The IR Ishikawa Railway is a Japanese third-sector railway company established in 2012 to operate passenger railway services on the section of the JR West Hokuriku Main Line within Ishikawa Prefecture. The main line was separated from the JR West network on 14 March 2015, coinciding with the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension from Nagano to Kanazawa. It acquired another section from the JR West Hokuriku Main Line from Kanazawa to Daishoji on 16 March 2024 as the Hokuriku Shinkansen was extended from Kanazawa to Tsuruga. The company was founded on 28 August 2012 and has its headquarters in Kanazawa, Ishikawa.
A 521 series at Tsubata Station
IR Ishikawa 521-0 series EMU set IR03, June 2015
The Hokuriku Main Line is a 45.9-kilometer (28.5 mi) railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company connecting Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with Tsuruga Station in Tsuruga, Fukui. The line formerly extended as far as Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata; however, the section between Tsuruga Station and Naoetsu Station is now operated by several third-sector railway companies. The line links the Hokuriku region on the northern central coast of Honshu, the largest island of Japan, to the regions of Kansai, Tōkai, Kantō, and Tōhoku.
A 521 series at Tsuruga Station
223 Series