Osaka Loop Line
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| Ōsaka Loop Line | |
|---|---|
 103 Series (left) and 201 Series EMUs |
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| Locale | Osaka City, Japan |
| Dates of operation | 1898–present |
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm / 3 ft 6 in (narrow gauge) |
The Ōsaka Loop Line (大阪環状線 Ōsaka kanjō-sen?) is a railway line in Japan operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It encircles central Osaka.
A second loop line, the Osaka Higashi Line, from Hanaten to Kyuhoji is planned to open in 2008, and a line from Shigino to Shin-Osaka is planned to open in 2012.
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[edit] Outline
This loop line consists of two tracks around the heart of metropolitan Osaka. Most trains consist of 8 carriages, with distinctive orange colour with white JR graphics on the front, rear and sides. The train schedule varies, but on average, two trains leave Tennōji Station and Osaka Station every seven minutes, in opposite directions.
[edit] History
The Osaka Loop Line consists of four segments historically, namely:
- Jōtō Line
- Eastern half of present line, Osaka - Tennōji via Kyōbashi
- Nishinari Line
- The northwestern quarter, Osaka - Nishi-Kujō
- Kansai Main Line freight line
- Southwestern portion, Tennōji - Sakaigawa Signal Box
- Newly built section
- The remainder to complete the loop, Nishi-Kujō - Sakaigawa S.B.
[edit] Jōtō Line
The section of Osaka - Tennōji via Kyōbashi, eastern half of the present line was built by the then Osaka Railway (大阪鉄道 Osaka Tetsudō?) (I, apart from the second to open the present Kintetsu Minami-Osaka Line network) to link its line to the governmental railway network. In 1895 the line was opened in 2 stages: Tennōji - Tamatsukuri (2 mi. 28 chain, ca. 3.8 km) on 28 May; Tamatsukuri - Umeda (4 mi. 29 chain, ca. 7.0 km) on 17 October.
Earlier in 1889, the company opened its main line Kashiwara - Tennōji - Minatomachi (湊町? present JR Namba) which includes a short portion of Osaka Loop Line, Tennōji - Imamiya; the station itself was opened in the following year 1890 between Tennōji and Minatomachi.
Kansai Railway (関西鉄道 Kansai Tetsudō?, also read as Kansei or Kwansai) merged Osaka Railway and unified Umada Station to Osaka Statin of governmental railways in 1900. The railway was acquired by the national government in 1907 under the 1906 Railway Nationalization Act. In 1909 the line was named the "Jōtō Line" (城東線 Jōtō sen?).
In 1930 the unit was changed to metric, thus distance was modified from 6.6 mi. to 10.7 km. Electrification of the Jōtō Line was done in 1933.
[edit] Nishinari Line
Osaka - Nishi-Kujō, the northwestern quarter of the line was built by Nishinari Railway (西成鉄道 Nishinari Tetsudō?) for a rail access to the Osaka Port. In 1898 the company opened Osaka - Ajikawaguchi, in 1904 the line was loaned to the government, in 1906 the company was nationalized under the act of the same year. In 1909 the line was named the "Nishinari Line" (西成線 Nishinari sen?) which included the present-day Sakurajima Line.
Electrification of the Nishinari Line was done in 1941.
[edit] Kansai Main Line
A south-western portion of the loop, Tennōji - Sakaigawa Signal Box (abandoned in 2006, between Taishō and Bentenchō) was at first constructed for freight traffic by the then Japanese Government Railways to the port. In 1928 a branch freight line of the Kansai Main Line, Imamiya - Naniwa (浪速?) - Osaka-minato (大阪港? apart from the present Ōsakakō Station on the Osaka Municipal Subway Chūō Line) with a distance of 5.2 mi. (ca. 8.4 km). In 1930 the unit was changed to metric, 8.2 km.
[edit] Loop line
To complete a loop line, new tracks were laid between Nishi-Kujō to Sakaigawa S. B. by the then Japanese National Railways. In 1961 the section opened and the new Osaka Loop Line was named for the entire of the then Jōtō Line, Osaka - Nishi-Kujō of Nishinari Line (the rest, Nishi-Kujō - Sakurajima was named Sakurajima Line) and the new Nishi-Kujō - Taishō - Tennōji.
In 1964, operation of loop shape commenced on the completion of elevated double tracks around Nishi-Kujō. Until then the operation had been done in the shape of mirrored "6", Sakurajima - Nishi-Kujō - Osaka - Kyōbashi - Tennōji - Nishi-Kujō. Tracks of Tennōji - Shin-Imamiya were quadrupled in 1968, to separate traffics of Kansai Main Line.
[edit] Operation
| Osaka Loop Line trains | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| JR Yumesaki Line through trains | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Yamatoji Rapid, Regional Rapid | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Kansai Airport Rapid, Kishūji Rapid | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Haruka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Ocean Arrow, Kuroshio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On this line, JR West operates several types of trains. The line serves as a link of Osaka Station in northern Osaka, and Tennōji in southern downtown. Some Limited Express trains linking north and south of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area use the line as bypass between Tōkaidō Main Line in the north and Hanwa Line in the south. Traffic is heavier in the eastern half, Osaka - Kyōbashi - Tennōji, than in the western half via Nishi-Kujō.
[edit] Direction
Completely loop shaped Osaka Loop Line is unable to use the up and down direction commonly applied in Japanese railways. Instead, the words "outer circle" (or outer loop) (外回り Soto mawari?) and the "inner circle" (内回り Uchi mawari?) are used to refer to the direction. The outer is clockwise, the inner counterclockwise.
If rules, such as the registration of the line at Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport apply,[1] the inner loop is down.
[edit] Local
Local trains are operated all day. Some run literally loop, while some in eastern half between Osaka and Tennōji via Kyōbashi.
Eight-car EMUs of 103 series with orange liverly and 201 series with blue or orange liverly are used.
[edit] Sakurajima Line trains
Trains of the Sakurajima Line (JR Yumesaki Line) are now operated through to the loop line to/from Kyōbashi and Tennoji.
Eight-car EMUs of 103 series and 201 series are used.
[edit] Rapids of Kansai Main Line
Through trains to the Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line) began operated in 1973. "Yamatoji Rapid" (大和路快速 Yamatoji Kaisoku?) and "Regional Rapid" (区間快速 Kukan Kaisoku?) trains originate at Tennōji on the loop, passing the loop as "inner" via Osaka, after stopping at Tennōji where once called on, exit the loop to the Kansai Main Line and terminate at Kamo, Nara or Ōji. In the loop, Yamatoji Rapids pass some stations while Regional Rapids stop all.
For "Yamatoji Rapid", 6 or 8-car 221 series EMUs are used, while 8-car 103 series of light green liverly and 6 or 8-car 221 series are for "Regional Rapid".
[edit] Rapids of Hanwa Line
To the Hanwa Line, "Kansai Airport Rapid" (関空快速 Kankū Kaisoku?) for Kansai Airport, Kishūji Rapid (紀州路快速 Kishūji Kaisoku?) for Wakayama originate at Kyōbashi, and togeter with other types of rapid trains, go through from the loop. Rapid (non-Limited Express) operations of this route began in 1994 on the opening of Kansai Airport, following a few exceptional rapid trains in 1989.
223 series 8-car EMUs are used for Kansai Airport and Kishūji rapids. 113 series 4-car units are also used for rapids of Shin-Osaka - Kii-Tanabe in early morning and late night.
[edit] Limited Express
Charged Limited Expresses such as "Haruka" for Kansai International Airport, and south bound "Kuroshio", "Super Kuroshio" and "Ocena Arrow" on Hanwa Line and Kisei Main Line (Kinokuni Line) heading for the scenic southern Wakayama Prefecture utilise the Osaka Loop Line as the bypass for Tōkaidō Main Line and Hanwa Line. Inside the line except Tennōji, limited numbers of trains stop only at Nishi-Kujō. Between the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Osaka Loop Line, trains pass the "Umeda freight line" which crosses right west of Osaka Station, not stopping at Osaka because no passenger facilities are installed on the freight line until it merges the main line at Shin-Osaka. This route was applied in 1989 on the completion of a bypass track from Hanwa Line to platforms of Kansai Main Line at Tennōji, until then no through operations enabled from Hanwa Line.
281 series EMUs are used for "Haruka", 381 series EMUs for "Kuroshio" and "Super Kuroshio", and 283 series EMUs for "Ocean Arrow".
[edit] Freight trains
After abandonment of Naniwa freight station, freight trains on the line are only between Fukushima and Nishikujō, from "the Umeda Freight Line" to Ajikawaguchi on the Sakurajima Line (JR Yumesaki Line).
[edit] Stations
Listed counterclockwise: All stations are in the city of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture
| Station | Distance | Transfers | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osaka | 0 km | JR West: Tōkaidō Main Line (JR Kyoto Line, JR Kobe Line, JR Takarazuka Line), JR Tōzai Line (Kitashinchi Station) Osaka Municipal Subway: ● Tanimachi Line (T20: Higashi-Umeda Station), ●Yotsubashi Line (Y11: Nishi-Umeda Station), ● Midōsuji Line (M16: Umeda Station) Hankyu: Kōbe Line, Kyoto Line, Takarazuka Line (Umeda Station) Hanshin: Main Line (Umeda Station) |
Kita |
| Fukushima | 1.0 | Hanshin: Main Line JR West: JR Tōzai Line (Shin-Fukushima Station) |
Fukushima |
| Noda | 2.4 | Osaka Municipal Subway: ● Sennichimae Line (S12: Tamagawa Station) | |
| Nishikujō | 3.6 | JR West: Sakurajima Line (JR Yumesaki Line) Hanshin: Nishi-Osaka Line |
Konohana |
| Bentenchō | 5.2 | Osaka Municipal Subway: ● Chūō Line (C13) | Minato |
| Taishō | 7.0 | Osaka Municipal Subway: ● Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line (N11) | Taishō |
| Ashiharabashi | 8.2 | Nankai: Shiomibashi Line (Ashiharachō Station) | Naniwa |
| Imamiya | 8.8 | JR West: Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line) | |
| Shin-Imamiya | 10.0 | JR West: Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line) Nankai: Kōya Line, Nankai Main Line Osaka Municipal Subway: ● Midōsuji Line (M22: Dōbutsuen-mae Station), ● Sakaisuji Line (K19: Dōbutsuen-mae Station) Hankai: Hankai Line (Minamikasumichō Station) |
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| Tennōji | 11.0 | JR West: Hanwa Line, Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line) Osaka Municipal Subway: ●Midōsuji Line (M23), ● Tanimachi Line (T27) Kintetsu: Minami-Osaka Line (Osaka Abenobashi Station) Hankai: Uemachi Line (Tennoji-eki-mae Station) |
Tennōji |
| Teradachō | 12.0 | ||
| Momodani | 13.2 | ||
| Tsuruhashi | 14.0 | Kintetsu: Nara Line, Osaka Line Osaka Municipal Subway: ● Sennichimae Line (S19) |
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| Tamatsukuri | 14.9 | Osaka Municipal Subway: ● Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line (N19) | |
| Morinomiya | 15.8 | Osaka Municipal Subway: ● Chūō Line (C19), ● Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line (N20) | Chūō |
| Osakajō-kōen | 16.7 | Jōtō | |
| Kyōbashi | 17.5 | JR West: Katamachi Line (Gakkentoshi Line), JR Tōzai Line Keihan: Keihan Main Line Osaka Municipal Subway: ● Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line (N22) |
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| Sakuranomiya | 19.3 | Miyakojima | |
| Temma | 20.1 | Osaka Municipal Subway: ● Sakaisuji Line (K12: Ōgimachi Station) | Kita |
| Osaka | 21.7 |
[edit] Fare
A special discount rate is applied for travels within the Osaka Loop Line, the Sakurajima Line and the segment between JR Namba Station and Tennōji Station of the Kansai Main Line (collectively called the Osaka Loop Zone (大阪環状線内 Ōsaka Kanjōsen-nai?)).[2] The following table is the rate for adult single-ride tickets.[3] (Note: Fractions of one kilometre shall be rounded up to the nearest full kilometre.)
| Kilometre | Yen |
|---|---|
| 1 – 3 | 120 |
| 4 – 6 | 160 |
| 7 – 10 | 170 |
| 11 – 15 | 190 |
| 16 – 20 | 250 |
For travels between a station within the zone and a station out of the zone or between two stations out of the zone, fares are calculated in accordance with a universal fare table and the good rate as above is not applicable.
For the calculations of the fares for travels between two stations out of the zone that include the segment between Osaka Station and Tennōji Station of the Osaka Loop Line, where two routes (10.7 km route via Temma and 11.0 km route via Fukushima) are practical, the shorter route is always used irrespective of the actual travel route. [4][5]
[edit] See also
[edit] Gallery
 103 series of JNR origin |
 Osaka Station Midōsuji Gate |
 Kyōbashi Station West Entrance |
[edit] References
- ^ [[Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Japan)|]] (2001) Railway directory: FY Heisei 13th ed. (鉄道要覧平成13年度版 Tetsudō Yōran Heisei 13 nendo-ban?), Tokyo: (鉄道図書刊行会 or 電気車研究会 Tetsudō Tosho Kankōkai or Denkisha Kenkyūkai?) ISBN488548099X
- ^ Section 78, West Japan Railway Company Terms and Conditions for Passenger Transport (Japanese)
- ^ JTB Timetable No. 979 (August 2007) (in Japanese). Tokyo: JTB Corporation, p. 967.
- ^ West Japan Railway Company. きっぷのルール (Rules for tickets) (Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
- ^ Section 69, West Japan Railway Company Terms and Conditions for Passenger Transport
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