The is a railway line operated by

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) connecting

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 ...

Morioka, Iwate is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . G ...

and Ōmagari Station in

Daisen, Akita is a city in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 81,133 in 31,457 households, and a population density of 94 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Daisen is located in the flatlands of central ...

, Japan. Akita Shinkansen '' Komachi'' trains travel over the line, which was regauged in 1997 from to .

History

The section from Morioka to Shizukuishi opened on 25 June 1921, as the , and was extended to Hashiba on 2 September 1922. Services to

Hashiba Station was a railway station in Shizukuishi, Iwate. It was the terminal station of Japanese Government Railways, JGR Tazawako Line, Hashiba Line. Officially it is not closed but just stopped its operation. Layout Hashiba Station had two side platforms s ...

ended in the 1940s. In 1964, the Shizukuishi to Akabuchi section opened, and upon completion of the Sengan Tunnel, the Akabuchi to Tazawako section opened on 20 October 1966, completing the line. Freight services ceased in 1982, the year the entire line was electrified. In 1997, the line was converted to gauge, and became part of the Akita Shinkansen, with standard-gauge

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 ...

(EMU) trains providing local services on the line.

Station list

Akita Shinkansen '' Komachi'' trains stop at stations marked "●". ;Passing loops * is a passing loop located in

Shizukuishi, Iwate is a town located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 16,263 in 6354 households, and a population density of 27 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Shizukuishi is located in the Ōu Mou ...

. () * is a passing loop located in

Senboku, Akita is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 25,857 in 10,584 households, and a population density of 24 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Semboku is located in the mountai ...

.()

Future plans

In January 2022 it was announced that a new

Maegata Station is a railway station in the city of Morioka in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The station was opened on 18 March 2023. History * 2020 ** January 16: Morioka city submits a petition to JR E ...

would be added between

and

Ōkama Station is an East Japan Railway Company (JR East) railway station located in the city of Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Lines Ōkama Station is served by the Tazawako Line, and is located 6.0 km from the terminus of the line at Morioka St ...

. It is projected to begin operation in March 2023.

Rolling stock

As of 2022,

701-5000 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, s ...

trains belonging to Akita General Rolling Stock Center are used on this line.

References

External links

Stations of the Tazawako Line
(JR East) {{Authority control Lines of East Japan Railway Company Rail transport in Iwate Prefecture Rail transport in Akita Prefecture Standard gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1921 1921 establishments in Japan