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 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 in ...

(JR East) system, it connects Niitsu Station in the city of Niigata and Akita Station in Akita. The name "Uetsu" refers to the ancient

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

of Dewa (出羽) and Echigo (越後), which the line connects.

Route data

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

(Services and tracks) *** Niitsu — Akita: 271.7 km (168.8 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) ***Sakata — Sakata-Minato: 2.7 km (1.7 mi) **

(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. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

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

Railway signalling Railway signalling (), or 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 enormous weight ...

: *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 The is a Japanese railway line which runs between and stations in the cities of Niigata, Niigata, Niigata and Shibata, Niigata, Shibata in Niigata Prefecture. It is part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) network. Basic data *Operato ...

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 2/4-car DC EMUs (Niitsu—Murakami, since December 2014) * 701 series 2/3-car AC EMUs (Sakata—Akita) * KiHa 110 series (Niitsu - Nezugaseki) * GV-E400 series (Niitsu-Sakata, since August 2019)

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

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

Kairi

* HB-E300 series 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 115 may refer to: *115 (number), the number *AD 115, a year in the 2nd century AD *115 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *115 (Hampshire Fortress) Corps Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, a unit in the UK Territorial Army *115 (Leicestershire) Field ...

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 DMUs (Niitsu—Sakata, until March 2018) * KiHa 58 series DMUs * KiHa 52 DMUs *

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

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 JRE Kiha47-513.jpg, KiHa 40/47/48 series, Tsuruoka - Fujishima, October 2016 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. On July 28, 2022, JR East announced that ridership in some sectors was less than 2000 persons/day, the deficit for the sector between Murakami Station to Tsuruoka Station being 4,990 billion yen, the largest deficit within the JR East system.

Accidents

On December 25, 2005, all six cars of a limited express train ''

Inaho The is a limited express train service in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), which runs from to and .JR Timetable, March 2012 issue, p.101/1003 The train runs along the Uetsu Main Line with views on the coast and Dewa Mo ...

'' No.14 on the Uetsu Line derailed in

Yamagata prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It has a population of 1,005,926 (1 February 2025) and an area of 9,325 Square kilometre, km2 (3,600 Square mile, sq mi). Its neighbours are Akita Prefectu ...

, about north of Tokyo. The train was headed south towards Kita-Amarume Station. 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