10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. JRW DC kiha120-356: Mitsuki-2368· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. JRW DC kiha120-324: Mitsuki-2368· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. JRW DC kiha120-334: Mitsuki-2368· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 4. JRW DC kiha120-346 349 345: Mitsuki-2368· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 5. JRW Kiha 120-206 at Shinji Station 20170430: Suikotei· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. JRW kiha120 206: Mitsuki-2368· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 7. JRW kiha120 332: Mitsuki-2368· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 8. JR West Kiha 120-300 DMU: Yasu ( talk )· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 9. JR West Kiha 120 DMU 011: Tennen-Gas· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 10. Kiha120-301-2018-5-27: TRJN· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The KiHa 120 (キハ120形, Kiha-120-gata) is a single-car diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) on its rural lines in Japan. Based on Niigata Tekkō's "NDC" lightweight diesel car design intended for third-sector operators (such as Matsuura Railway, Takachiho Railway, and Kumagawa Railway), a total of 89 cars were built, with the class divided into three sub-classes: KiHa 120-0, KiHa 120-200, and KiHa 120-300. The "KiHa" designation derives from the classification system used by JNR. "Ki" indicates a diesel-powered vehicle, while "Ha" indicates an ordinary passenger car, as opposed to a green car.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 34 years ago, in 1992.
- Weighs about as much as 4 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 16.3 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1992
- in service from
- 1992
- number built
- 89
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- builders
- Niigata Transys, Niigata Engineering
- operators
- West Japan Railway Company
- top speed
- 95 km/h
- power
- 246 kW
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- formation
- Single car unit
- length
- 16.3 m
- weight
- 26.9 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q6403559, Wikipedia: KiHa 120 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.