 M 42.7 45.8 Shin-Minamata 32 M 46.9 Minamata River 123 m 48.3 49.6 Minamata 2 M National Route 3 54.0 Fukuro River 46 m 55.4 Fukuro 41 M National 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 National Route 3 80.2 80.7 Origuchi 5 M 83.1 Akasegawa signal box 19 M National 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 original line 95.8 Shin-Shirinasi tunnel 413 m National Route 3 99.6 Nishikata 7 M 100.4 Nishikata tunnel 129 m National Route 3 101.6 102.3 Satsuma-Taki 9 M 102.4 103.0 Sayama tunnel 207 m 107.3 Kusamichi 3 M National Route 3 111.4 113.7 Kami-Sendai 7 M 115.0 116.0 Sendai River 244 m 116.9 Sendai 9 M Kagoshima Main Line │ Kyūshū Shinkansen km elev (M) or length (m) in metres

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 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.

Although the line is electrified and used by electric freight trains, due to budgetary limitations passenger service is provided by diesel railcars.

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.

The Sendai–Yatsushiro section was built by the (then) Japanese Imperial Railway and opened between 1922 and 1927, at which time this route replaced the Hisatsu Line to become the southern part of the Kagoshima Main Line.

The Yunoura–Tsunagi section was duplicated between 1966 and 1968. CTC signalling was commissioned from Yatsushiro–Sendai in 1969/70, and the line was electrified in 1970.

In 2004, following the opening of the Kagoshima–Shin Yatsushiro section of the Kyushu Shinkansen, operation of the section was transferred under the Third Sector arrangements.

Minamata Station: The first section of the Yamano line was opened from Kurino (on the Hisatsu Line) 24 km to Yamano in 1921. The 14 km Minamata–Kugino section opened in 1934, and the 10 km Yamato–Satsuma section the following year. In 1937 the 8 km Kugino–Satsuma section, including the Okawa spiral opened. Freight services ceased in 1986, and the line closed in 1988.

JR Freight operates Hisatsu Orange Railway Line as a Category-2 operator.

• Length: 116.9 km
• Gauge: 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
• Number of Stations: 28
• Track
  • Double: between Yunoura and Tsunagi
  • Single: the rest of the line
• Electrification: 20 kV AC, 60 Hz

• ● = Trains stop
• | = Trains pass
• The stations are going to be stopped by all trains from 13 March 2021.^[1]

Hisatsu Orange Railway's Orange 18 Free Kippu, priced at 2100 yen, is sold to customers carrying JR's corresponding Seishun 18 Kippu.

• List of railway lines in Japan

• Route diagram: Nippon Rettō – Tetsudō-kigen (にっぽん列島 – 鉄道紀元) p. 15–17, Vol. 14, October 25, 2006 – JTB Publishing Inc. [1]

• Official website (in Japanese)