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Utsunomiya Line

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This article is about the JR East railway line. For the Tōbu Railway line, see Tōbu Utsunomiya Line.

Utsunomiya Line
JU
E231-1000 series EMU between Higashi-Ōmiya and Hasuda
Overview
LocaleTokyo, Saitama, Tochigi, Ibaraki
Termini
Stations33
Service
TypeHeavy rail
Operator(s) JR East
Depot(s)Oyama
History
Opened1883
Technical
Line length159.9 km (99.4 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification1,500 V DC overhead catenary
Operating speed120 km/h (75 mph)

The Utsunomiya Line (宇都宮線, Utsunomiya-sen) is the name given to a 159.9 kilometre section of the Tōhoku Main Line between Ueno Station in Tokyo and Kuroiso Station in Nasushiobara, Tochigi, Japan. It is part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) network. Service on the line has been extended to Tokyo Station via the Ueno-Tokyo Line.

Services

Services on the Utsunomiya Line are typically divided into three categories: services to or from Ueno, Shōnan-Shinjuku Line services, and Ueno-Tokyo Line services. Between Ueno and Ōmiya, trains share the track with the Takasaki Line, both of which serve as de facto express services compared to the parallel Keihin-Tōhoku Line. Northbound services mostly terminate at Utsunomiya or Koganei, with some at Koga, and very few at Kuroiso. Southbound trains mostly travel through the Shōnan-Shinjuku Line to Zushi on the Yokosuka Line, or the Ueno-Tokyo Line to Atami on the Tokaido Line, with very few terminating at Ueno.

The fastest service on the line, the rapid Rabbit, makes the run between Ueno and Utsunomiya in 1 hour and 26 minutes.

Service on the line is generally divided at Utsunomiya, though the number of through trains has been increasing steadily over the years. South of Utsunomiya, 10- and 15-car E231/E233 series four-door suburban commuter EMUs with Green cars attached service the line, while to the north service is provided chiefly by 4-car 205-600 series four-door EMUs.

Limited express

Limited express services use the line, including:

Local/rapid services

Commuter rapid

Commuter rapid services for Utsunomiya make fewer stops than the Rabbit rapid services described below. They are operated only on weekday evenings, between Ueno and Utsunomiya. Trains depart Ueno between 18:00 and 22:00, and Utsunomiya between 16:00 and 21:00, with approximately one round-trip per hour. All trains are E231/E233 series 10- or 15-car EMUs.

Rapid Rabbit

Since March 2015, Rapid Rabbit services now run from Kōzu on the Tokaido Line, through the Ueno-Tokyo Line, to Utsunomiya. This service stops at every station on the Tokaido Line, and skips some stations on the Utsunomiya Line. Rabbit trains were first operated by the Japanese National Railways as an hourly/half-hourly rapid service. Since October 2004, however, Rabbit services run only twice during the morning; on weekends, they replace the weekday commuter rapid service. Trains are E231/E233 series EMUs.

Rapid Acty

See also: Tokaido Line

Since March 2015, with the Ueno-Tokyo Line opening, Tokaido Line Rapid Acty services now run up along the Utsunomiya Line. Services stop at every station on the Utsunomiya Line, and skips some stations on the Tokaido Line.

Local

Local trains run four times hourly; one of those terminates at Koganei, while the rest terminate at Utsunomiya. During the morning peak, Ueno-bound trains run at intervals of 4–6 minutes. Services are provided by E231/E233 series 10- or 15-car EMUs.

Shōnan-Shinjuku Line services

See also: Shōnan-Shinjuku Line

Within the Utsunomiya Line, Shōnan-Shinjuku Line rapid and local trains are each operated once per hour. They do not stop at Saitama-Shintoshin Station since it has no platforms available. All trains are 10- or 15-car E231/E233 series EMUs. They operate between Zushi and Utsunomiya.

Rapid

Rapid trains operate once hourly, making limited stops. The travel time between Shinjuku and Utsunomiya is about 1 hour and 35 minutes.

Local

Local trains operate once hourly (twice hourly during the morning), stopping at all stations. The travel time between Shinjuku and Ōmiya is about 32 minutes.

Utsunomiya – Kuroiso services

Between Utsunomiya and Kuroiso, local and rapid trains stop at every station. Trains operate approximately three times per hour, traveling between Utsunomiya and Kuroiso in approximately 50 minutes. Most trains are 205-600 series EMUs.

Past services

Limited Express

Home Liner Koga

Two trains bound for Koga depart Ueno every weekday evening. Passengers can board only at Ueno; all other stations are for disembarking only. Stops include: Ueno, Urawa, Ōmiya, Higashi-Ōmiya, Hasuda, Kuki, and Koga. Service is provided by 7-car 185 series and 9-car 489 series EMUs.

Station list

  • Local and Rapid Acty trains, excluding Shōnan-Shinjuku Line through trains, stop at all stations within the Utsunomiya Line (except Nippori)
  • For limited express services, please see their respective articles.

Legends:

  • ● : All trains stop
  • ｜: All trains pass
  • ▼: Shōnan–Shinjuku Line trains stop, but use dedicated platforms on the Tohoku Freight Line
  • ∥ : Shōnan–Shinjuku Line trains do not travel within this section
Station Japanese Distance (km) Local &

Rapid Acty

Rapid Rabbit Commuter Rapid Shōnan–Shinjuku Line Transfers Location
Between
stations 		Total
From Ueno
via Oku 		From Tokyo
via Ōji 		Local Rapid
Through services from/to: JU Ueno–Tokyo Line for JT Tōkaidō Line and JT Itō Line / JS Shōnan-Shinjuku Line (for JO Yokosuka Line)
Ueno
UENJU02
 上野 - 0.0 3.6 ● ● ● ∥ ∥
Taitō Tokyo
Oku
JU03 		尾久 2.6 4.8 - ● ｜ ● ∥ ∥   Kita
Akabane
ABNJU04
 赤羽 5.0 9.8 13.2 ● ● ● ▼ ▼
Urawa
URWJU05
 浦和 11.0 20.8 24.2 ● ● ● ▼ ▼ JK Keihin-Tōhoku Line Urawa-ku, Saitama Saitama
Saitama-Shintoshin
JU06 		さいたま新都心 4.5 25.3 28.7 ● ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ JK Keihin-Tōhoku Line Ōmiya-ku, Saitama
Ōmiya
OMYJU07
 大宮 1.6 26.9 30.3 ● ● ● ● ●
End of suburban section
Toro 土呂 3.0 29.9 33.3 ● ｜ ｜ ● ｜   Kita-ku, Saitama
Higashi-Ōmiya 東大宮 2.1 32.0 35.4 ● ｜ ｜ ● ｜   Minuma-ku, Saitama
Hasuda 蓮田 3.8 35.8 39.2 ● ● ｜ ● ●   Hasuda
Shiraoka 白岡 4.3 40.1 43.5 ● ｜ ｜ ● ｜   Shiraoka
Shin-Shiraoka 新白岡 2.4 42.5 45.9 ● ｜ ｜ ● ｜  
Kuki 久喜 3.0 45.5 48.9 ● ● ● ● ● TI Tōbu Isesaki Line Kuki
Higashi-Washinomiya 東鷲宮 2.7 48.2 51.6 ● ｜ ｜ ● ｜  
Kurihashi 栗橋 5.6 53.8 57.2 ● ｜ ｜ ● ｜ TN Tōbu Nikkō Line
Koga 古河 7.5 61.3 64.7 ● ● ● ● ●   Koga Ibaraki
Nogi 野木 4.7 66.0 69.4 ● ｜ ｜ ● ｜   Nogi, Shimotsuga District Tochigi
Mamada 間々田 3.9 69.9 73.3 ● ｜ ｜ ● ｜   Oyama
Oyama 小山 7.3 77.2 80.6 ● ● ● ● ●
Koganei 小金井 7.5 84.7 88.1 ● ● ● ● ●   Shimotsuke
Jichi Medical University 自治医大 2.6 87.3 90.7 ● ● ● ● ●  
Ishibashi 石橋 4.7 92.0 95.4 ● ● ● ● ●  
Utsunomiya Freight Terminal 宇都宮貨物ターミナル 1.2 93.2 96.6 ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜   Kaminokawa, Kawachi District
Suzumenomiya 雀宮 5.2 98.4 101.8 ● ● ● ● ●   Utsunomiya
Utsunomiya 宇都宮 7.7 106.1 109.5 ● ● ● ● ●
Okamoto 岡本 6.2 112.3 115.7 ●  
Hōshakuji 宝積寺 5.5 117.8 121.2 ● ■ Karasuyama Line[* 1] Takanezawa, Shioya District
Ujiie 氏家 5.9 123.7 127.1 ●   Sakura
Kamasusaka 蒲須坂 4.5 128.2 131.6 ●  
Kataoka 片岡 3.9 132.1 135.5 ●   Yaita
Yaita 矢板 6.3 138.4 141.8 ●  
Nozaki 野崎 4.8 143.2 146.6 ●   Ōtawara
Nishi-Nasuno 西那須野 5.2 148.4 151.8 ●   Nasushiobara
Nasushiobara 那須塩原 6.0 154.4 157.8 ● Tōhoku Shinkansen
Kuroiso 黒磯 5.5 159.9 163.3 ● ■ Tōhoku Main Line (for Shirakawa and Kōriyama)
  1. ^ Some Karasuyama Line trains run through to Utsunomiya.

Rolling stock

Tokyo—Ueno—Utsunomiya—Kuroiso

Utsunomiya—Kuroiso

From March 2013, a fleet of eight refurbished 4-car 205 series EMUs was phased in on Utsunomiya Line services between Koganei and Kuroiso, replacing 211 series sets.[1]

  • An E231-1000 series EMU
    An E231-1000 series EMU
  • An E233-3000 series EMU
    An E233-3000 series EMU
  • A 205-600 series EMU
    A 205-600 series EMU

History

Main article: Tōhoku Main Line

See also

References

  1. ^ 日光線、宇都宮線に205系リニューアル車投入 [Refurbished 205 series to be introduced on Nikko and Utunomiya Line]. Tetsudo Hobidas (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing Co., Ltd. 27 September 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
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