Hokkaido Railway Company

Hokkaido Railway Company
北海道旅客鉄道株式会社

Type	Corporation
Industry	Private railroad
Predecessor(s)	Japan 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(s)	Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (100%)
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 thus often known as 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 km of track, as well as a ferry service to Aomori. Since then, that number has dwindled to just below 2,500 km, 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 The ferry service has also been replaced by the Seikan Tunnel.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

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

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 - 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

• Esashi Line
  • Goryōkaku - Kikonai - Esashi (79.9 km (49.65 mi))
• 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-Aomori - Sapporo)

External links

• JR Hokkaido - Official site (Japanese)
• JR Hokkaido - Official site (English)