Rias Line

The line's two original parts both began as Japanese National Railways (JNR) lines. In the south, the JNR Sakari Line opened from Sakari to Ryōri (9.1 km) on 1 March 1970 and was extended to Yoshihama (12.5 km) on 1 July 1973. In the north, the JNR Miyako Line opened from Miyako to Tarō (12.8 km) on 27 February 1972 and the JNR Kuji Line from Kuji to Fudai (26.0 km) on 20 July 1975. The central stretch linking the two ends — Kamaishi to Miyako — was a separate corridor entirely: it had opened in stages in the 1930s as part of the Railway Ministry's Yamada Line and remained a JNR, and later JR East, route.

In the early 1980s these coastal lines were slated for closure. Rather than abandon them, Iwate Prefecture took the lead in establishing the Sanriku Railway in 1981. Special cases such as port freight railways aside, it was the country's first third-sector (joint public-private) railway company. On 1 April 1984 Santetsu opened both of its lines at once. In the south it opened the South Rias Line from Sakari to Kamaishi (36.6 km): the former JNR Sakari Line was transferred and the new Yoshihama–Kamaishi section (15.0 km) opened to complete it. In the north it opened the North Rias Line from Miyako to Kuji (71.0 km), with the new Tarō–Fudai section (32.2 km) completing the route the JNR Miyako and Kuji lines had begun.

On 11 March 2011 the Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami it generated heavily damaged both lines. The entire Sanriku Railway network was suspended; across the two lines damage was recorded at roughly 300 locations, including station buildings and bridges, and the tsunami washed away stretches of track. The Kamaishi–Miyako section of JR East's Yamada Line, which lay between the two, was severed as well.

Sanriku Railway became a symbol of hope for the region's recovery, restoring service in stages from only days after the disaster. On the North Rias side the Rikuchū-Noda–Kuji section reopened on 16 March 2011, just five days after the earthquake, run as free 'recovery-support' trains; Miyako–Tarō followed on 20 March and Tarō–Omoto on 29 March, and after the Tanohata–Rikuchū-Noda section returned on 1 April 2012, the last gap, Omoto–Tanohata, reopened on 6 April 2014. On the South Rias side the Sakari–Yoshihama section (21.6 km) reopened on 3 April 2013 and the Yoshihama–Kamaishi section (15.0 km) on 5 April 2014. With those reopenings, full restoration of both of Santetsu's original lines was completed in April 2014.

That still left the two lines as separate pieces, divided by the gap at Kamaishi–Miyako where the tsunami-severed Yamada Line had run. JR East rebuilt that section and arranged to transfer it to Sanriku Railway. On 23 March 2019 the Kamaishi–Miyako section (55.4 km) was reopened and handed over, and with it the North Rias Line, the transferred ex-Yamada section, and the South Rias Line were knitted together into a single continuous route branded the Rias Line. Regular services on the Kamaishi–Miyako section began the next day, 24 March 2019.

The unified Rias Line now runs the full 163.0 km from Sakari to Kuji, its three constituent parts surviving as operating sections within the whole: Sakari–Kamaishi (the South Rias Line, 36.6 km), Kamaishi–Miyako (the former Yamada Line, 55.4 km) and Miyako–Kuji (the North Rias Line, 71.0 km). Most trains run within a single section, and only a few run the entire line. The line is worked by diesel railcars, and the Sanriku coast it follows is known for its rias.

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

• Haraigawa払川
• Iwate-Funakoshi岩手船越
• Kamaishi釜石
• Kirikiri吉里吉里
• Miyako宮古
• Namiita-Kaigan浪板海岸
• Orikasa織笠
• Otsuchi大槌
• Rikuchu-Yamada陸中山田
• Ryoishi両石
• Sokei磯鶏
• Toyomane豊間根
• Tsugaruishi津軽石
• Unosumai鵜住居
• Yagisawa Miyakotandai八木沢・宮古短大

• 19701 March: JNR opens the Sakari Line from Sakari to Ryōri (9.1 km), the first part of what becomes the South Rias Line.
• 197227 February: JNR opens the Miyako Line from Miyako to Tarō (12.8 km), the first part of what becomes the North Rias Line.
• 19731 July: the JNR Sakari Line is extended from Ryōri to Yoshihama (12.5 km).
• 197520 July: JNR opens the Kuji Line from Kuji to Fudai (26.0 km); the central Tarō–Fudai gap is not yet open.
• 1981Iwate Prefecture takes the lead in establishing the Sanriku Railway to take over the JNR lines slated for closure. Special cases such as port freight railways aside, it is the first third-sector railway company in Japan.
• 19841 April: Sanriku Railway opens the South Rias Line, Sakari–Kamaishi (36.6 km) — the former JNR Sakari Line is transferred and the new Yoshihama–Kamaishi section (15.0 km) opens.
• 19841 April: Sanriku Railway also opens the North Rias Line, Miyako–Kuji (71.0 km) — the former JNR Miyako and Kuji sections are transferred and the new Tarō–Fudai section (32.2 km) completes the route.
• 201111 March: the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami suspend the entire Sanriku Railway network; across the two lines damage occurs at about 300 locations and stretches of track are washed away. The Kamaishi–Miyako section of JR East's Yamada Line, which lies between the two lines, is also severed.
• 201116 March: only five days after the disaster, the North Rias section Rikuchū-Noda–Kuji reopens as free 'recovery-support' trains; Miyako–Tarō follows on 20 March and Tarō–Omoto on 29 March.
• 20121 April: the North Rias section Tanohata–Rikuchū-Noda reopens, leaving Omoto–Tanohata as the last closed section of the North Rias Line.
• 20133 April: the South Rias section Sakari–Yoshihama (21.6 km) reopens.
• 2014April: full restoration of both original lines is completed — the North Rias section Omoto–Tanohata reopens on 6 April and the South Rias section Yoshihama–Kamaishi (15.0 km) on 5 April.
• 201923 March: the rebuilt Yamada Line section Kamaishi–Miyako (55.4 km) is reopened and transferred from JR East to Sanriku Railway, joining the North Rias, ex-Yamada and South Rias sections into one continuous Rias Line.
• 201924 March: operation as the unified Rias Line begins and regular services start on Kamaishi–Miyako; the line runs 163.0 km from Sakari to Kuji, comprising Sakari–Kamaishi (South Rias, 36.6 km), Kamaishi–Miyako (ex-Yamada, 55.4 km) and Miyako–Kuji (North Rias, 71.0 km).