citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message hokkaido railway company native name type corporation industry private railway predecessor japanese national railways jnr founded april 1 1987 privatization of jnr headquarters ch ku sapporo hokkaido japan area served hokkaido products kitaca a rechargeable contactless smart card services passenger rail freight services intercity bus owner japan railway construction transport and technology agency 100 % number of employees 7 970 as of april 1 2007 subsidiaries jr hokkaido bus website www2.jrhokkaido.co.jp global index.html the hokkaido railway company hokkaid ryokaku tetsud kabushiki gaisha is one of the constituent companies of japan railways group jr group and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of jr hokkaido jr jei ru hokkaid . it operates intercity rail services in hokkaido japan . the company introduced kitaca a smart card ticketing system from autumn 2008 . at the time of its privatization in 1987 jr hokkaido operated 21 railway lines totalling 3 176.6 kilometres 1 973.8 mi of narrow gauge 1 067 mm 3 ft 6 in track as well as a ferry service to aomori . since then that number has dwindled to just below 2 500 kilometres 1 600 mi as unprofitable lines have been shut down or spun off in the case of the hokkaid chihoku k gen railway . the ferry service has also been replaced by the seikan tunnel . hokkaido railway s headquarters are in ch ku sapporo . 1 contents 1 history 2 headquarters and branch offices 3 lines and key stations 3.1 shinkansen 3.2 trunk lines 3.3 other lines 3.4 under construction 3.5 former lines 3.6 former jnr lines closed before jr hokkaido formation 4 references 5 external links history edit this section needs expansion . you can help by adding to it . february 2010 april 1 1987 upon the privatization of the japanese national railways jnr the hokkaido railway company was formed october 25 2008 kitaca contactless smart card introduced in sapporo area march 26 2016 first hokkaido shinkansen service between shin aomori and shin hakodate hokuto launched . headquarters and branch offices edit headquarters building headquarters 1 1 15 kita 11 j nishi ch ku sapporo branch offices asahikawa branch office 6 4152 2 miyashita d ri asahikawa hakodate branch office 12 5 wakamatsu ch hakodate kushiro branch office 5 14 kita d ri kushiro lines and key stations edit kiha 283 series dmu super hokuto 789 1000 series emu super kamui shinkansen edit hokkaido shinkansen shin aomori shin hakodate hokuto 148.9 km 92.52 mi trunk lines edit chitose line shiroishi numanohata 60.2 km 37.41 mi minami chitose new chitose airport 2.6 km 1.62 mi hakodate main line 1 hakodate numa k en otaru sapporo asahikawa 423.1 km 262.90 mi nanae oshima sawara mori 35.3 km 21.93 mi muroran main line oshamanbe higashi muroran oiwake iwamizawa 211.0 km 131.11 mi higashi muroran muroran 7.0 km 4.35 mi nemuro main line takikawa obihiro nemuro 443.8 km 275.76 mi sekish line minami chitose shintoku 132.4 km 82.27 mi shin y bari y bari 16.1 km 10.00 mi most trains run between sapporo and oshamanbe . other lines edit sapporo station furano line furano asahikawa 54.8 km 34.05 mi hidaka main line tomakomai samani 146.5 km 91.03 mi sekihoku main line shin asahikawa kitami abashiri 234.0 km 145.40 mi kaiky line naka oguni tsugaru imabetsu kikonai 87.3 km 54.25 mi rumoi main line fukagawa mashike 66.8 km 41.51 mi sassh line s en shin totsukawa 76.5 km 47.53 mi senm main line higashi kushiro abashiri 166.2 km 103.27 mi s ya main line asahikawa nayoro wakkanai 259.4 km 161.18 mi under construction edit hokkaido shinkansen shin hakodate hokuto sapporo 211.3 km 131.30 mi scheduled to open in 2031 former lines edit chihoku line ikeda kitami 140.0 km 86.99 mi transferred to hokkaid chihoku k gen railway company on june 4 1989 esashi line gory kaku kikonai 37.8 km 23.49 mi transferred to south hokkaido railway company on march 26 2016 kikonai esashi 42.1 km 26.16 mi closed on may 12 2014 hakodate main line branch sunagawa kami sunagawa 7.3 km 4.54 mi closed on may 16 1994 horonai line iwamizawa ikushumbetsu 18.1 km 11.25 mi and mikasa horonai 2.7 km 1.68 mi closed on july 13 1987 matsumae line kikonai matsumae 50.8 km 31.57 mi closed on february 1 1988 nayoro main line nayoro engaru 138.1 km 85.81 mi and naka y betsu y betsu 4.9 km 3.04 mi closed on may 1 1989 shibetsu line shibecha nemuro shibetsu 69.4 km 43.12 mi and naka shibetsu attoko 47.5 km 29.52 mi closed on april 30 1989 shimmei line fukagawa nayoro 121.8 km 75.68 mi closed on september 4 1995 tempoku line otoineppu minami wakkanai 148.9 km 92.52 mi closed on may 1 1989 utashinai line sunagawa utashinai 14.5 km 9.01 mi closed on april 25 1988 the company also operated the seikan ferry until 1988 . former jnr lines closed before jr hokkaido formation edit these lines have been closed by jnr in hokkaido before april 1 1987 . aioi line bihoro kitami aioi 36.8 km 22.87 mi closed on april 1 1985 bik line bifuka niupu 21.2 km 13.17 mi closed on september 17 1985 haboro line rumoi horonobe 141.1 km 87.68 mi closed on march 30 1987 hiroo line obihiro hiroo 84.0 km 52.20 mi closed on february 2 1987 iburi line kutchan datemombetsu 83.0 km 51.57 mi and ky goku wakikata 7.5 km 4.66 mi closed on november 11 1986 iwanai line kozawa iwanai 14.9 km 9.26 mi closed on september 1 1985 k hin hoku line hama tombetsu kitami esashi 30.4 km 18.89 mi closed on september 1 1985 k hin nan line mu okoppe 19.9 km 12.37 mi closed on september 15 1985 konpoku line shiretoko shari koshikawa 12.8 km 7.95 mi closed on december 1 1970 manji line shibun manji tanzan 23.8 km 14.79 mi closed on april 1 1985 setana line kunnui setana 48.4 km 30.07 mi closed on march 16 1987 shihoro line obihiro tokachi mitsumata 78.3 km 48.65 mi closed on march 23 1987 shiranuka line shiranuka hokushin 33.1 km 20.57 mi closed on october 23 1983 shokotsu line shokotsu kitami takinoue 34.3 km 21.31 mi closed on april 1 1985 temiya line minami otaru temiya 2.8 km 1.74 mi closed on november 5 1985 tomiuchi line mukawa hidakach 82.5 km 51.26 mi closed on november 1 1986 y m line naka y betsu abashiri 121.8 km 75.68 mi closed on march 20 1987 references edit . hokkaido railway company . retrieved on march 27 2010 . external links edit japan portal companies portal wikimedia commons has media related to the hokkaido railway company . jr hokkaido official site japanese jr hokkaido official site english company history books shashi . shashi interest group . april 2016 . wiki collection of bibliographic works on hokkaido railway company v t e jr group past japanese government railways japanese national railways jnr settlement corporation passenger railway companies jr hokkaido jr east jr central jr west jr shikoku jr kyushu jr bus companies jr hokkaido bus jr bus tohoku jr tokai bus west jr bus jr shikoku bus ja jr kyushu bus ja jr bus kanto ja chugoku jr bus ja jr bustech ja smart cards kitaca suica toica icoca icoca shikoku icoca sugoca others jr freight rtri jr systems ja description companies jrtt see also shinkansen railway museum modern transportation museum scmaglev and railway park softbank telecom retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title hokkaido railway company & oldid 733591653 categories hokkaido railway companyrailway companies established in 1987companies based in sapporo1987 establishments in japanhidden categories articles needing additional references from february 2010all articles needing additional referencesarticles containing japanese language textarticles that mention track gauge 1067 mmarticles to be expanded from february 2010all articles to be expandedarticles using small message boxescommons category with local link same as on wikidataarticles with japanese language external linksinterlanguage link template link 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