Mooka Line

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 Mooka Railway (真岡鐵道, Mooka 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 Mooka steam service for tourists using a C12 class steam locomotive.

Mooka Line 真岡線
Mooka 14 DMU at Mashiko Station, April 2006
Overview
Owner	Mooka Railway
Locale	Ibaraki, Tochigi prefectures
Termini	Shimodate Motegi
Stations	17[1]
Website	https://www.moka-railway.co.jp/
Service
Type	Heavy rail
History
Opened	1912
Technical
Line length	41.9 km (26.04 mi)[1]
Track gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Electrification	None

History

• 1 April 1912: 16.5 km Mooka Light Railway (真岡軽便線) line opens between Shimodate and Mooka.
• 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 Mooka Line.
• 1 November 1982: Freight services discontinued.
• 11 September 1984: Line closure approved.
• 11 April 1988: JR line closes and becomes Mooka Railway Mooka Line. Route length is reduced to 41.9 km.
• 27 March 1994: SL Mooka steam train operation starts.
• 30 July 2020: JNR Class C11 steam locomotive #325 moved to Tobu Railway. ^[2]

Rolling stock

(As of October 2022)^[1]

• Mooka 14 diesel railcars x9
• DE10 Class diesel locomotive #1535^[3]
• JNR Class C12 steam locomotive #66
• OHa & OHaFu coaches x3

Stations

• The SL Mooka stops at stations marked with "●" and passes stations marked "｜".
• To take the SL Mooka, passengers must purchase the SL ticket (500 yen) via Mooka Railways SL Guide and reserve their seats at least a day in advance.
• There is "SL・DL Rapid" service only on days SL Mooka is operated. And, boarding on this service costs only fares.^[4]

Station	Japanese	Distance (km)	SL Mooka	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	●	●		Mooka	Tochigi
Terauchi	寺内	12.6	●	↓
Mooka	真岡	16.4	●	●
Kita-Mooka	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	●

See also

• List of railway companies in Japan
• List of railway lines in Japan

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

1. Mooka Railway company overview Archived 2008-12-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 8 October 2008. (in Japanese)
2. "真岡鐵道で運行していたSL(C11形325号機)を2020年7月30日に譲受します!" (PDF). Tobu News Release. July 30, 2020. p. 1. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
3. "全国の現役機関車をめぐって" Japan Railfan Magazine, October 2008 issue, p.133
4. Holidays timetable from/to Shimodate Station around 15 p.m. and 16 p.m.