The is a regional rail line in

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

that is operated by the

Aoimori Railway Company The is a public-private transport company that operates the Aoimori Railway Line in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Its headquarters are located in the city of Aomori. The government of Aomori Prefecture and the city of Aomori are the primary shareh ...

. It connects the terminal station of the

Iwate Galaxy Railway Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by the " third sector" publicly and privately owned operator Iwate Galaxy Railway Company. It connects Morioka Station in Morioka, Iwate to Metoki Station in Sannohe, Aomori. Formerly part of the East Ja ...

Metoki Station is a railway station in the town of Sannohe in the Sannohe District of Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the third sector railway operators Aoimori Railway Company and Iwate Galaxy Railway Company. Location Metoki Station is the s ...

, in the town of

Sannohe is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 9,814 in 4260 households, and a population density of 65 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Sannohe occupies an inland area in sout ...

Aomori Station is a railway station in the city of Aomori in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The station has been operating since September 1891, though the most recent station building, which consists of three island platforms connected to the station building by a ...

, the terminus of several rail lines in the city of

Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of ...

. The Aoimori and Iwate Galaxy Railway Lines are former sections of the

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fukush ...

that connected

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

to Aomori that were rendered obsolete for long-distance passenger services by the completion of the high-speed

Tōhoku Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture in a route length of , making it Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main is ...

between and stations. Though local passenger services are run on the line by the Aoimori Railway Company, the

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

continues to operate limited services, such as the sightseeing train ''

Resort Asunaro A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort' ...

'', along the line, and the

Japan Freight Railway Company , or , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It provides transportation of cargo nationwide throughout Japan. Its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo near Shinjuku Station. The Japan Railways Group was foun ...

transports freight along the line.

History

The predecessor to the Aoimori Railway Line was completed as the – portion of the

Nippon Railway was the first private railway company in the history of Japan. The company built trunk lines connecting Tokyo with the Tōhoku region to the northeast. Most of its lines came under the control of Japanese Government Railways following nationaliza ...

on 1 September 1891. When the Nippon Railway was nationalized on 1 November 1906, it became part of the

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...

(JNR) system and was designated part of the

on 12 October 1909. With the privatization and dissolution of JNR on 1 April 1987, the line came under the control of the

(JR East). On 1 December 2002, with the opening of the

, the portion of the Tōhoku Main Line located in

Iwate Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture at , with a population of 1,210,534 (as of October 1, 2020). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefectur ...

became the

, and the portion in Aomori Prefecture from the Iwate border to Hachinohe Station became the Aoimori Railway Line. With the opening of the Tōhoku Shinkansen extension to on 4 December 2010, the Tōhoku Main Line tracks between Hachinohe and Aomori were transferred from JR East to the

, resulting in the completion of the Aoimori Railway Line. There have been a few new developments along the line since its transfer to the Aoimori Railway Company. On 12 March 2012,

Nonai Station is a railway station on the Aoimori Railway Line in Nonai neighborhood of the city of Aomori in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, operated by the third-sector railway operator Aoimori Railway Company. Passenger trains serve the station over 17 and a ...

was relocated southwest of its original location. Tsutsui Station, near

Aomori High School is a high school in the city of Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Originally a junior high school named , the school was established on September 11, 1900. Aomori Prefectural First Junior High School in Hirosaki and Aomori Prefectural Second ...

, was opened on 15 March 2014. Two-car

Aoimori 703 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the third-sector railway operator Aoimori Railway on the Aoimori Railway Line in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, since March 2014. Overview Based on the JR East E721 series EMUs first i ...

sets began operations on the line on the same day to handle the increased loads presented by the opening of Tsutsui Station.

Organization

The Aoimori Railway Line is operated by the Aoimori Railway Company, a " third-sector" publicly and privately owned company. The railway facilities and tracks are owned by the prefectural government of Aomori as a "Category 3 Railway Business" under the Railway Business Act of Japan. The Aoimori Railway Company leases these facilities from the prefectural government and is responsible for operation of passenger trains on the tracks. This scheme is intended to mitigate the company's burden as an owner of

fixed assets A fixed asset, also known as long-lived assets or property, plant and equipment (PP&E), is a term used in accounting for assets and property that may not easily be converted into cash. Fixed assets are different from current assets, such as cas ...

and is known as . The Aoimori Railway Line is designated as the rail line between Aomori and Metoki stations that was formerly the northernmost section of the Tōhoku Main Line. Trains operated by the Aoimori Railway Company primarily operate between Aomori and Hachinohe stations; however, some of the railway's trains continue south beyond Hachinohe to

Sannohe Station is a railway station on the Aoimori Railway Line in the town of Nanbu, Aomori, Nanbu in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, operated by the Public–private partnership#Japan, third sector railway operator Aoimori Railway Company. Lines Sannohe Station i ...

, with fewer continuing south to

Morioka Station Morioka Station ( ja, 盛岡駅, ) is a railway station in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by JR East. Lines Morioka Station is a major junction station, and is served by both the Tōhoku Shinkansen and the Akita Shinkansen. I ...

. Some of the trains that run along the railway between Hachinohe and Metoki Station are carried by the rolling stock of the

Iwate Galaxy Railway Company The is a railway line in Japan operated by the " third sector" publicly and privately owned operator Iwate Galaxy Railway Company. It connects Morioka Station in Morioka, Iwate to Metoki Station in Sannohe, Aomori. Formerly part of the East J ...

, the operator of the former Tōhoku Main Line between Metoki and Morioka stations.

(JR Freight), the nationwide freight train operator, continues to use the line for freight services. For maintenance work, the line relies on the services of the Hachinohe Rinkai Railway Company. As of January 2021, the only JR East limited express operate along the line is the ''

'' sightseeing train that runs between and stations, using the line between Hachinohe and .

Station list

Rolling stock and equipment

* Aoimori 701 series 2-car EMUs x9 *

2-car EMUs x2 The Aoimori Railway operates a fleet of

701 series 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, ...

two-car

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...

s (EMUs). One set was built from new in September 2002, while eight more were transferred from

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

. Two new two-car

EMUs were delivered in November 2013 and introduced from the start of the 15 March 2014 timetable revision.

Future plans

The railway has been negotiating with the city of Aomori since December 2015 on a proposal to open a new station between Tsutsui Station and

near the point at which the railway passes under

Japan National Route 103 is a National highways of Japan, national highway of Japan connecting the capital of Aomori Prefecture, Aomori (city), Aomori to Ōdate, Akita, Ōdate in northeastern Akita Prefecture. It has a total length of 130.0 km (80.8 mi). Rout ...

. The station would be part of a sports arena development for the 2025

National Sports Festival of Japan The is the national premier sports event of Japan. It consists of three stages. The skating and ice hockey stage takes place in January, the skiing stage takes place in February, and the main Autumn tournament takes place in September and Octob ...

to be held in Aomori. The neighborhood the station would serve is a primarily residential area, but it would also provide access to some busy shopping centers within walking distance to the station. As of January 2021, no final decision has been made regarding the construction of the new station.

References

* Harris, Ken and Clarke, Jackie. ''Jane's World Railways 2008-2009''. Jane's Information Group (2008).

External links

* {{Portal bar, Trains, Japan

Aoimori Railway Line The is a regional rail line in Aomori Prefecture, Japan that is operated by the Aoimori Railway Company. It connects the terminal station of the Iwate Galaxy Railway Line, Metoki Station, in the town of Sannohe to Aomori Station, the termi ...

Rail transport in Aomori Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1891 Japanese third-sector railway lines