Takasaki Line
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The Takasaki Line ( ja, 高崎線, ) is a Japanese railway line which connects Ōmiya Station in Saitama,
Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...
and
Takasaki Station is a junction railway station located in the city of Takasaki, Gunma, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the private railway operator Jōshin Dentetsu. It is also a freight depot for the Japan Freight Railway Compa ...
in
Takasaki is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as the hometown of th ...
,
Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...
. It is 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). All services on the line (excluding through Shonan-Shinjuku Line trains) run to/from
Ueno Station is a major railway station in Tokyo's Taitō ward. It is the station used to reach the Ueno district and Ueno Park—which contains Tokyo National Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo University of the Arts and other fam ...
in Tokyo via 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 ...
. The line was extended to
Tokyo Station Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is ...
via the Ueno-Tokyo Line that opened in March 2015. 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 The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto in Japan. There were 6 ...
, run parallel to the line.


Services

Services on the Takasaki 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
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 ...
(
Utsunomiya Line The Utsunomiya Line ( ja, 宇都宮線, ) is the name given to a 163.5 kilometer section of the Tōhoku Main Line between Tokyo Station in Tokyo and Kuroiso Station in Nasushiobara, Tochigi, Japan. It is part of the East Japan Railway Compan ...
), both of which serve as ''de facto'' express services compared to the parallel Keihin-Tōhoku Line. Northbound trains mostly terminate at or , with some at or . Southbound trains mostly travel through the Shōnan-Shinjuku Line to , or the Ueno-Tokyo Line to , on the Tokaido Line, with very few terminating at Ueno. Service on the line is provided by 15-car
E231 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type used for commuter and outer-suburban services operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan since 2000. Design Trains were manufactured by Tokyu Car Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy In ...
and
E233-3000 series The is a commuter and suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type developed by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) from the earlier E231 series and the E531 series design. The first train was introduced in December 2006 for use on the Ch ...
four-door suburban commuter EMUs with two Green cars; north of Kagohara, this is reduced to 10-cars.


Limited express / express

Prior to the opening of the Joetsu Shinkansen in 1982 and the
Nagano Shinkansen The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The first section, between and in Nagano Pr ...
in 1997, many Niigata- and Nagano-bound limited express and express services used the line, including the '' Toki'', '' Asama'', and ''
Hakutaka The is a high-speed ''shinkansen'' train service jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between and on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line in Japan. The shinkansen service was introduced on ...
''. However, the Shinkansen reduced the need for most of these limited express services, and only a few remain. These include: * '' Akagi / Swallow Akagi'' (four Ueno-bound and six Maebashi-bound services daily) * '' Kusatsu'' (three round-trips daily between Ueno and ) * '' Minakami'' (between Ueno and )


Local/rapid services


Rapid ''Urban''

Since March 2015, Rapid ''Urban'' services now run from or (weekends only) on the Tokaido Line, through the Ueno-Tokyo Line, to Takasaki. This service stops at every station on the Tokaido Line, and skips some stations on the Takasaki Line.


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.


Shōnan-Shinjuku Line services

Within the Takasaki Line, Shōnan-Shinjuku Line special rapid and rapid trains are each operated once per hour. Unlike regular Ueno bound or originating trains, they bypass Saitama-Shontoshin station as it has no platform for the tracks used by the Shonan-Shinjuku Line. Previously bypassed
Urawa station is a junction passenger railway station located in Urawa-ku, Saitama, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is located near Saitama City Office and the Saitama Prefectural Government Office. Lines Urawa Station is served b ...
now has a newly constructed platform that entered service in March 2013. All trains are 10- or 15-car E231 or E233 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.


Past services


Commuter rapid

Commuter rapid services operated on weekday evenings only. They operated between Ueno and Maebashi/Takasaki. This service ended on 12 March 2021.


Limited express

* '' Akebono'' (night train between Ueno and Aomori) * '' Hokuriku'', ''
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'' (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
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and 9-car 489 series EMU trainsets.


Station list

* Local trains, excluding Shōnan-Shinjuku Line through trains, stop at all stations (except Nippori). * For limited express, express, and seasonal rapid ''Moonlight Echigo'' 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 }). It is currently used by switching locomotives and freight trains waiting for passenger trains to pass. , 倉賀野 , style="text-align:right;", 6.1 , style="text-align:right;", 100.8 , style="text-align:right;", 70.3 , style="text-align:center;", ● , style="background:#fcc; text-align:center;", ● , style="text-align: center; background:#fbb", ● , style="text-align: center; background:#89d9ff", ● , Hachiko LineAll Hachiko Line trains run through to Takasaki. , - , , 高崎 , style="text-align:right;", 2.5 , style="text-align:right;", 105.2 , style="text-align:right;", 74.7 , style="text-align:center;", ● , style="background:#fcc; text-align:center;", ● , style="text-align: center; background:#fbb", ● , style="text-align: center; background:#89d9ff", ● , , - ! colspan="6" , Through services from/to: ! colspan="3" ,
Ryōmō Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Oyama in Tochigi Prefecture with Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture. long, the line is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The name refers to the fact that Gunma and Tochigi pre ...
for !/ ! colspan="3" ,


Rolling stock

*
E231 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type used for commuter and outer-suburban services operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan since 2000. Design Trains were manufactured by Tokyu Car Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy In ...
EMUs *
E233-3000 series The is a commuter and suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type developed by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) from the earlier E231 series and the E531 series design. The first train was introduced in December 2006 for use on the Ch ...
EMUs (since 1 September 2012)


History

The Nippon Railway Co., the first private railway company in Japan, opened the Ueno - Omiya - Shinmachi section in 1883, and extended the line to Takasaki (and Shinmaebashi) the following year. The company was nationalised in 1906. The line was double-tracked between 1927 and 1930, and electrified in 1952.


Former connecting lines

* Honjo Station: The Honjo Electric Railway operated a 7 km line to Kodama, electrified at 600 V DC, between 1915 and 1930. * Kumagaya Station: The 10 km Tobu Kumagaya Line to Menuma operated from 1943 to 1983. The planned extension to the
Tobu Koizumi Line is a Japanese commuter railway and '' keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second long ...
was never constructed. * Kuragano Station: The Iwahana Light Railway operated a 3 km line to Joshu Iwahana between 1917 and 1945. In 1967, an approximately 1 km siding was built on the alignment to serve an industrial area.


See also

*
Utsunomiya Line The Utsunomiya Line ( ja, 宇都宮線, ) is the name given to a 163.5 kilometer section of the Tōhoku Main Line between Tokyo Station in Tokyo and Kuroiso Station in Nasushiobara, Tochigi, Japan. It is part of the East Japan Railway Compan ...
* Tohoku Main Line * Shonan-Shinjuku Line * Ueno-Tokyo Line


References

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


External links

* {{Authority control Lines of East Japan Railway Company Railway lines in Tokyo Rail transport in Saitama Prefecture Rail transport in Gunma Prefecture Railway lines opened in 1883 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan