Wakasa Railway Wakasa Line

Wakasa Line
Wakasa Railway "Sakura 1" train
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	Tottori Prefecture
Termini	Kōge Wakasa
Stations	9
Operation
Opened	20 January 1930
Operator(s)	Wakasa Railway Company
Technical
Track length	19.2 km (11.9 mi)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Minimum radius	300 m
Electrification	None
Operating speed	65 km/h (40 mph)

The Wakasa Line (若桜線, Wakasa-sen) is a Japanese railway line in Tottori Prefecture operated by the third-sector operating company Wakasa Railway (若桜鉄道, Wakasa Tetsudō). The line connects Kōge Station in Yazu with Wakasa Station in Wakasa. It is the only railway line operated by the Wakasa Railway. The third-sector company took over operations of the former West Japan Railway Company (JR West) line in 1987.

The line is operated by Wakasa Railway Co., Ltd. Although the company originally owned the railway line, on April 1, 2009, the ownership was transferred to the municipalities (towns) where the line exists and the company became a pure operator of the railway as a Category 2 Railway Operator. The town of Yazu owns 16.5 km of track and the town of Wakasa owns 2.7 km of track as Category 3 Railway Operators.

From the start of third-sector operations in 1987, the line was operated using a fleet of four WT2500 series diesel cars. Three of these were subsequently refurbished, becoming WT3000 series, and a new stainless steel WT3300 series diesel car, WT3301, was also added to the fleet.

WT3000 series car 3003 Sakura 3 in August 2009

WT3300 series car 3301 in August 2009

The railway owns a former JNR Class DD16 diesel locomotive, number DD16 7, previously used at the Railway Technical Research Institute in Kokubunji, Tokyo, and former JNR Class C12 2-6-2T steam locomotive number C12 167.

Class DD16 diesel locomotive DD16 7 in April 2013

Class C12 steam locomotive C12 167 in April 2013