Kita-Rias Line

The route was planned as a single line from Kuji via Omoto to Miyako, but its two ends first opened as separate Japanese National Railways (JNR) lines. JNR opened the Miyako Line from Miyako to Tarō, a distance of 12.8 km, on 27 February 1972, and the Kuji Line from Kuji to Fudai, 26.0 km, on 20 July 1975. The central Tarō–Fudai gap remained under construction, leaving the two ends of the route disconnected for years.

Under the JNR Reconstruction Act, both lines were slated for closure in the early 1980s. Rather than abandon them, a group led by Iwate Prefecture established the Sanriku Railway in 1981 as the country's first 'third-sector' (joint public-private) railway company. On 1 April 1984 the company opened the whole Miyako–Kuji route as the Kita-Rias Line: the former JNR Miyako and Kuji sections were transferred to Santetsu and the newly built Tarō–Fudai section, 32.2 km long, opened at last, completing the line. The Masaki and Omoto tunnels, the two longest on the line, both opened with it that year.

For a quarter of a century the line carried local passengers along the coast. On 11 March 2011 the Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami it generated struck the Sanriku coast. The entire line was suspended; across Sanriku Railway's two lines damage was recorded at roughly 300 locations, including station buildings and bridges, and the tsunami washed away some 5.8 km of track.

The Kita-Rias Line then became a symbol of hope for the region's recovery, because Santetsu restored service in stages beginning only days after the disaster. On 16 March 2011, just five days after the earthquake, the Rikuchū-Noda–Kuji section reopened, run as free 'recovery-support' trains; Miyako–Tarō followed on 20 March and Tarō–Omoto on 29 March.

Reopening the worst-damaged central stretch took years of reconstruction. On 1 April 2012 the Tanohata–Rikuchū-Noda section returned to service, leaving Shimanokoshi as the only station still closed. Full restoration came on 6 April 2014, when the Omoto–Tanohata section reopened and the Kita-Rias Line — and with it the whole Sanriku Railway network — was once again running end to end.

The Kamaishi–Miyako section of the JR East Yamada Line, which lay between the Kita-Rias and Minami-Rias lines, had also been severed by the tsunami; JR East carried out the restoration work and then transferred it to Sanriku Railway. On 23 March 2019 that transfer took effect, linking the Kita-Rias Line at Miyako with the Minami-Rias Line at Kamaishi to form a single continuous Rias Line of 163.0 km and 41 stations, from Sakari in Ōfunato to Kuji. The North Rias name endures as the Miyako–Kuji administrative section of that unified line, and it is the name carried on this map.

18 stations tracked on the map, listed alphabetically. Select any to read its page.

• Fudai普代
• Horinai堀内
• Ichinowatari一の渡
• Iwaizumiomoto岩泉小本
• Kuji (Iwate)久慈
• Miyako宮古
• Nodatamagawa野田玉川
• Rikuchunoda陸中野田
• Rikuchuube陸中宇部
• Sabane佐羽根
• Settai摂待
• Shimanokoshi島越
• Shin-Taro新田老
• Shirai-Kaigan白井海岸
• Tanohata田野畑
• Tarou田老
• Tofugaurakaigan十府ヶ浦海岸
• Yamaguchi-Danchi山口団地

• 197227 February: JNR opens the Miyako Line from Miyako to Tarō (12.8 km), the first part of what would become the line.
• 197520 July: JNR opens the Kuji Line from Kuji to Fudai (26.0 km); the central Tarō–Fudai gap is still under construction.
• 1981A group led by Iwate Prefecture establishes the Sanriku Railway, Japan's first third-sector railway company, to take over the JNR lines slated for closure.
• 19841 April: Sanriku Railway opens the whole Miyako–Kuji route (71.0 km) as the Kita-Rias Line — the former JNR Miyako and Kuji sections are transferred and the new Tarō–Fudai section (32.2 km) opens, completing the line; the Masaki (6,532 m) and Omoto (5,174 m) tunnels open with it.
• 201111 March: the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami suspend the entire line; across Santetsu's two lines damage occurs at roughly 300 locations and about 5.8 km of track is washed away.
• 201116 March: only five days after the disaster, the Rikuchū-Noda–Kuji section reopens, run as free 'recovery-support' trains.
• 201120 March: the Miyako–Tarō section reopens; 29 March: the Tarō–Omoto section reopens, both as free recovery-support trains.
• 20121 April: the Tanohata–Rikuchū-Noda section reopens, leaving Shimanokoshi as the only station still closed.
• 20146 April: the Omoto–Tanohata section reopens, fully restoring the Kita-Rias Line and the whole Sanriku Railway network.
• 201923 March: the JR East Yamada Line section from Kamaishi to Miyako is transferred to Sanriku Railway, joining the Kita-Rias and Minami-Rias lines into a single continuous Rias Line.
• 2019The unified Rias Line runs 163.0 km from Sakari (Ōfunato) to Kuji with 41 stations; the Kita-Rias Line endures as its Miyako–Kuji administrative section.
• 201923 March: Sanriku Railway adopts Rias Line as the name used in passenger information for the whole route, including the 71 km Kita-Rias Line.