Takasaki Line

Takasaki Line 高崎線
E231 series EMU on the Takasaki Line
Overview
Locale	Tokyo, Saitama, Gunma prefectures
Termini	Ōmiya Takasaki
Operation
Opened	1883
Operator(s)	JR East
Technical
Line length	74.7 km (46.42 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC overhead catenary
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph)
Route map

The Takasaki Line (高崎線, Takasaki-sen) is a Japanese railway line which runs between Ōmiya Station in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture and Takasaki Station in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. It is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).

All services on the line (excluding through Shonan-Shinjuku Line trains) run to/from Ueno Station in Tokyo via the Tōhoku Main Line. The line is proposed to be extended to Tokyo Station via the Tōhoku Jūkan Line currently under construction.

As the Takasaki Line serves many major cities within Saitama Prefecture, it is a vital means of transport within the prefecture. National Route 17 and its historical predecessor, the Nakasendō, run parallel to the line.

Services

Services on the Takasaki Line are typically divided into those starting and terminating at Ueno and Shōnan-Shinjuku Line through services from Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and points south. Between Ueno and Ōmiya, trains share the track with the Tōhoku Main Line (Utsunomiya Line), both of which serve as de facto express services compared to the parallel Keihin-Tōhoku Line. Service on the line is provided by 15-car E231 series four-door suburban commuter EMUs with two attached Green cars; north of Kagohara, this is reduced to 10-cars.

Limited express / express

Prior to the opening of the Jōetsu Shinkansen in 1982 and the Nagano Shinkansen in 1997, many Niigata- and Nagano-bound limited express and express services used the line, including the Toki, Asama, and Hakutaka. However, the Shinkansen reduced the need for most of these limited express services, and only a few remain. These include:

• Akagi / Weekend Akagi (four Ueno-bound and six Maebashi-bound services daily)
• Minakami (three round-trips daily between Ueno and Minakami)
• Kusatsu (three round-trips daily between Ueno and Manza-Kazawaguchi)
• Akebono (once daily night train between Ueno and Aomori)
• Hokuriku, Noto (once daily night trains between Ueno and Kanazawa)

Home Liner Kōnosu

Four trains bound for Kōnosu depart Ueno every weekday evening. Passengers can board only at Ueno; all other stations are for disembarking only. Service is provided by 7-car 185 series and 9-car 489 series EMU trainsets.

Local/rapid services to/from Ueno

Commuter rapid

Commuter rapid services are operated using E231 series and 211 series trainsets only on weekday evenings, departing Ueno between 18:30 and 22:30 and Takasaki between 17:30 and 20:30, with approximately one round-trip per hour. Although Takasaki-bound services are all 10-car trainsets, the last two services are 15-car trains that run to Kagohara.

Rapid Urban

Rapid Urban services run between Ueno and Takasaki, skipping some intermediate stations. There are two Takasaki-bound services every morning and seven Takasaki/Maebashi-bound and five Ueno-bound services on weekend evenings (replacing weekday commuter rapid services). Trains are operated using E231 series and 211 series EMUs.

Local

Local trains run approximately four times hourly; one or two of those terminates at Kagohara, while the rest terminate at Takasaki, Shin-Maebashi, or Maebashi. Services are provided by E231 series and 211 series 10- and 15-car EMUs.

Shōnan-Shinjuku Line services

See also: Shōnan-Shinjuku Line

Within the Takasaki Line, Shōnan-Shinjuku Line special rapid and rapid trains are each operated once per hour. They do not stop at Urawa or Saitama-Shintoshin stations since they have no platforms available; however, by 2012 a new platform at Urawa is expected to be completed.

All trains are 10- or 15-car E231 series EMUs.

Special Rapid

Special rapid trains operate once hourly to Takasaki, making limited stops. They skip Ebisu Station.

Rapid

Rapid trains operate once hourly to Kagohara, stopping at all stations while within the Takasaki Line; this increases 2-3 times an hour during the mornings and evenings, when Takasaki-, Odawara-, and Kozu-bound trains also operate. North of Kagohara, all services are operated with 10-car trainsets.

Station list

• Local trains, excluding Shōnan-Shinjuku Line through trains, stop at all stations (except Nippori).
• All rapid, Home Liner, and Shōnan-Shinjuku Line trains stop at stations marked "●"; some stop at those marked "▲"; and all trains pass those marked "｜".
• For limited express, express, and seasonal rapid Moonlight Echigo services, please see their respective articles.

Line Name	Station	Japanese	Distance (km)			Rapid Urban	Comm. Rapid	Home Liner Kōnosu	Shōnan- Shinjuku Line		Transfers	Location
			Between Stations	Total
				From Ueno	From Ōmiya				Rapid	Special Rapid
Through services via the Shōnan-Shinjuku Line to Ikebukuro and Shinjuku and the Tōkaidō Line to Hiratsuka, Kōzu, and Odawara
Tōhoku Main Line	Ueno	上野	-	0.0	26.9	●	●	●	∥	∥	Tōhoku Shinkansen, Yamagata Shinkansen, Akita Shinkansen, Jōetsu Shinkansen, Nagano Shinkansen, Yamanote Line, Keihin-Tōhoku Line, Tōhoku Main Line (Utsunomiya Line), Jōban Line Tokyo Metro Ginza Line (G-16), Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (H-17) Keisei Main Line (Keisei Ueno)	Taitō	Tokyo
	Oku	尾久	2.6	4.8	22.1	｜	●	｜	∥	∥		Kita
	Akabane	赤羽	5.0	9.8	17.1	●	●	｜	■	■	Keihin-Tōhoku Line, Shōnan-Shinjuku Line, Saikyō Line
	Urawa	浦和	11.0	20.8	6.1	●	●	●	｜	｜	Keihin-Tōhoku Line	Urawa-ku, Saitama	Saitama
	Saitama-Shintoshin	さいたま新都心	4.5	25.3	1.6	｜	｜	｜	｜	｜	Keihin-Tōhoku Line	Ōmiya-ku, Saitama
	Ōmiya	大宮	1.6	26.9	0.0	●	●	●	●	●	Tōhoku Shinkansen, Yamagata Shinkansen, Akita Shinkansen, Jōetsu Shinkansen, Nagano Shinkansen, Keihin-Tōhoku Line, Tōhoku Main Line (Utsunomiya Line), Shōnan-Shinjuku Line, Saikyō Line, Kawagoe Line Tōbu Noda Line Saitama New Urban Transit: Ina Line (New Shuttle)
Takasaki Line
	Miyahara	宮原	4.0	30.9	4.0	｜	｜	｜	●	｜		Kita-ku, Saitama
	Ageo	上尾	4.2	35.1	8.2	●	▲	●	●	●		Ageo
	Kita-Ageo	北上尾	1.7	36.8	9.9	｜	｜	｜	●	｜
	Okegawa	桶川	1.9	38.7	11.8	●	▲	●	●	●		Okegawa
	Kitamoto	北本	4.6	43.3	16.4	｜	｜	●	●	●		Kitamoto
	Kōnosu	鴻巣	3.6	46.9	20.0	●	●	●	●	●		Kōnosu
	Kita-Kōnosu	北鴻巣	4.3	51.2	24.3	｜	｜		●	｜
	Fukiage	吹上	3.0	54.2	27.3	｜	｜		●	｜
	Gyōda	行田	2.3	56.5	29.6	｜	｜		●	｜		Gyōda
	Kumagaya	熊谷	4.8	61.3	34.4	●	●		●	●	Jōetsu Shinkansen, Nagano Shinkansen Chichibu Main Line	Kumagaya
	Kumagaya Freight Terminal	熊谷貨物ターミナル	4.9	66.2	39.3	｜	｜		｜	｜	Chichibu Railway Mikajiri Line (freight)
	Kagohara	籠原	1.7	67.9	41.0	●	●		●	●
	Fukaya	深谷	4.8	72.7	45.8	●	●		●	●		Fukaya
	Okabe	岡部	4.3	77.0	50.1	●	●		●	●
	Honjō	本庄	5.6	82.6	55.7	●	●		●	●		Honjō
	Jimbohara	神保原	4.0	86.6	59.7	●	●		●	●		Kamisato, Kodama District
	Shinmachi	新町	4.5	91.1	64.2	●	●		●	●		Takasaki	Gunma
	Kuragano	倉賀野	6.1	97.2	70.3	●	●		●	●	Hachikō Line
	Takasaki	高崎	2.5	101.6	74.7	●	●		●	●	Jōetsu Shinkansen, Nagano Shinkansen, Jōetsu Line (some through service), Ryōmō Line, Agatsuma Line, Shin'etsu Main Line Jōshin Dentetsu Jōshin Line
Through services via the Jōetsu Line to Shin-Maebashi and via the Ryōmō Line to Maebashi

External links

• Stations of the Takasaki Line (JR East) (Japanese) (Translate: Google, Babelfish)