The is an airport rail link

Airport rail link

An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city; by mainline- or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover or light rail...

 service connecting Sendai Airport

Sendai Airport

is an airport located in Natori, Miyagi, south southeast of Sendai Station, Sendai, Japan.-History:In 1940, the Imperial Japanese Army built Sendai Airport in order to use it for the Kumakaya Army Flight School, Masda Branch School Trainee Training Center. It was called by several names: Natory...

 to Sendai, Miyagi

Miyagi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the...

, 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...

. Rail service began on March 18, 2007. The line was severely damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...

 and service was suspended indefinitely from 11 March 2011, not reopening until 1 October, nearly 7 months later.

Data

The third-sector

Voluntary sector

The voluntary sector or community sector is the sphere of social activity undertaken by organizations that are for non-profit and non-governmental. This sector is also called the third sector, in reference to the public sector and the private sector...

 Sendai Airport Transit

Sendai Airport Transit

is a third sector company in charge of constructing and running the Sendai Airport Line train service between Sendai Airport Station and Natori Station in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.-History:...

 Co., Ltd. (SAT) started construction of the line in 2002. The construction cost is expected to reach 34.9 billion yen

Japanese yen

The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...

, and it may take as long as thirty years before the railway turns a profit.

• Route: Natori Station
  Natori Station
  Natori Station is a JR East railway station located in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.-History:*October 11, 1888: Station begins operation as .*May 25, 1963: Station name is changed to Natori Station....
  
   – Sendai Airport Station
  Sendai Airport Station
  is a railway station located in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The terminus station serves two tracks, each capable of holding 6-car trains.-Adjacent stations:...
  
  
• Length: 7.1 km
• Gauge
  Rail gauge
  Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
  
  :
• Number of stations: 4, including terminals
• Multiple-track sections: Single-track except for passing loop at Mitazono Station
• Electrification: 20,000 V AC
• Block system: Special automatic blocking (planned)
• Rolling stock: JR E721-500
  E721 series
  The is an electric multiple unit train type operated by East Japan Railway Company on services in the Sendai area of Japan since 2006.-Operations:* Tōhoku Main Line* Jōban Line* Senzan Line* Sendai Airport Line...
  
   and SAT721 series 2-car EMUs

Stations

• Natori Station
  Natori Station
  Natori Station is a JR East railway station located in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.-History:*October 11, 1888: Station begins operation as .*May 25, 1963: Station name is changed to Natori Station....
  
  
• Morisekinoshita Station
  Morisekinoshita Station
  is a railway station located in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The station consists of an island platform currently serving one bi-directional track, but with provision for a second track to be installed at a later date.-Adjacent stations:...
  
  
• Mitazono Station
  Mitazono Station
  is a railway station located in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. This station consists of an island platform serving two tracks, allowing trains to pass on the otherwise single line. Both tracks are bi-directional, with platform 2 used only when trains cross here.-Adjacent stations:...
  
  
• Sendai Airport Station
  Sendai Airport Station
  is a railway station located in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The terminus station serves two tracks, each capable of holding 6-car trains.-Adjacent stations:...
  
  

Rolling stock

SAT has ordered six 2-car SAT721 trainsets which are used in conjunction with similar design JR E721-500 series sets. The stainless-steel bodied trains feature barrier-free design and have a top speed of 120 km/h. LED indicators show the stations and destination. Train interior and exterior announcements are in given in Japanese and English.

Connections

From Natori Station

Natori Station

Natori Station is a JR East railway station located in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.-History:*October 11, 1888: Station begins operation as .*May 25, 1963: Station name is changed to Natori Station....

, service extends via the Tōhoku Main Line tracks to Sendai Station

Sendai Station (Miyagi)

is the major railway hub of the Tōhoku region in Japan, serving more passengers than any station outside the Greater Tokyo Area. It is a stop for all Akita and Tōhoku Shinkansen trains, the eastern terminus for the Senzan Line, and major stop on both the Tōhoku Main Line and Senseki Line...

, a stop for the Tōhoku Shinkansen

Tohoku Shinkansen

The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture for a total length of 674 km, Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main island Honshu. It has two spur lines, Yamagata...

 express trains located in central Sendai. From Sendai Station, it takes 17 minutes (rapid service) or 25 minutes (local service) to get to the airport. The railway also has advertised that Sendai Airport can be reached from neighboring cities such as Fukushima

Fukushima, Fukushima

is the capital city of Fukushima Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region of Japan. As of May 2011 the city has an estimated population of 290,064 and an area of 746.43 km².It lies about 250 km north of Tokyo and 80 km south of Sendai.-History:...

 and Ichinoseki

Ichinoseki, Iwate

is a city located towards the south of Iwate Prefecture, Japan and situated on the Iwai River. After Morioka and Ōshū, it is the third largest city in the prefecture.-Description:...

in under one hour.

Trains can be up to six cars in length. Besides being faster than existing bus services from the city, with a fare of 400 yen from Natori Station, or 630 yen from Sendai Station, the rail service is also less expensive.

External links

• Sendai Airport Transit website
• SAT from Sendai airport to Sendai Stn. (how-to movies on transportation in Sendai)
• SAT from Sendai Stn. to Sendai airport (how-to movies on transportation in Sendai)