三陸鉄道４０年「地域の足守る」　宮古市で記念式典―岩手

　東日本大震災や台風被害を乗り越え、復興の象徴となってきた三陸鉄道の開業４０年を記念する式典が１３日、本社のある岩手県宮古市内の会場で開かれた。同社の石川義晃社長は「地域の足を守り、地域振興に貢献する使命を果たすべく、社員一丸となって走り続けていく」と強調した。
　式典には、地元関係者ら約１１０人が出席。同県の達増拓也知事は「車両そのものが岩手全体を代表するキャラクター。（今後も）地域や観光、経済振興の力となることを期待する」とあいさつした。
　４０年を祝う声は利用者からも上がった。宮古市の無職長沢潤子さん（７８）は「（三鉄は）私の足。一番の移動手段で、駅員も誠実に対応してくれる」と話し、今後の存続に期待を示した。（2024/04/13-17:36）

A ceremony was held Saturday to mark the 40th anniversary of Sanriku Railway in northeastern Japan, which has become a symbol of postdisaster reconstruction after overcoming damage from the March 2011 powerful earthquake and tsunami, and a massive typhoon in 2019.
   "Our staff will keep running as one to fulfill our mission of maintaining our transport service for local people and contributing to regional development," Yoshiaki Ishikawa, president of the Sanriku Railway operator, said at the ceremony, attended by some 110 people. The ceremony was held in the city of Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, where the company is headquartered.
   "(Sanriku Railway's) train cars themselves are a character representing the whole of Iwate," Iwate Governor Takuya Tasso said. "I hope that (the railway) will continue to be of help for the promotion of the region's tourism and economic development."
   Sanriku Railway was launched in 1984 as Japan's first public-private, or third-sector, railway, operating the Kita Rias Line connecting Miyako and Kuji stations, and the Minami Rias Line between Sakari and Kamaishi stations.
   It was heavily damaged by the March 2011 disaster, which mainly struck Iwate and other areas in the Tohoku northeastern region, and by Typhoon Hagibis in October 2019. But it managed to resume services. Currently, the company operates the 163-kilometer Rias Line, including a Yamada Line section transferred from East Japan Railway Co., or JR East.