The is a railway line in
Miyagi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...
, Japan, owned and operated by 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 ...
(JR East). It connects
Aoba-dōri Station
is a JR East railway station located in Aoba-ku in Sendai, Miyagi.
There is a direct transfer gate between the platform of this station to the platform of the Sendai Subway Namboku Line in Sendai Station. The Sendai Subway Tōzai Line is c ...
in
Sendai
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...
to
Ishinomaki Station
is a junction railway station located in the city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Ishinomaki Station is served by both the Ishinomaki Line and the Senseki Line / Senseki-Tōhoku Line, for w ...
in
Ishinomaki
is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 138,538, and a population density of 250 persons per km2 in 61,919 households. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Ishinomaki is in northeastern Miya ...
, and provides access to the central coast areas of Miyagi Prefecture, significantly the
Matsushima
is a group of islands in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. There are some 260 tiny islands (''shima'') covered in pines (''matsu'') – hence the name – and it is considered to be one of the Three Views of Japan.
Nearby cultural properties ...
area. It connects with the
Sendai Subway
The is a rapid transit system in Sendai, Japan. It is operated by the Sendai City Transportation Bureau. The subway consists of two lines, the north-south Namboku Line, which opened in July 1987, and the east-west Tozai Line, which opened in ...
Nanboku Line at Aoba-dōri Station; the
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 ...
, 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 ...
and the
Senzan Line
The is a railway line in Japan. Part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) system, it runs from Sendai Station in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture to Uzen-Chitose Station in Yamagata, Yamagata Prefecture, acting as a connector between the T ...
at
Sendai Station; and the
Ishinomaki Line
The is a railway line in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Kogota Station in Misato with Onagawa Station in Onagawa, acting as a spur line from the Tōhoku Main Line to the central coast o ...
in
Ishinomaki
is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 138,538, and a population density of 250 persons per km2 in 61,919 households. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Ishinomaki is in northeastern Miya ...
. The name Senseki (仙石) comes from the combination of the first ''
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
'' of Sendai (仙台) and Ishinomaki (石巻), the two cities that the Senseki Line connects. It is also the only line in Sendai area that is powered by DC overhead power line.
Basic data
*Operators, distances:
**
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 ...
(Services and tracks)
***Aoba-dōri — Ishinomaki: 50.2 km / 31.2 mi.
**
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 ...
(Services and tracks)
***Rikuzen-Yamashita — Ishinomaki-Minato: 1.8 km / 1.1 mi.
**
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 ...
(Services)
***Rikuzen-Yamashita — Ishinomaki: 1.4 km / 0.9 mi.
*Stations:
**Passenger stations: 31
**Freight terminals: 1 (Ishinomaki-Minato)
*Tracks:
**Double-track: Aoba-dōri — Higashi-Shiogama
**Single-track: Higashi-Shiogama — Ishinomaki
*Electrification: Whole line (1,500 V
DC)
*
Railway signalling
Railway signalling (), also called railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormou ...
:
**Aoba-dōri —
Higashi-shiogama:
ATACS
Advanced Train Administration and Communications System (ATACS) is an Automatic Train Control (ATC) system first introduced by JR East on the Senseki Line in 2011. It uses radio communication rather than traditional signals, and works as a movin ...
(≈
ETCS Level 3)
**Higasi-Shiogama —Ishinomaki:
ATS-Ps
Automatic train stop or ATS is a system on a train that automatically stops a train if certain situations occur (unresponsive train operator, earthquake, disconnected rail, train running over a stop signal, etc.) to prevent accidents. In some scena ...
*
CTC center: Miyagino Operation Control Center
Services
![205-3100 m2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/205-3100_m2.JPG)
Prior to the partial suspension of services by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, all trains originated from
Aoba-dōri Station
is a JR East railway station located in Aoba-ku in Sendai, Miyagi.
There is a direct transfer gate between the platform of this station to the platform of the Sendai Subway Namboku Line in Sendai Station. The Sendai Subway Tōzai Line is c ...
, with most running to or . Local trains and rapid service trains that ran the entire length of the line operated at 30-minute intervals. When the line was fully recovered in 2015, rapid services were switched to the route via the
Senseki-Tōhoku Line
The is a railway line in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, opened by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on 30 May 2015. It connects Sendai Station in Sendai with Ishinomaki Station in Ishinomaki, using existing Tōhoku Main Line tracks between ...
. Therefore, under the 2015 timetable, the section between Aoba-dōri and Takagimachi is served only by local trains.
At
Sendai Station, the line crosses under 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 ...
and its platforms, similar to the situation with the
Keiyō Line
The is a railway line connecting Tokyo and Chiba in Japan, paralleling the edge of Tokyo Bay. It is operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line forms part of what JR East refers to as the around Tokyo, consisting of the Kei ...
in and the
Chikuhi Line in
Hakata (which connects via the
Fukuoka Airport Subway Line).
The segment from Aoba-dōri to Higashi-Shiogama is a key part of Sendai's transportation system, and becomes very crowded during peak periods, and headways are as short as 4 minutes. During non-peak times 3–5 trains run per hour. Between Higashi-Shiogama and Ishinomaki two trains run per hour.
In addition to all-stations "local" trains, there are limited-stop "rapid" and "special rapid" services on the Senseki Line section between Takagimachi and Ishinomaki. Between Sendai and Takagimachi, the "rapid" and "special rapid" services operate on the
Senseki-Tōhoku Line
The is a railway line in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, opened by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on 30 May 2015. It connects Sendai Station in Sendai with Ishinomaki Station in Ishinomaki, using existing Tōhoku Main Line tracks between ...
. The special rapid services make only stop at in the Senseki Line section, while the rapid services also stop at Nobiru, Rikuzen-Ono, Rikuzen-Akai, Hebita and Rikuzen-Yamashita.
A "Mangattan Train" operates on the Senseki Line, with a livery featuring Ishinomori Manga characters.
Disaster and reconstruction, 2011–2015
Service was halted since the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...
, as several trains, stations, and sections of the line were destroyed, heavily damaged, or flooded. Service for the first 16 miles of the line from Sendai was expected to be restored by the end of May 2011. By mid-July, the Sendai – Matsushima-Kaigan and Yamoto – Ishinomaki sections had service restored, although the latter segment was with diesel trains due to the loss of the power substation.
The remainder of the line between Matsushima-Kaigan and Yamoto was obliterated by the tsunami.
From March October 2012, services resumed on all but the to section,
[JR Timetable October 2012 issue, P.9] with services on that section restored on 30 May 2015, and a new 400m link was constructed from between
Shiogama Station
is a railway station on the Tōhoku Main Line in the city of Shiogama, Miyagi, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Shiogama Station is served by the Tōhoku Main Line, and lies 365.2 km from the official starti ...
and
Matsushima Station
is a railway station in the town of Matsushima, Miyagi, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). This station is about 1 km from Takagimachi Station and about 2 km away from Matsushima-Kaigan Station on the Senseki ...
on the
Tohoku Main Line to a point between and Takagimachi Station on the Senseki Line. Costing approximately 2 billion yen to build, the new link allows through-running services from the Tohoku Main Line to the Senseki Line, and cut approximately 10 minutes off the journey time between Sendai and Ishinomaki. On 26 March 2016, a new station located between
Rikuzen-Akai Station and
Hebita Station, called
Ishinomakiayumino Station
is a railway station on the Senseki Line in the city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Ishinomakiayumino Station is served by the Senseki Line (including the Senseki-Tōhoku Line). Located be ...
was opened.
Stations
The distances shown above are as of May 30, 2015 following the rerouting of the section between Rikuzen-Ōtsuka and Rikuzen-Ono, by which the section was shortened by 1.2 kilometers.
Rolling stock
*
205-3100 series 4-car EMUs
*
HB-E210 series 2-car hybrid DMUs
New
HB-E210 series 2-car hybrid
diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
(DMU) trains are scheduled to be introduced on the line from 30 May 2015 between and following the start of new
Senseki-Tohoku Line services using a newly built link connecting with the
Tohoku Main Line at .
File:Series205-3100-M17.jpg, A 205-3100 series EMU
File:HB-E210-C1.jpg, An HB-E210 series hybrid DMU
Former Rolling Stock
*
72 series
The trains were DC electric commuter trains operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and served as the basis for the 101 series. The 72 series included the main production batch of 490 vehicles as well as 667 former 63 series cars converte ...
(Since 1974)
*
79 series 79 may refer to:
* 79 (number)
* one of the years 79 BC, AD 79, 1979, 2079
* ''79 A.D.'', a 1962 historical epic film
* Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79
Of the many eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, a major stratovolcano in southern Italy, the best- ...
(Since 1974)
*
103 series
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
(1979-2004, 2006-2009)
*
105 series
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
(March 1987 – 1998)
File:Senseki Line 103 series approaching Hon-Shiogama station.JPG, A Senseki Line 103 Series Approaching Hon-Shiogama station
History
The Miyagi Electric Railway opened the line in sections between 1925 and 1928. Individual opening dates are given in the timeline section below. The Rikuzen-Haranomachi to Nishi-Shiogama section was double-tracked between 1968 and 1969, and extended to Higashi-Shiogama in 1981.
In 2000, the surface section between Rikuzen-Haranomachi and Sendai was replaced by a double-track underground line, with a new section to Aoba-dori to connect to the Sendai subway.
Parts of the line were extensively damaged by the
2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami
Eleven or 11 may refer to:
*11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12
* one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11
Literature
* ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn
*''El ...
, and whilst service was restored on the majority of the line by March 2012, the Takagimachi – Rikuzen-Ono section was returned to service on 30 May 2015.
Timeline
* 5 June 1925: Miyagi Electric Railway (later Senseki Line): Sendai – Nishi-Shiogama.
* 1 January 1926:
Miyaginohara Station
is an underground railway station on the Senseki Line in Miyagino-ku in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Miyaginohara Station is served by the Senseki Line. It is located 2.4 rail kilometers from t ...
opens.
* 14 April 1926:
Nishi-Shiogama –
Hon-Shiogama section opens.
* 18 April 1927:
Hon-Shiogama – Matsushima-Kōen (later
Matsushima-Kaigan Station
is a railway station in the town of Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Matsushima-Kaigan Station is served by the Senseki Line. It is located 23.2 rail kilometers from the terminus of t ...
) section opens.
* 10 April 1928: Matsushima-Kōen –
Rikuzen-Ono section opens.
* 15 May 1928:
Nigatake Station
is a railway station in Miyagino-ku in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Nigatake Station is served by the Senseki Line. It is located 4.0 rail kilometers from the terminus of the Senseki Line a ...
opens.
* 22 November 1928:
Rikuzen-Ono –
Ishinomaki
is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 138,538, and a population density of 250 persons per km2 in 61,919 households. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Ishinomaki is in northeastern Miya ...
section opens, connecting Sendai to Ishinomaki.
* 1 June 1929:
Kazuma Station opens.
* 23 October 1931:
Nobiru Station
is a railway station on the Senseki Line in the city of Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Nobiru Station is served by the Senseki Line, and is located 33.4 kilometers from t ...
becomes Tōhoku-Suma Station.
* 1 December 1931:
Tōna Station opens.
* 8 January 1932: Ishinomaki station becomes Miyaden-Ishinomaki Station.
* 1 August 1932:
Geba Station
is a railway station in the city of Tagajō, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Geba Station is served by the Senseki Line. It is located 14.4 rail kilometers from the terminus of the Senseki Lin ...
opens.
* 1 February 1939: Miyaden-Yamashita Station (later
Rikuzen-Yamashita Station) opens.
* 7 November 1939: Miyaden-Yamashita – Kama (later Ishinomaki Port Station) freight connection opens.
* 1 May 1944: Miyagi Electric Railway is nationalized, becomes the Senseki Line; Higashi-Nanabanchō Station becomes Sendai Higashi-Guchi Station, Hamada Station becomes
Rikuzen-Hamada Station, Matsushima-Kōen becomes
Matsushima-Kaigan Station
is a railway station in the town of Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Matsushima-Kaigan Station is served by the Senseki Line. It is located 23.2 rail kilometers from the terminus of t ...
, Tomiyama becomes
Rikuzen-Tomiyama Station, Ōtsuka becomes
Rikuzen-Ōtsuka Station, Tōhoku-Suma becomes
Nobiru Station
is a railway station on the Senseki Line in the city of Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Nobiru Station is served by the Senseki Line, and is located 33.4 kilometers from t ...
, and Miyaden-Ishinomaki becomes
Ishinomaki Station
is a junction railway station located in the city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Ishinomaki Station is served by both the Ishinomaki Line and the Senseki Line / Senseki-Tōhoku Line, for w ...
.
* 1 June 1952:
Sendai
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...
– Sendai Higashi-Guchi section stops operation.
* 26 September 1952:
Sendai
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...
– Sendai Higashi-Gushi section abolished.
* 1957: Rapid trains begin operation.
* 23 February 1968:
Track doubled on
Fukudamachi –
Tagajō
is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 62,869 in 27,869 households, and a population density of 3,200 people per km². The total area of the city is . The city was named after Taga Castle, the c ...
section.
* 19 March 1968: Track doubled on
Rikuzen-Haranomachi –
Fukudamachi section.
* 11 October 1968: Kama – Ishinomaki-Futō freight connection opens
* 26 September 1969: Track doubled on
Tagajō
is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 62,869 in 27,869 households, and a population density of 3,200 people per km². The total area of the city is . The city was named after Taga Castle, the c ...
to
Nishi-Shiogama section.
* 1 April 1971: Kama – Ishinomaki-Minato freight connection abolished.
* 15 March 1972: Kama Station becomes Ishinomaki-Minato Station.
* 1974:
72 series
The trains were DC electric commuter trains operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and served as the basis for the 101 series. The 72 series included the main production batch of 490 vehicles as well as 667 former 63 series cars converte ...
and
79 series 79 may refer to:
* 79 (number)
* one of the years 79 BC, AD 79, 1979, 2079
* ''79 A.D.'', a 1962 historical epic film
* Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79
Of the many eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, a major stratovolcano in southern Italy, the best- ...
trains begin operation.
* 1 October 1979:
103 series
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
trains begin operation.
* 1 April 1981:
Nakanosakae Station opens.
* 1 November 1981:
Nishi-Shiogama –
Higashi-Shiogama section elevated, double-tracked;
Hon-Shiogama Station and
Higashi-Shiogama Station
is a railway station on the Senseki Line in the city of Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Higashi-Shiogama Station is served by the Senseki Line, and is located 17.2 kilometers from th ...
moved.
* 2 October 1983: New weekend schedule introduced.
* 31 March 1987:
Higashi-Yamoto Station
is a railway station in the city of Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Higashi-Yamoto Station is served by the Senseki Line. It is located 41.6 rail kilometers from the terminus ...
opens.
* 1 April 1987: Senseki Line becomes part of 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 ...
(JR East).
* 13 March 1988: Rapid trains renamed ''Umikaze''; scheduling changes.
* 21 July 1990:
Ishinomaki
is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 138,538, and a population density of 250 persons per km2 in 61,919 households. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Ishinomaki is in northeastern Miya ...
and Senseki Lines' Ishinomaki stations are merged.
* 1 November 1999: Ishinomaki-Minato – Ishinomaki-Futō; freight connection abolished.
![Carried train in Senseki Line](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Carried_train_in_Senseki_Line.JPG)
* 11 March 2000:
Sendai
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...
–
Rikuzen-Haranomachi section moved underground;
Aoba-dōri – Sendai section added.
* 5 November 2002:
205-3100 series trains begin operation.
* July 2004: Last remaining
103 series
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
trains withdrawn.
[
* 13 March 2004: ]Kozurushinden Station
is a railway station in Miyagino-ku in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Kozurushinden Station is served by the Senseki Line. It is located 5.6 rail kilometers from the terminus of the Senseki Line ...
opens.
* 16 October 2004: "Umikaze" name is discontinued; weekday and Saturday schedules are merged.
* 16 March 2005: Nishi-Shiogama Station becomes unmanned.
* November 2006: One 4-car 103 series
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
train is brought out of storage and reinstated into service.
* 21 October 2009: JR East's last remaining 103 series train is withdrawn from service.
* 11 March 2011: Two Senseki Line trains were derailed and badly damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...
.
* 2015: Services are restored over the entire length of the line.
* 26 March 2016: Ishinomakiayumino Station
is a railway station on the Senseki Line in the city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Ishinomakiayumino Station is served by the Senseki Line (including the Senseki-Tōhoku Line). Located be ...
opens.
References
{{Authority control
Lines of East Japan Railway Company
Railway lines opened in 1925
1925 establishments in Japan
1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
Rail transport in Miyagi Prefecture