Main owners: Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures
The company took over the Yatsushiro - Sendai section of the JR Kagoshima line
at March 13, 2004, when the Kyūshū Shinkansen was opened.
The "Hisatsu" in "Hisatsu Orange Railway" is derived from the first kanji characters of the words "Higo" and "Satsuma," the former names of Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures, respectively. "Orange Railway" comes from the area through which the trains run. It is a region famous for producing unique varieties of citrus fruits such as Banpeiyu, Bon-Tan, Ama-Natsu, Dekopon, Satsuma Mikan, and Kumquat. [Source: Hisatsu Railway information in English]
