Mooka Line
Railway line in Ibaraki & Tochigi Prefectures, Japan
The Mooka Line (真岡線, Mo-oka-sen) is a Japanese railway line connecting Shimodate Station, in Chikusei, Ibaraki and Motegi Station in Motegi, Tochigi. It is the only railway line operated by the Moka Railway (真岡鐵道, Moka Tetsudō). The third-sector company took over the former JR East line in 1988. In addition to regular diesel local trains, the line also operates the SL Moka steam service for tourists using a C12 class steam locomotive.
The railway and its operating company are also spelled Mooka Line and Moka Railway, respectively.
01History
- 1 April 1912: 16.5 km Moka Light Railway (真岡軽便線) line opens between Shimodate and Moka.
- 15 December 1920: Entire line opened to Motegi (route length of 42.0 km). The proposed extension to Nagakura was not constructed.
- 2 September 1922: Line renamed Moka Line.
- 1 November 1982: Freight services discontinued.
- 11 September 1984: Line closure approved.
- 11 April 1988: JR line closes and becomes Moka Railway Moka Line. Route length is reduced to 41.9 km.
- 27 March 1994: SL Moka steam train operation starts.
- 30 July 2020: JNR Class C11 steam locomotive #325 moved to Tobu Railway.
02Rolling stock
(As of October 2022)
- Moka 14 diesel railcars x9
- DE10 Class diesel locomotive #1535
- JNR Class C12 steam locomotive #66
- OHa & OHaFu coaches x3
03Stations
- The SL Moka stops at stations marked with "●" and passes stations marked "｜".
- To take the SL Moka, passengers must purchase the SL ticket (500 yen) via Moka Railways SL Guide and reserve their seats at least a day in advance.
- There is "SL・DL Rapid" service only on days SL Moka is operated. And, boarding on this service costs only fares.
| Station | Japanese | Distance (km) | SL Moka | SL・DL Rapid | Transfers | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shimodate | 下館 | 0.0 | ● | ● | East Japan Railway Company (JR East): ■ Mito Line Kantō Railway: ■ Jōsō Line |
Chikusei | Ibaraki |
| Shimodate-Nikōmae | 下館二高前 | 2.2 | ｜ | ↓ | |||
| Orimoto | 折本 | 4.6 | ● | ● | |||
| Higuchi | ひぐち | 6.5 | ｜ | ↓ | |||
| Kugeta | 久下田 | 8.5 | ● | ● | Moka | Tochigi | |
| Terauchi | 寺内 | 12.6 | ● | ↓ | |||
| Moka | 真岡 | 16.4 | ● | ● | |||
| Kitamōka | 北真岡 | 18.0 | ｜ | ||||
| Nishidai | 西田井 | 21.2 | ● | ||||
| Kitayama | 北山 | 22.9 | ｜ | ||||
| Mashiko | 益子 | 25.1 | ● | Mashiko, Haga District | |||
| Nanai | 七井 | 28.4 | ● | ||||
| Tatara | 多田羅 | 31.2 | ● | Ichikai, Haga District | |||
| Ichihana | 市塙 | 34.3 | ● | ||||
| Sasaharada | 笹原田 | 38.1 | ｜ | ||||
| Ten'yaba | 天矢場 | 39.2 | ｜ | Motegi, Haga District | |||
| Motegi | 茂木 | 41.9 | ● | ||||
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Mooka Line”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Mashiko Station.jpg by S-yamada at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
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