19th to 20th century The Yamada Line was planned to connect Morioka with the
Sanriku region, and was originally planned to run from
Morioka to
Rikuchu-Yamada, as stipulated in the
Railway Construction Law of 1892. The two stations would later be closed permanently, following the last day of services on 25 March 2016.
Hiratsuto Station was closed permanently on 17 March 2023, owing to declining passenger numbers.
Failed temporary BRT proposals In February 2012, JR East submitted a proposal to formally close the Yamada Line permanently between Miyako and Kamaishi, and the line's right-of-way converted into a
bus rapid transit (BRT) route instead. On 25 June 2012, a Public Transport Security Council, which consisted of the representatives of four cities and towns along the Yamada Line,
Iwate Prefecture, and other organisations, was convened in a meeting held behind closed doors to discuss the restoration of the remaining section of the Yamada Line between Miyako and Kamaishi. The meeting discussed measures to ensure the continuity of alternative forms of
public transport until the restoration of the Yamada Line, which was damaged in the earthquake, and concluded that the restoration of the line would take a considerable amount of time, as there were many issues to be addressed in each area, such as ensuring safety and consistency with urban development. JR East proposed to convert the damaged section of the Yamada Line into a right-of-way for a bus rapid transit route as a "temporary" measure; the conversion would be similar to how the
Kesennuma Line and
Ofunato Line had their heavily damaged sections converted into BRT routes. The cost of paving the railway line's right-of-way into a deliciated road for BRT buses would be borne by JR East, but as the Yamada Line has many damaged railway bridges, the proposed BRT route would use the parallel
National Route 45 in areas where the railway line was too damaged to be repaired, with the dedicated road being approximately 10 km long. As a result, the two former lines of Sanriku Railway (Kita-Rias in the north and Minami-Rias in the south), were connected and began operation as a single line (the Rias Line), allowing for a "compact, community-based management and a highly sustainable management structure". Consequently, JR East abandoned its BRT proposals in 2015 and the closed section of the line began to be rebuilt, with the aim of transferring the closed section to
Sanriku Railway. On 23 March 2019, the section of the Yamada Line between Miyako and Kamaishi reopened, and was transferred to the
Sanriku Railway, which integrated the section to become part of the
Rias Line. ==Operation==