JR Hokkaido KiHa 141 series

Data (as of 29 Jul 2023)

History

KiHa 141 series was a suburban type DMU converted from JNR 50 series coaches. Like other JRs, JR Hokkaido succeeded the coaches when Japanese National Railways was privatised in 1987, but coaching stock was already out-of-date. The 50 series coaches were built in 1977-82, but most of them were scrapped by mid-1990s. However, JR Hokkaido successfully converted them to diesel multiple units.

The KiHa 141 series was introduced to Sassho Line to increase the number of services. The series consisted of four types: KiHa 141 (with toilet), KiHa 142 (with no toilet), KiHa 143 (with more powerful engines) and KiSaHa 144 (intermediate carriage with no engine). They could form 2-6 cars and could also be joined to older diesel trains like KiHa 40 series.

When Sassho Line was electrified in 2012, 30 out of 44 cars were deregistered and 10 of them were reallocated to Muroran Main Line. JR East purchased four for a steam train SL Ginga on Kamaishi Line. Both JR East and JR Hokkaido withdrew the series in 2023. SL Ginga was discontinued, while those for Muroran Main Line were superseded by 737 series.