KIHA 71 and KIHA 72

So "キハ" reads "kiha"? Could it be the abbrevation of a literal translation of "diesel car"? Because the Japanese sites I browsed two months ago often used the latter, abbreviated "DC", sometimes it is even written on the vehicles like on this Dc/KIHA/キハ58:

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}