| Caption: | A pair of KiHa 3710 diesel railcars in March 2010 |
| Character: | Rural and quiet |
| Color: | FF8C00 |
| Depot: | Nakaminato |
| Electrification: | None |
| Linelength: | 14.3km (08.9miles) |
| Locale: | Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Map State: | collapsed |
| Minradius: | 200 m |
| Minato Line | |
| Native Name: | 湊線 |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Open: | 1913 |
| Operator: | Hitachinaka Seaside Railway |
| Owner: | Hitachinaka Seaside Railway |
| Speed: | 60kph |
| Status: | In operation |
| Stations: | 11 |
| Stock: | KiHa 11 series, KiHa 20 series, KiHa 37 series, MiKi 300 series DMU |
| Tracks: | Single |
| Website: | http://www.hitachinaka-rail.co.jp/ |
The is a 14.3 km Japanese railway line operated by the third-sector railway operator between and, all within Hitachinaka, Ibaraki. It is the only railway line operated by the Hitachinaka Seaside Railway. The line was formerly operated by Ibaraki Kōtsū until 2008.
Train services are normally formed of single-car diesel units, increased to two-car formations during the morning peak.
| Name | Between (km) | Distance (km) | Connections | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese: 勝田 | style="text-align:center;" | - | 0.0 | Jōban Line | Hitachinaka, Ibaraki | |
| Japanese: 工機前 | 0.6 | 0.6 | ||||
| Japanese: 金上 | 1.2 | 1.8 | ||||
| Japanese: 中根 | 3.0 | 4.8 | ||||
| Japanese: 高田の鉄橋 | 2.3 | 7.1 | ||||
| Japanese: 那珂湊 | 1.1 | 8.2 | ||||
| Japanese: 殿山 | 1.4 | 9.6 | ||||
| Japanese: 平磯 | 1.2 | 10.8 | ||||
| Japanese: 美乃浜学園 | 1.8 | 12.6 | ||||
| Japanese: 磯崎 | 0.7 | 13.3 | ||||
| Japanese: 阿字ヶ浦 | 1.0 | 14.3 | ||||
| TBA (Scheduled to open in the spring of 2024) | TBA | style="text-align:right;" | --- | style="text-align:right;" | --- | |
| TBA (Scheduled to open in the spring of 2024) | TBA | style="text-align:right;" | --- | 17.4 | ||
, the railway operates a fleet of eight single-car diesel railcars, as follows.[1]
In April 2015, three former JR Central KiHa 11 diesel cars, KiHa 11-123/203/204, were sold to the Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway,[2] becoming KiHa, Kiha, and KiHa respectively.[1] Two more KiHa 11-200 series cars, formerly owned by Tokai Transport Service Company (TKJ) in Aichi Prefecture, were purchased by the Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway in 2015 and 2016.[3] Of these, KiHa 11-201 was moved by road to the Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway in September 2015,[4] and Kiha 11-202 was moved in March 2016.[5]
One of them is scheduled to be converted to a sightseeing train.
KiHa 2004 was withdrawn from service in December 2015, and sold to the Heisei Chikuhō Railway in Kyushu in 2016.[7]
The was established on 18 November 1907, and the line was opened from Katsuta to Nakaminato on 25 December 1913, using steam haulage.[8] The entire line to Ajigaura was completed on 17 July 1928.[8] From 1 August 1944, the line was taken over by, becoming the Ibaraki Kōtsū Minato Line.[8]
The Minato Line was the only railway line operated by Ibaraki Kōtsū, whose main business was bus transport. Because of its severe financial situation, Ibaraki Kōtsū decided to withdraw from railway operation. In September 2007, Ibaraki Kōtsū and the city of Hitachinaka agreed to transfer the line to a third-sector (funded jointly by local government and private sector) company, later incorporated as Hitachinaka Seaside Railway. From 1 April 2008, the line became the Hitachinaka Seaside Railway Minato Line.[8]
From 6 April 2010, all train services became one-man operation.[8]
The line was damaged by the 11 March 2011 Great East Japan earthquake, but the entire line was reopened for business from 23 July of the same year.[8]
A new station which will be located near Hitachi Seaside Park is going to open and be extended Minato Line to the station in 2024.[9] [10]