Mito Line

The Mito Line (水戸線, Mito-sen) is a railway line connecting Oyama Station in Tochigi Prefecture and Tomobe Station in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The line is 50.2 km (31.2 mi) long and is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).

Mito Line
A E501 series EMU between Kasama and Shishido stations in March 2014
Overview
Native name水戸線
TypeHeavy rail
StatusOperational
LocaleTochigi, Ibaraki prefectures
TerminiOyama
Tomobe
Stations16
Operation
Opened16 January 1889
Operator(s)JR East
Rolling stockE501 series/E531 series EMUs
Technical
Line length50.2 km (31.2 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification20 kV, 50 Hz AC overhead catenary
Route map

Joban Line E501 series and E531 series ten car sets continue on to Iwaki, Fukushima while the 5 car sets go to Oyama. They separate at Tomobe.

Station list
  • All trains stop at every station.
  • Trains can pass one another at stations marked "◇" and "∨" and cannot pass at stations marked "｜".
Station Japanese Distance (km) Transfers   Location
Between
stations		 Total
Oyama 小山 - 0.0 Tōhoku Shinkansen, Tōhoku Main Line (Utsunomiya Line), Ryōmō Line ∨ Oyama Tochigi
Otabayashi 小田林 4.9 4.9   ｜ Yūki Ibaraki
Yūki 結城 1.7 6.6   ◇
Higashi-Yūki 東結城 1.7 8.3   ｜
Kawashima 川島 2.1 10.4   ◇ Chikusei
Tamado 玉戸 2.1 12.5   ｜
Shimodate 下館 3.7 16.2 Mooka Railway Mooka Line
Jōsō Line		 ◇
Niihari 新治 6.1 22.3   ◇
Yamato 大和 3.6 25.9   ｜ Sakuragawa
Iwase 岩瀬 3.7 29.6   ◇
Haguro 羽黒 3.2 32.8   ◇
Fukuhara 福原 4.2 37.0   ◇ Kasama
Inada 稲田 3.1 40.1   ◇
Kasama 笠間 3.2 43.3   ◇
Shishido 宍戸 5.2 48.5   ｜
Tomobe 友部 1.7 50.2 Jōban Line (some through services for Mito) ◇

Rolling stock
  • A 5-car E501 series EMU on the Mito Line in December 2008
  • A 5-car E531 series EMU on the Mito Line in March 2015

Former rolling stock
  • A 4-car 415-1500 series EMU on the Mito Line in March 2016

History

The Mito Railway Co. opened the line on 16 January, 1889[2] operating between Oyama and Mito Stations. On 1 March, 1892, the Mito Railway Co. merged with the Nippon Railway.

On 1 July, 1895, the Joban Line was opened by the Nippon Railway, joining the Mito Line at Tomobe Station. The company was nationalised in 1906.

On 12 October, 1909, the Japanese Government Railways renamed the Tomobe to Mito section as part of the Joban Line, resulting in the current "Mito Line" being the section between Oyama and Tomobe.

The line was completely electrified on 1 February, 1967.

Former connecting lines
The former handcar line to Kasama Inari shrine

Kasama Station: A 1.4 km 610 mm (2 ft) gauge handcar line to the Kasama Inari shrine operated between 1915 and 1930.

References
  1. JR車両ファイル2016 [JR Rolling Stock File 2016]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 56 no. 663. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. July 2016. p. 18.
  2. 日本国有鉄道停車場一覧 [JNR Station Directory]. Japan: Japanese National Railways. 1985. p. 111. ISBN 4-533-00503-9.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.