Echigo Tokimeki Railway

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Echigo Tokimeki Railway (ETR) is a private railway company in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It was created in 2010 to take over passenger services on JR East’s Shinetsu Main Line and JR West’s Hokuriku Main Line sections in Niigata, after those lines were separated in 2015 for the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension.

Ownership and lines
- Shareholders: Niigata Prefecture, the City of Joetsu, the City of Itoigawa, and the City of Myoko.
- Two local lines:
- Myōkō Haneuma Line: 37.7 km, 10 stations, from Myōkō-Kōgen to Naoetsu (formerly part of the Shinetsu Main Line).
- Nihonkai Hisui Line: 59.3 km, 13 stations, from Naoetsu to Ichiburi (formerly part of the Hokuriku Main Line).

Services
- Local trains operate on both lines. The JR East Shirayuki limited express uses the Naoetsu section and connects with the Hokuriku Shinkansen at Naoetsu.
- A daily return rapid service runs between Echigo-Yuzawa and Naoetsu, using the Naoetsu–Arai section.
- Since 4 July 2021, a holiday-only rapid service using 413 and 455 series trains has operated on the Myōkō Haneuma Line.

Rolling stock
- Myōkō Haneuma Line: Ten ET127 2-car EMUs inherited from JR East; formations can be two, four, or six cars for peak and off-peak.
- Shirayuki expresses on JR East: four-car E653-1100 series EMUs.
- Nihonkai Hisui Line: The eastern part is electrified at 1,500 V DC, the western part at 20 kV AC (60 Hz); a dead section exists between Itoigawa and Kajiyashiki.
- To handle the different electrifications without new dual-voltage trains, eight ET122 DMUs (based on JR West KiHa-122) operate on the Nihonkai Hisui Line, usually as single cars or two-car sets, with two special-event cars included.
- One daily round trip between Itoigawa and Kanazawa is run with a 521 series EMU owned by Ainokaze Toyama Railway.

Other services and notes
- Since 4 July 2021, sightseeing services use former JNR 455 and 413 series rolling stock; these runs are on weekends and holidays, with two round trips per day between Naoetsu and Ichiburi. An extra express fare of 500 yen is required.
- At Tomari, trains from ETR and Ainokaze Toyama Railway use the same platform (platform 2) for easy transfers.
- Regular operation is roughly every 60–90 minutes in off-peak times, with more services during peak periods.

History
- The company was founded on 22 November 2010.
- Names for the two lines were announced in June 2012, and the company name Echigo Tokimeki Railway was adopted on 1 July 2012.
- It received a railway operating license on 28 February 2014.
- A two-car ET122-1000 Setsugekka resort train began service on 23 April 2016, operating on both ETR lines.