Mito Line

Mito Line
Mito Line
	An E501 series EMU between Kasama and Shishido stations in March 2014
Overview
Native name	水戸線
Status	Operational
Locale	Tochigi, Ibaraki prefectures
Termini	Oyama; Tomobe;
Stations	16
Service
Type	Heavy rail
Operator(s)	JR East
Rolling stock	E501 series/E531 series EMUs
History
Opened	16 January 1889; 135 years ago
Technical
Line length	50.2 km (31.2 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	20 kV, 50 Hz AC (overhead catenary)
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	(Tōhoku / Utsunomiya,
	Ryōmō)
Crossings' details
Kishapoppo-dori
Crossings' details
2x
Crossings' details
Ta River
Crossings' details
Crossings' details
3x
	Mooka Railway Mooka Line
	Jōsō Line
Crossings' details
Crossings' details
2x
Crossings' details
2x
Crossings' details
2x
Crossings' details
Crossings' details
Crossings' details
2x
Crossings' details
Prefectural Road 42
	■ Ueno–Tokyo Line
	Jōban Line
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

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).

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.

Services are often run as one-man trains.

Station list

All trains stop at every station.^[1]
Trains can pass one another at stations marked "◇" and "∨" and cannot pass at stations marked "｜".

Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Transfers		Location
Station	Japanese	Between stations	Total	Transfers		Location
Oyama	小山	-	0.0	Tōhoku Shinkansen JU Tōhoku Main Line (Utsunomiya Line) JS Shonan-Shinjuku Line ■ Ryomo 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

E501 series five-car EMUs
E531 series five-car EMUs

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

415 series four-car EMUs (until March 2016)^[2]

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^[3] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

The line was completely electrified on 1 February 1967.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ "Mito Line Timetable".
^ 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.
^ 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.

External links

Stations of the Mito Line (JR East) (in Japanese)

[1] "Mito Line Timetable".

[railfan663-2] 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.

[jnr1985-3] 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.

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