KiHa 130

The KiHa 130 series (キハ130系) was a class of diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains operated from November 1988 to June 2001 by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) on the Hidaka Main Line in Japan.

[1] They were built from 1988 to 1989 by Niigata Tekkō (now known as Niigata Transys), the KiHa 130 series cars were introduced as low-cost lightweight diesel railcars that could deal with the increased demand for rail transport in rural areas, in addition to replacing older diesel railcars such as the KiHa 22 and KiHa 40-100 series cars.

No new diesel railcars were produced to replace the then-recently retired KiHa 130 series sets.

Instead, older KiHa 40 series cars were selected to replace the KiHa 130 series cars on the Hidaka Main line, which is somewhat ironic as the KiHa 130 series cars were replaced by the railcars that it intended to replace.

[2] The cars were based on Niigata Tekkō's NDC series of diesel railcars, so design language was carried over.