Hachinohe Line

Hachinohe Line
300px Umineko local train at Hachinohe Station
Overview
Type	Heavy rail
Locale	Aomori, Iwate prefectures
Termini	Hachinohe Kuji
Stations	25
Operation
Opened	1894
Owner	JR East
Rolling stock	KiHa 40 series, KiHa 48 series DMUs
Technical
Line length	64.9 km (40.3 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Route map 200px

Route map

Legend Nanbu Railway (defunct) Tōhoku Shinkansen ←Aoimori Railway Line 0.0 HachinoheAoimori Railway Line→ 1.7 Hachinohe Freight Terminal Hachinohe Rinkai Railway Line 2.7 Kita-Hachinohe Signal 3.4 Naganawashiro Mabechi River Hon-Hachinohe Freight Depot 5.5 0.0 Hon-Hachinohe 7.3 Konakano   2.7 Minato Station (defunct) 9.0 Mutsu-Minato Hachinohe Cement 10.3 Shirogane 11.8 Same 16.2 Purepai Shirahama Station (defunct) 17.5 Mutsu-Shirahama 19.6 Tanesashi-Kaigan 21.8 Ōkuki 24.8 Kanehama 25.8 Ōja 27.5 Hashikami Aomori-Iwate border 29.5 Kadonohama 32.1 Hiranai 34.2 Taneichi 38.1 Tamagawa 40.0 Shukunohe 43.1 Rikuchū-Yagi 45.8 Uge 48.4 Rikuchū-Nakano 54.4 Samuraihama 61.7 Rikuchū-Natsui 64.9 Kuji Sanriku Railway Kita Riasu Line

The Hachinohe Line (八戸線, Hachinohe-sen) is a railway line in the Tohoku Region of Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Hachinohe Station in Hachinohe, Aomori with Kuji Station in Kuji, Iwate. The line stretches 106.9 km along the Pacific Ocean coast with a total of 25 stations. The section between Hachinohe and Same stations is also known as the Umineko Rail Hachinohe-Shinai Line (うみねこレール八戸市内線). The Hachinohe Line is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).

Basic data

• Operators, services:
  • East Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks)
    • Hachinohe — Kuji: 64.9 km (40.3 mi)
  • Japan Freight Railway Company (Services)
    • Hachinohe — Hon-Hachinohe: 5.5 km (3.4 mi)
• Stations: 25
• Double-tracked section: None
• Electrification: None
• Railway signalling:
  • Hachinohe — Hachinohe (freight): Single-track automatic
  • Hachinohe (freight) — Hon-Hachinohe: Special Automatic, a simplified automatic system.
  • Hon-Hachinohe — Kuji: Special Automatic, a simplified automatic system.
• CTC center: Morioka Operations Control Center

Stations

Legend

◇, ∨, ∧ - Trains can pass each other at this station

｜ - Trains cannot pass

Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Transfers		Location
		Between stations	Total
Hachinohe	八戸	-	0.0	Tōhoku Shinkansen Aoimori Railway Line	∨	Hachinohe	Aomori
Naganawashiro	長苗代	3.4	3.4		｜
Hon-Hachinohe	本八戸	2.1	5.5		◇
Konakano	小中野	1.8	7.3		｜
Mutsu-Minato	陸奥湊	1.7	9.0		◇
Shirogane	白銀	1.3	10.3		｜
Same	鮫	1.5	11.8		◇
Mutsu-Shirahama	陸奥白浜	1.3	17.5		｜
Tanesashi-Kaigan	種差海岸	2.1	19.6		｜
Ōkuki	大久喜	2.2	21.8		｜
Kanehama	金浜	3.0	24.8		｜
Ōja	大蛇	1.0	25.8		｜	Hashikami, Sannohe District
Hashikami	階上	1.7	27.5		◇
Kadonohama	角の浜	2.0	29.5		｜	Hirono, Kunohe District	Iwate
Hiranai	平内	2.6	32.1		｜
Taneichi	種市	2.1	34.2		｜
Tamagawa	玉川	3.9	38.1		｜
Shukunohe	宿戸	1.9	40.0		｜
Rikuchū-Yagi	陸中八木	3.1	43.1		◇
Uge	有家	2.7	45.8		｜
Rikuchū-Nakano	陸中中野	2.6	48.4		｜
Samuraihama	侍浜	6.0	54.4		｜	Kuji
Rikuchū-Natsui	陸中夏井	7.3	61.7		｜
Kuji	久慈	3.2	64.9	Sanriku Railway Kita-Riasu Line	∧

Rolling stock

In November 2014, JR East announced that it was tendering for the procurement of a fleet of new diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains for the line to be delivered in 2017. The planned fleet will consist of six single-car units and six two-car units (19 vehicles in total).

History

The first line to Hachinohe was opened in 1891 by the Nippon Railway Co., which connected Ueno in Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture. This line later became the Tōhoku Main Line. However, the route bypassed the centre of Hachinohe.

In 1894, a spur line connecting Shiriuchi (now Hachinohe) on the Tōhoku Main Line with Hachinohe (now Hon-Hachinohe was completed. This line was soon extended south to the now-defunct Minato Station. After the nationalization of the Nippon Railway in 1907, the spur line was renamed the Hachinohe Line in 1909. From 1924, the line's name was written with its current characters, and the southern terminus of the line was extended to Taneichi in Iwate Prefecture. The following year it reached Rikuchū-Yagi, and in 1930 it reached its present southern terminus of Kuji where it connected to the Sanriku Railway Kita-Riasu Line, which links Kuji with Miyako in southern Iwate. Freight operations were phased out at most stations between 1982 and 1986.

With the privatization of the Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987, the Hachinohe Line came under the control of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), with remaining freight operations transferred to the Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) at Hachinohe Freight Terminal.

When CTC signalling was commissioned on the line in 2006, it replaced the last mechanical semaphore signals on the JR network, at Rikuchuyagi station.

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

The line was damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and services were suspended on the section between Taneichi and Kuji, with a number of vehicles trapped at Kuji Station. Services over the entire line resumed on March 17, 2012.

See also

• List of railway lines in Japan

References

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

• Harris, Ken and Clarke, Jackie. Jane's World Railways 2008-2009. Jane's Information Group (2008). ISBN 0-7106-2861-7

External links

• JR East website(Japanese)