Tōhoku Main Line

Tōhoku Main Line
E721 series train pulling into Nagamachi Station
Overview
Locale	Kantō, Tōhoku
Termini	Tokyo Morioka
Operation
Owner	JR East
Technical
Line length	575.7 km (357.7 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC from Tokyo to Kuroiso 20 kV AC, 50Hz from Kuroiso to Morioka
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph)
Route map Tōhoku Main Line in red

Tōhoku Main Line Route Diagram

Legend Tokyo see Utsunomiya Line Tōhoku Shinkansen 163.3 Kuroiso 167.3 Takaku 171.5 0.0* Kurodahara 3.4* Kurogawa（signal）-1920 176.7 Toyohara Tochigi Prefecture／Fukushima Prefecture 182.0 Shirasaka 185.4 Shin-Shirakawa Hakuhō Line 188.2 Shirakawa 192.9 Kutano 197.4 Izumizaki 203.4 Yabuki 208.8 Kagamiishi 215.1 Sukagawa Suigun Line 221.8 Asaka-Nagamori 223.4 Kōriyama Freight Terminal 226.7 Kōriyama Miharu Horse Tramway ←Ban'etsu East Line Ban'etsu West Line→ 232.4 Hiwada 236.9 Gohyakugawa 240.7 Motomiya 246.6 Sugita 250.3 Nihonmatsu 254.5 Adachi 259.5 Matsukawa Kawamata Line 264.0 Kanayagawa 269.4 Minami-Fukushima Fukushima Kōtsū Iizaka East Line 272.8 Fukushima Yamagata Shinkansen Fukushima Kōtsū Iizaka Line Ōu Main Line（） 277.4 Yanome Signal Box Abukuma Express Line 278.8 Higashi-Fukushima Fukushima Kōtsū Iizaka East Line 281.9 Date Fukushima Kōtsū Iizaka East Line 285.9 Kōri 289.3 Fujita 294.9 Kaida Fukushima Prefecture／Miyagi Prefecture 298.6 Kosugō 303.7 Nakame（signal）-1966 Shiroishi-Zaō Station 306.8 Shiroshi 311.0 Higashi-Shiroishi 313.9 Tsuda（provisional signal）-1911 315.3 Kita-Shirakawa Sennan Onsen Tramway 320.1 Ōgawara 323.1 Funaoka Abukuma Express Line Kakuda Tramway 327.7 Tsukinoki Jōetsu Line 334.2 Iwanuma 337.9 Tatekoshi Sendai Airport Transit: Sendai Airport Line 341.4 Natori Zōtō Tramway 344.1 Minami-Sendai Natori River 346.3 Tashidō Sennan Kōtsū 347.3 0.0# Nagamachi Sendai Tramway Hirose River Miyagino Freight Line 1.4 3.8# 0.0 Sendai Freight Terminal 348.8 349.9 351.8 Sendai Senseki Line 353.2 Senzan Line 355.8 6.6# Higashi-Sendai 357.5 Higashi-Sendai Signal Box Nanakita River 359.9 0.0* Iwakiri 「Shin-Rifu Branch Line」 362.2 Rikuzen-Sannō Sendai Rinkai Railway Rinkai Main Line 363.5 Kokufu-Tagajō Shiogama Line 365.2 Shiogama Shiogama Tunnel 2.5* Shin-Rifu Sendai Shinkansen Depot 4.2* Rifu 369.1 Kita-Shiogama（signal）-1962 Senseki Line Rikuzen-Hamada 9.9* Akanuma（signal）-1962 Matsuhima-Kaigan 375.2 Matsushima(2) 15.8* Matsushima(1) -1962 Matsushima Railroad 377.2 Atago 381.6 21.2* Shinainuma 386.6 Kashimadai 391.5 Matsuyama-Machi Matsuyama Handcar Tramway 395.0 Kogota ←Ishinomaki Line Rikuu East Line→ Yoshikawa Horse Tramway 398.4 401.1 Tajiri Station Senpoku Railway Tōme Line 407.8 Semine Senpoku Railway Tsukidate Line 411.5 Umegasawa 416.2 Nitta 419.6 Kurihara Electric Railway（former route） 423.5 Ishikoshi Kurihara Den'en Railway Line 　（new route） Miyagi Prefecture/Iwate Prefecture 427.0 Yushima 431.2 Hanaizumi 434.4 Shimizuhara Iwate Prefecture/Miyagi Prefecture 437.8 0.0* Arikabe Miyagi Prefecture/Iwate Prefecture 5.0* Ōfunato 445.1 Ichinoseki 448.0 Yamanome 452.3 Hiraizumi 456.3 459.9 Maesawa 465.1 Rikuchū 470.1 Mizusawa Tankō Tramway 477.7 Kanegasaki 481.1 Rokuhara 483.7 487.5 Kitakami Waga Light Railway Kitakami Line 492.2 Murasakino 496.9 Hanamaki RailwayHanamaki Line Nishi-Hanamki Station Iwate Light Railway 500.0 Hanamaki Hanamaki Electric Railway Railway Line Kamaishi Line 505.7 Hanamaki Airport 511.4 Ishidoriya 516.8 Hizume 518.6 Shiwachūō 521.5 Furudate 525.1 Yahaba 528.8 Morioka Freight Terminal 529.6 Iwate-Iioka 533.5 Senbokuchō 535.3 Morioka Yamada Line Akita Shinkansen （Tazawako Line） Iwate Galaxy Railway Line

The Tōhoku Main Line (東北本線, Tōhoku-honsen) is a 575.7 km long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Although officially the line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, most of the long-distance trains actually begin at Ueno Station in Taitō, Tokyo, and pass through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fukushima, and Sendai, before reaching the end of the line in Morioka. The Tōhoku Main Line runs mostly parallel to the Tōhoku Shinkansen.

The 159.9 km long portion of the line between Ueno Station and Kuroiso Station in Nasushiobara, Tochigi is often referred to as the (JR) Utsunomiya Line. A portion of the Tōhoku Main Line is also shared with the Keihin-Tōhoku Line (29.6 km between Tokyo Station and Ōmiya Station in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama) and the Saikyō Line (18.0 km between Akabane Station in the Kita ward of Tokyo and Ōmiya Station).

History

The construction of the Tōhoku Main Line began in the Kantō region and extended to the north end of Honshu, and the city of Aomori. It is one of oldest railway lines in Japan, with construction beginning in the late 19th century. Until November 1, 1906, the current Tōhoku Main Line was run by a private company Nippon Railway. In 1883, the first segment between Ueno and Kumagaya opened. In 1885, it was extended to Utsunomiya, but the Tone River still had to be crossed by boat. It was not until the construction of the Tone River Bridge in 1886 that Utsunomiya and Ueno were finally directly connected. The line gradually extended further to the north; to Kōriyama, Sendai, Ichinoseki and Morioka. In 1891, the segment between Morioka and Aomori opened, creating the longest continuous railway line in Japan.

After 1906, the line was nationalized and became the Tōhoku Main Line run by the Ministry of Railways. When Tokyo Station opened in 1925, the Tōhoku Main Line extended from Ueno to the new station. Until the 1950s, this segment was used and many trains ran through both the Tōkaidō Main Line and Tōhoku Main Line. However, when the Tōhoku Shinkansen arrived, it used land previously reserved for the tracks of mid and long-distance Tōhoku Main Line trains. As a result, only a small number of commuter lines such as the Keihin-Tōhoku Line now run to Tokyo from the north, making Tokyo Station's status as part of the Tōhoku Main Line somewhat circumspect. This is set to be remedied by the end of fiscal year 2013, when the under-construction Tōhoku Through Line is completed, allowing through service between the Tōkaidō Line and the Utsunomiya and Jōban Lines.

In 2002, the Tōhoku Shinkansen was further extended from Morioka to Hachinohe and the operations of the local track segment between those two cities was turned over to Iwate Ginga Railway (IGR) and Aoimori Railway.^[1] With the extension of the Tōhoku Shinkansen to Shin-Aomori station in 2010, the segment between Hachinohe and Aomori was delegated to the Aoimori Railway Company. The shortened Tōhoku Main Line is now the second-longest line in Japan, after the Sanin Main Line.

Station list

Utsunomiya Line

From Ueno to Kuroiso

Southern Tōhoku Main Line

From Kuroiso to Sendai

• ●: All rapid trains stop
• *: Some rapid trains stop
• |: All rapid trains pass

Central Tōhoku Main Line

From Sendai to Morioka

Rolling stock

New HB-E210 series 2-car hybrid diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains are scheduled to be introduced on the line from 2015 between Sendai and Shiogama following the opening of a new link connecting with the Senseki Line at Takagimachi.^[2]

References

v t e Mass transit in the Greater Tokyo Area JR East lines (Tokyo urban/suburban area) ■ Chūō ■ Rapid ■ (Chūō-Sōbu) Local ■ Hachikō ■ Itsukaichi ■ Jōban ■ Karasuyama ■ Kawagoe ■ Keihin-Tōhoku ■ Keiyō ■ Mito ■ Musashino ■ Nambu ■ Narita ■ Negishi ■ Nikkō ■ Ōme ■ Ryōmō ■ Sagami ■ Saikyō Akabane ■ ■ Shōnan-Shinjuku ■ Sōbu ■ Rapid ■ (Chūō-Sōbu) Local ■ Sotobō ■ Takasaki ■ Tōgane ■ Tōkaidō ■ Tsurumi ■ Uchibō ■ Utsunomiya(Tōhoku) ■ Yamanote ■ Yokohama ■ Yokosuka Tokyo Metro lines Chiyoda Fukutoshin Ginza Hibiya Marunouchi Namboku Tōzai Yūrakuchō Hanzōmon Toei subway lines Asakusa Ōedo Mita Shinjuku Major private lines Keikyu Keikyū Main Airport Daishi Kurihama Zushi Keio Keiō Keiō New Dōbutsuen Inokashira Keibajō Sagamihara Takao Keisei Keisei Main Chiba Chihara Higashi-Narita Kanamachi Narita Sky Access Oshiage Odakyu Enoshima Odawara Tama Seibu Ikebukuro lines ■ Ikebukuro ■ Sayama ■ Seibu Chichibu ■ Seibu Yūrakuchō ■ Toshima Shinjuku Lines ■ Shinjuku ■ Haijima ■ Kokubunji ■ Seibu-en ■ Tamagawa ■ Tamako Sotetsu Sotetsu Main Izumino Tobu Tobu main lines Daishi Isesaki Skytree Kameido Kinugawa Kiryū Koizumi Nikkō Noda Sano Utsunomiya Tojo lines Tōjō Ogose Tokyu ■ Den-en-toshi ■ Ikegami ■ Meguro ■ Oimachi ■ Tokyu Tamagawa ■ Toyoko ■ Kodomonokuni Other commuter rail lines Hokusō Kantō Jōsō Ryūgasaki Nagareyama Rinkai Saitama Rapid Shibayama Shin-Keisei Tōyō Rapid Tsukuba Express Minatomirai Kodomonokuni(Tōkyū Kodomonokuni) Minatomirai 21 Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Green Other lines Monorails Chiba Monorail Disney Resort Shōnan Monorail Tama Monorail Tokyo Monorail People movers New Shuttle Seaside Nippori-Toneri Yamaguchi Yūkarigaoka Yurikamome Streetcars ■ Enoden ■ Setagaya ■ Toden Arakawa Cable cars and aerial tramways Ōyama Cable Car Hodosan Ropeway Takao Tozan Railway Nokogiriyama Ropeway Mount Tsukuba Cable Car Mount Tsukuba Ropeway Akechidaira Ropeway Ikaho Ropeway Mitake Tozan Cable Car Fuji-Hakone-Izu subregion 3 cable 5 ropeways 5 rail lines Hakone Tozan Major terminals Rail Akihabara Chiba Hachiōji Ikebukuro Kawasaki Kita-Senju Machida Station (Odakyu) Machida Station (JR East) Mito Odawara Ōmiya Ōtemachi Shibuya Shinagawa Shinjuku Tachikawa Tokyo Ueno Yokohama Airports Haneda Int'l Narita Int'l Chofu Ibaraki Ports Yokohama Tokyo Miscellaneous Shinkansen Pasmo Suica Transportation in Greater Tokyo Rail transport in Japan Named regional trains (sometimes used for commuting) Construction projects Sōtetsu JR Link Line Ueno-Tokyo Line

v t e JR East lines Shinkansen Hokuriku Jōetsu Nagano Tōhoku Akita Yamagata Main Chūō Ōu Shin'etsu Sōbu Tōhoku Tōkaidō Uetsu Local Agatsuma Aterazawa Ban'etsu East Ban'etsu West Echigo Gonō Hachikō Hachinohe Hakushin Hanawa Iiyama Ishinomaki Itō Itsukaichi Jōban Jōetsu Kamaishi Karasuyama Kashima Kawagoe Keiyō Kesennuma Kitakami Koumi Kururi Mito Musashino Nambu Narita Negishi Nikkō Ōfunato Oga Ōito Ōme Ōminato Rikuu East Rikuu West Ryōmō Sagami Senseki Senzan Shinonoi Sotobō Suigun Tadami Takasaki Tazawako Tōgane Tsugaru Tsurumi Uchibō Utsunomiya Yahiko Yamada Yamanote Yokohama Yokosuka Yonesaka Others Chūō Rapid Chūō-Sōbu Gala-Yuzawa Keihin-Tōhoku Saikyō (incl. Akabane) Shōnan-Shinjuku Sōbu Rapid (Ueno-Tokyo - under construction) Past Aizu Ashio Iwaizumi Kihara Marumori Mōka Nagai Shin'etsu Main (Shinano) Tōhoku Main (Aoimori / Iwate Galaxy)