The is a 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...

ese freight only railway line between Harutori and Shireto, all within Kushiro

Kushiro, Hokkaido

is a city located in Kushiro Subprefecture, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is the capital city of Kushiro Subprefecture, as well as the most populous city in eastern Hokkaidō....

, Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

. This is the only railway line of . The line is the only private railway

Private railway

A private railroad is a railroad run by a private corporation, as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector.-Japan:In Japan, refers to a railway line owned and operated by private sector. Although Japan Railways Group companies are private entities, they are not considered private railways...

 in Hokkaidō, as well as the only surviving colliery

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 railway in Japan. The first section of the line opened in 1925. It also had a passenger service until 1966. The line transports coals from the mine to Port of Kushiro.

Basic data

• Distance: 4.0 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...
  
  : 1,067 mm
• Stations: 2
• Track: single
• Traction: internal combustion (diesel)

External links

Fascinating Taiheiyō Coal Services and Transportation, from Kawasaki neighborhood freight circumstances, unofficial fansite.