Hitachinaka Seaside Railway

Minato Line
A pair of KiHa 3710 diesel railcars in March 2010
Overview
Native name	湊線
Locale	Ibaraki Prefecture
Termini	Katsuta Ajigaura
Stations	9
Operation
Opened	1913
Owner	Hitachinaka Seaside Railway
Depot(s)	Nakaminato
Technical
Line length	14.3 km (8.9 mi)
Number of tracks	Single
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Minimum radius	200 m
Electrification	None
Operating speed	60 km/h (35 mph)

The Minato Line (湊線^?, Minato-sen) is a 14.3 km Japanese railway line operated by the third-sector railway operator Hitachinaka Seaside Railway (ひたちなか海浜鉄道^?, Hitachinaka Kaihin Tetsudō) between Katsuta and Ajigaura, 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.

Takadano-tekkyō Station opened on 1 October 2014, the first new station on the line in 52 years, after the opening of Nikkōmae in April 1962.

As of 1 April 2016^[update], the railway operates a fleet of eight single-car diesel railcars, as follows.

KiHa 11-6 (former TKJ KiHa 11-203) in service in February 2016

Former TKJ KiHa 11-201 on the Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway in February 2016

KiHa 205 in May 2011

MiKi 300-103 in October 2009

KiHa 3710-01 in Ibaraki Kotsu livery in November 2009

KiHa 37100-03

In April 2015, three former JR Central KiHa 11 diesel cars, KiHa 11-123/203/204, were sold to the Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway, becoming KiHa 11-5, Kiha 11-6, and KiHa 11-7 respectively. 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. Of these, KiHa 11-201 was moved by road to the Hitachinaka Kaihin Railway in September 2015, and Kiha 11-202 was moved in March 2016.