The is a railway line in the Tohoku and Chubu regions of Japan. 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) system, it connects

Niitsu Station is a railway station in Akiha-ku, Niigata, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Niitsu Station is served by the following three lines. It is the terminus of the Uetsu Main Line and the Banetsu West Line. It is also ...

in the city of Niigata and

Akita Station is a junction railway station in the city of Akita, Akita Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Akita Station is the northern terminus of the Akita Shinkansen, and is 127.3 kilometers from and 662.6 kilome ...

Akita is a Japanese name and may refer to: Places * 8182 Akita, a main-belt asteroid * Akita Castle, a Nara period fortified settlement in Akita, Japan * Akita Domain, also known as Kubota Domain, feudal domain in Edo period Japan * Akita, Kumamoto, ...

. The name "Uetsu" refers to the ancient

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

of Dewa (出羽) and

Echigo was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niigata ...

(越後), which the line connects.

Route data

*Total length: 274.4 km (170.5 mi) (Fukushima–Aomori, Tsuchizaki–Akitakō) *Operators, distances: ** JR logo (east)

(Services and tracks) *** Niitsu — Akita: 271.7 km (168.8 mi) ** JR logo (freight)

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) ***Sakata — Sakata-Minato: 2.7 km (1.7 mi) ** JR logo (freight)

(Services) *** Niitsu — Akita: 271.7 km (168.8 mi) *Tracks: **See station list for details *

Electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

: ** Niitsu — Murakami: 1,500 V DC ** Murakami — Akita: 20 kV AC, 50 Hz *

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 ...

: *Maximum speed: ** Niitsu — Murakami: 120 km/h (75 mph) ** Murakami — Imagawa: 100 km/h (62 mph) ** Imagawa — Sanze: 95 km/h (59 mph) ** Sanze — Sakata: 120 km/h (75 mph) ** Sakata — Akita: 95 km/h (59 mph)

Services

;Limited express, Rapid , the following services are operated. ;Local :Niitsu – Shibata: every 60-180 minutes :Shibata – Murakami: every 60-120 minutes :Murakami – Sakata: every 60-180 minutes :Sakata – Akita: every 60-180 minutes Between Shibata and Murakami, most of the local trains travel through to/from via Hakushin Line.

Stations

:A: Limited Express ''Inaho'' :B: Rapid ''Kairi'' :C: Rapid ''Rakuraku Train Murakami'', ''Benibana'' and other Rapid service trains :Trains stop at stations marked "O", skip at stations marked ", ". Symbols: * , - Single-track * ◇ - Single-track; station where trains can pass * ^ - Double-track section starts from this point * ∥ - Double-track * ∨ - Single-track section starts from this point

Rolling stock

Present

Local

E129 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on local services in the Niigata area since 6 December 2014. Design Built at the J-TREC factory in Niitsu, Niigata, the stainless steel body ...

2/4-car DC EMUs (Niitsu—Murakami, since December 2014) *

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, ...

2/3-car AC EMUs (Sakata—Akita) * KiHa 110 series (Niitsu - Nezugaseki) *

GV-E400 series The is a diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU) train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) around Niigata and Akita areas of Japan from 2019. Design The GV-E400 series trains are the first diesel-electric multiple units (not ...

(Niitsu-Sakata, since August 2019)

''Inaho''/''Rakuraku Train Murakami''

* E653-1000 series 7-car DC/AC EMUs (since September 2013)

Kairi

HB-E300 series The is a hybrid diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on "resort train" services on scenic lines in Japan since October 2010. Design The HB-E300 series is based on the KiHa E200 hybrid DMU type ...

OmonogawaBridge.jpg, 701 series passing Omonogawa Bridge E653-1000_U104_Inaho_5_20140731.jpg, E653 series ''Inaho'', near Higashi-Sakata Station JR_East_HB-E300-KAIRI_Shibata_20200404.jpg, ''Kairi'' at Shibata Station, April 2020

Former

* 115 series DC EMUs (Niitsu—Murakami, until March 2018) * E127-0 series 2-car DC EMUs (Shibata—Murakami, until March 2015) * KiHa 40/47/48 series DMUs (Until March 2020) *

KiHa E120 The is a single-car diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) since November 2008. Operations Eight cars (numbered KiHa E120-1 to 8) are based at Aizu-Wakamatsu Depot and were used on the following ...

DMUs (Niitsu—Sakata, until March 2018) * KiHa 58 series DMUs *

KiHa 52 The is a Japanese diesel multiple unit (DMU) type formerly operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR); JR Group companies such as JR East, JR West, JR Shikoku & JR Kyushu; and later by the private railway operator Isumi Railway based in Chiba ...

DMUs *

485 series The (and the earlier 481 and 483 series variants) is a Japanese limited express electric multiple unit (EMU) type introduced in 1964 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and subsequently operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), ...

DC/AC EMUs (until July 2014) - ''Inaho'', ''Hakucho'', ''Rakuraku Train Murakami'' 村上駅_-_panoramio_-_くろふね.jpg, E127 series and 115 series at Murakami Station, March 2009 Uetsu line Type47.jpg, KiHa 40/47/48 series, Amarume - Nishibukuro, March 2017 JNR Kiha 47 Niigata livery at Sakata Station .jpg, KiHa 40/47/48 series at Sakata Station, December 2012 KihaE120-1_Kiha110.jpg, KiHa E120 and 110 at Sakamachi Station, July 2009 JNR_485_kanimuttari_hakucho_at_akita.jpg, 485 series ''Hakucho'' limited espress, Akita Station, 1987 UetsuhonsenInaho485Series3000.JPG, 485-3000 series ''Inaho'' limited express, Kosagawa - Kamihama, March 2014

History

The line was opened in sections between 1912 and 1924, and electrified in 1972, the same year CTC signalling was commissioned. Work to double-track the line in sections commenced in 1957, and continued for 25 years until being suspended due to capital expenditure restrictions in 1983, at which time 51% of the route was double-tracked.

Accidents

On December 25, 2005, all six cars of a limited express train '' Inaho'' No.14 on the Uetsu Line derailed in

Yamagata prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the north, ...

, about north of Tokyo. The train was headed south towards

Kita-Amarume Station is a railway station located in the town of Shōnai, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Kita-Amarume Station is served by the Uetsu Main Line, and is located 157.4 rail kilometers from the ...

. Three of the cars turned over, causing the deaths of five people and injuring 33 others. Three other persons were originally reported missing, but authorities later discovered that they had disembarked from the train before the accident. It is likely that the event was caused by a tornado although it is uncertain whether or not a tornado was involved with this accident.

References

External links

Inaho - JR East

Discover Uetsu, tourist website
{{East Japan Railway Company Lines Lines of East Japan Railway Company Rail transport in Niigata Prefecture Rail transport in Yamagata Prefecture Rail transport in Akita Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Standard gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1912 1912 establishments in Japan