Uetsu Main Line

Uetsu Main Line
An Inaho limited express service
Overview
Type	Heavy rail
System	JR East
Status	Operating
Locale	Niigata, Yamagata, Akita Prefectures
Termini	Niitsu Station Akita Station
Stations	61
Operation
Opening	September 2, 1912
Owner	JR East
Operator(s)	JR East, JR Freight
Technical
Track length	274.4 km
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC, 20 kV AC 50Hz
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph)
Route map

The Uetsu Main Line (羽越本線, Uetsu-hon-sen) is a railway line in the Tōhoku and Chūbu regions of Japan. Part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) system, it connects Niitsu Station in the city of Niigata and Akita Station in Akita. The name "Uetsu" refers to the ancient provinces of Dewa (出羽) and Echigo (越後), which the line connects.

History

The line was opened in sections between 1912 and 1924, and electrified in 1972, the same year CTC signalling was commissioned.

Work to duplicate the line in sections commenced in 1957, and continued for 25 years until being suspended due to capital expenditure restrictions in 1983, at which time 51% of the route was duplicated, although the longest continuous duplicated section is 27.3km. In many sections the track is located on a narrow shelf between the ocean and adjacent mountains, meaning duplication often required constructing long tunnels on the inland side of the original line to accommodate the second track. The completed work includes 11 tunnels each over 1km long (the longest being 2.3km), and the suspension of works resulted in the completed tunnel between Koiwagawa and Atsumi Onsen stations remaining unused.

Former connecting lines

• Shibata station - Plans by the Ministry of Commerce to mine an iron ore deposit in 1918 resulted in the construction of a line to service the mine. 14km had been built when construction was abandoned in 1920 following the collapse in the iron ore price. In 1925 the line was transferred to the Ministry of Railways and opened as a development line, called the Akatani Line. In 1941 the line was extended 5km to Higashiakatani to connect to the Nittetsu Mining Co railway, which operated a 4km line serving an iron ore mine until 1956. The Akatani line closed in 1984.

• Tsuruoka station - The Shonai Electric Railway Co. operated a 12km line to Yunohama Onsen, electrified at 600 VDC, from 1929 until 1975.

Route data

• Total length: 274.4 km (Fukushima–Aomori, Tsuchizaki–Akitakō)
• Operators, distances:
  • East Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks)
    • Niitsu — Akita: 271.7 km
  • Japan Freight Railway Company (Services and tracks)
    • Sakata — Sakata-Minato: 2.7 km
  • Japan Freight Railway Company (Services)
    • Niitsu — Akita: 271.7 km
• Tracks:
  • See station list for details
• Electrification:
  • Niitsu — Murakami: 1,500 V DC
  • Murakami — Akita: 20 kV AC, 50 Hz
• Railway signalling:
• Maximum speed:
  • Niitsu — Murakami: 120 km/h
  • Murakami — Imagawa: 100 km/h
  • Imagawa — Sanze: 95 km/h
  • Sanze — Sakata: 120 km/h
  • Sakata — Akita: 95 km/h

Stations

1. ↑ Most trains from Rikuu West Line terminate at Sakata Station
2. ↑ The official beginning of the Oga Line is at Oiwake Station, but all trains terminate at Akita Station.

Symbols:

• | - Single-track
• ◇ - Single-track; station where trains can pass
• ^ - Double-track section starts from this point
• ∥ - Double-track
• ∨ - Single-track section starts from this point

Accidents

On December 25, 2005, all six cars of a limited express train Inaho No.14 on the Uetsu Line derailed in Yamagata prefecture, about 350 kilometres (220 mi) north of Tokyo. The train was headed south towards Kita-Amarume Station. Three of the cars turned over, causing the deaths of five people and injuring 33 others. Three other persons were originally reported missing, but authorities later discovered that they had disembarked from the train before the accident.

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

• JR全線全駅ステーション倶楽部編(上) [Complete JR Line/Station Compendium (Vol. 1)] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Bunshun Bunko. September 1988. p. pp 236-248. ISBN 4-16-748701-2. 

JR East lines Shinkansen Hokuriku Jōetsu 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) Senseki-Tōhoku Shōnan-Shinjuku Sōbu Rapid Ueno-Tokyo Past Aizu Ashio Iwaizumi Kihara Marumori Mōka Nagai Shin'etsu Main (Shinano / Echigo Tokimeki) Tōhoku Main (Aoimori / Iwate Galaxy)