The operated by the Kantō Railway

Kanto Railway

is a private Japanese railway company, which operates two unconnected lines in Ibaraki prefecture. The company is a subsidiary of Keisei Electric Railway....

 in Ibaraki Prefecture

Ibaraki Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It is a diesel operated line which runs from Sanuki

Sanuki Station

is a train station located in Ryūgasaki, Ibaraki-Jōban Line:-Ryūgasaki Line:-Adjacent stations:...

, connecting with the Jōban Line

Joban Line

The is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company . It begins at Nippori Station in Taitō, Tokyo and follows the Pacific coasts of Chiba, Ibaraki, and Fukushima Prefectures before the line officially ends at Iwanuma Station in Iwanuma, Miyagi...

, to Ryūgasaki

Ryūgasaki Station

is a train station in Ryūgasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.- Adjacent stations :...

, with one intermediate station at Ireji

Ireji Station

is a train station in Ryūgasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.- Adjacent stations :...

.

History

The line first opened on 14 August 1900 as a gauge steam-operated line. The line was regauged

Gauge conversion

In rail transport, gauge conversion is the process of converting a railway from one rail gauge to another, through the alteration of the railway tracks...

to in July 1915. The line switched to driver-only-operation in August 1971, becoming the first driver-only-operation line in Japan.