The Sanriku Railway (三陸鉄道 Sanriku Tetsudō) is a railway company in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. The company or its lines are also known as Santetsu (三鉄). The company was founded in 1981, as the first "third sector" (half public, half private) railway line in the country, excluding special cases such as freight rails in seaports. Its lines are former Japanese National Railways lines, that were going to be closed. Santetsu took these lines in 1984. The company also operates a travel agency and other businesses.
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Both lines were very badly affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[1] The two lines suffered damage at 300 locations, including damage to station buildings and bridges. The tsunami washed away 5.8 km of railway tracks on the lines. Full restoration of service on the lines is expected to be finished in 2014.[2]