Shinano Railway

Native name	しなの鉄道
Company type	Third sector
Genre	Rail transport
Founded	May 1, 1996
Headquarters	Ueda, Nagano , Japan
Area served	Nagano Prefecture
Key people	Takeharu Fujii (President)
Services	Passenger railway
Owner	Nagano Prefecture (73.64%) Nagano City (3.88%) Governments of Ueda, Komoro, Chikuma, Saku, Tōmi, Karuizawa, Miyota, Sakaki (totalling 12.98%) Hachijūni Bank (2.69%) Others (totalling 6.81%)
Number of employees	251 (As of 1 March 2015[update])
Website	www.shinanorailway.co.jp

The Shinano Railway Co., Ltd. (しなの鉄道株式会社, Shinano Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese third-sector railway operating company established in 1996 to operate passenger railway services on the section of the JR East Shinetsu Main Line within Nagano Prefecture when it was separated from the JR East network in October 1997, coinciding with the opening of the Nagano Shinkansen (Hokuriku Shinkansen) from Takasaki to Nagano. The company was founded on May 1, 1996, and has its headquarters in Ueda, Nagano.^[1]

Shareholders

Shares in the company are owned by Nagano Prefecture, the cities of Nagano, Ueda, Komoro, Chikuma, Saku and Tōmi, the towns of Karuizawa, Miyota, Sakaki, Shinano, and Iizuna and private-sector businesses.^[1]

Lines

• Shinano Railway Line (65.1 km, Karuizawa - Shinonoi)
• Kita-Shinano Line (37.3 km, Nagano - Myōkō-Kōgen)

On October 1, 1997, the company took over control of local passenger operations on the 65.1 km section of the JR East Shinetsu Main Line between Karuizawa and Shinonoi. This section is called the Shinano Railway Line.

From March 14, 2015, the company took over control of local passenger operations on the 37.3 km section of the JR East Shinetsu Main Line between Nagano and Myōkō-Kōgen.^[2] This section is called the Kita-Shinano Line.^[2]

History

The company was founded on May 1, 1996, and started railway business on the Shinano Railway Line on October 1, 1997.^[1]