The history of the Tohoku Main Line, which runs north to south through the Tohoku region

Tohoku Main which runs north to south through the Tohoku region , was served by numerous limited express and rapid trains until the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen in 1982.
The Tohoku Main Line played a major role in transporting people within the Tohoku region and between the Tokyo metropolitan area and the Tohoku region.
At Aomori Station, the Tohoku Main Line's former terminus, it connected to the Seikan Ferry, providing access to Hokkaido.
play an important role today , transporting commuters and students in each region, and handling freight trains connecting the Tokyo metropolitan area with the Tohoku and Hokkaido regions .
In this article, we will explain the history of the Tohoku Main Line.

"Nippon Railway" which became the parent company of the current Tohoku Main Line

Japan's first railway opened between Shimbashi Station and Yokohama Station in 1872.
This railway, which corresponds to a section of the current JR Tokaido Line, was a government-run railway built and operated by the government.
Although the government gradually expanded its network, due to factors such as the Satsuma Rebellion that broke out in 1877, the government's financial resources were insufficient, and construction of the government-run railway slowed to a crawl.

At the time, railway construction was considered essential for industrial development, so there was a demand for the early construction of railways by private capital between major cities across the country.
Japan Railway, also known as Japan's first private railway, was established
a semi-public, semi-private company with generous government protection , there is some disagreement as to whether it should be called "Japan's first private railway."

Japan Railway aimed to open the lines that had been planned by the government-run railway.
First, the section from Ueno Station in Tokyo to Kumagaya Station in Saitama Prefecture opened on July 28, 1883, and then the section to Maebashi Station in Gunma Prefecture (located on the west bank of the Tone River, different from the current Maebashi Station) opened by 1884. This
corresponds to part of the current Tohoku Main Line, Takasaki Line, part of the Joetsu Line, and part of the Ryomo Line.

Furthermore, in Tokyo, a branch line was opened from Shinagawa Station on the government railway to Akabane Station on the Japanese Railway in 1885. This
corresponds to parts of the current Yamanote Line and Saikyo Line.
With the opening of the Japanese Railway line, raw silk, an important export product of Japan at the time, could be transported by rail from paper mills in Gunma Prefecture to Yokohama Port in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Next, Nippon Railway aims to
open a railway line to Aomori As a first step, they will open Omiya Station in Saitama Prefecture as a junction between the current Tohoku Main Line and Takasaki Line.
There was also a proposal to build this junction at the existing Kumagaya Station, but Omiya was chosen as the junction because it would provide a shorter route to the Tohoku region.

Starting with the opening of the line from Omiya Station to Utsunomiya Station in Tochigi Prefecture in 1885, it was extended to Koriyama, Sendai, Ichinoseki, and Morioka, and on September 1, 1891, the Japanese Railways line was opened to Aomori Station in Aomori Prefecture, connecting Ueno Station to Aomori Station by rail .
At the time, it took about 26.5 hours to travel from Ueno Station to Aomori Station.

As an aside, the Japanese Railways, which opened quickly due to its importance to industrial development, was surprisingly not the first railway in the Tohoku region .
The first railway in the Tohoku region opened in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, in 1880.
this " Kamaishi Railway " in a separate article, so please take a look.

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

What is the Kamaishi Railway, the first railway in the Tohoku region and the third largest in Japan? [Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture]

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/28791

The Tohoku Shinkansen is the most prominent railway line running north to south through the Tohoku region. The Tohoku Main Line, a conventional line that runs parallel to the Shinkansen, has been an important trunk line since its full opening in 1891. Tohoku Main Line, Kanayagawa Station to Matsukawa Station (Fukushima City). However, while the Tohoku Main Line has long been an important trunk line, it was not actually the first railway in the Tohoku region. The first railway to open in the Tohoku region, and the third in the nation, was the Kamaishi Railway, which we will introduce here. The Kamaishi Railway, the third railway to open in Japan, opened in 1872 (Meiji 5) between Shimbashi Station and Yokohama Station in the Kanto region.

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Furthermore, in 1898, a coastal line connecting Tokyo and Miyagi prefecture via Mito station in Ibaraki prefecture was opened.
corresponds to current Joban Line

Japan Railway was nationalized in 1906 after the Russo-Japanese War under the Railway Nationalization Act, which was enacted based on the policy that main railways should be nationalized.
Although the company known as Japan Railway no longer exists, it can be said that the impact this company had on the history of railways in eastern Japan was enormous.
After nationalization in 1909, the lines opened by Japan Railway were given names such as the Tohoku Main Line and the Joban Line.
The Tohoku Main Line already existed in reality, but this was the first time it was given a name, meaning that the Tohoku Main Line was born in both name and reality.

In 1925, the Tohoku Main Line was extended to Tokyo Station.
At that time, the section between Tokyo Station and Aomori Station was the Tohoku Main Line's longest single line in Japan.
Even after the extension to Tokyo Station, long-distance trains connecting Tokyo and the Tohoku region continued to depart and terminate at Ueno Station as a general rule.

Northern Artery

The Tohoku Main Line serves as what could be called the northern artery, as it passes through several major cities in the Tohoku region and was the main route between Tokyo and Tohoku and Hokkaido

In 1906, express trains began running between Ueno Station and Aomori Station.
However, travel south of Sendai was via the Joban Line.
The journey from Ueno Station to Aomori Station took about 19 hours.
In 1908, express trains were introduced that ran the entire distance from Ueno Station to Aomori Station via the Tohoku Main Line.

These trains connected with the Seikan Ferry at Aomori Station and also served as trains for people crossing over to Hokkaido.
Express trains were suspended during the war due to the worsening war situation, but resumed operation after the war.

Then in 1958, the first express train in the Tohoku region , the "Hatsukari," appeared between Ueno Station and Aomori Station.
This train also ran on the Joban Line south of Sendai.
Initially, it was a classic style express train with a steam locomotive pulling passenger cars, but in 1960 it was replaced by the Kiha 81 series diesel railcars, which run on diesel fuel.
We have written about the "Hatsukari" in a separate article, so please take a look.

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

The history of the Tohoku region's first express train, "Hatsukari"

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/28372

When people living in the Tokyo metropolitan area visit the Tohoku region by public transportation, they often use bullet trains such as the Tohoku Shinkansen. However, the Tohoku Shinkansen only opened in 1982, about 40 years ago. Before then, what did people travel to the Tohoku region by? One option was the Hatsukari, the first limited express train to run through the Tohoku region. The Appearance of the Tohoku Region's First Limited Express Train: In the prewar and immediate postwar period, the limited express trains of the Japanese National Railways (the predecessor of today's JR) were truly special trains, as their official name "limited express train" suggests, and express trains were the main mode of long-distance travel.

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In 1962, the limited express "Hibari" began operating between Ueno Station and Sendai Station via the Tohoku Main Line, using the Kiha 82 series, a mass-produced version of the Kiha 81 series .
If you combine the operating sections of the "Hatsukari" and "Hibari," limited express trains began running on almost the entire section of the Tohoku Main Line between Ueno Station and Aomori Station .

In 1965, the Hibari was replaced by the 483 series electric train (a type of prototype for the 485 series electric train, a representative limited express train of the Japanese National Railways).
Also, as electrification was completed south of Morioka Station, allowing electric trains to run, the Yamabiko limited express service, which ran between Ueno Station and Morioka Station, was introduced, using the 483 series electric train .
Furthermore, in 1968, the entire Tohoku Main Line was electrified, and the Hatsukari was also rerouted to the Tohoku Main Line for the entire route, and was replaced by the 583 series electric train, which could be used as a seat train during the day and as a sleeper train at night .
When the Hatsukari was converted to an electric train, the journey time from Ueno Station to Aomori Station was 8 hours and 30 minutes.

Additionally, because the Tohoku Main Line is a long route, night trains have been operating on it for a long time.
In 1964, the Hakutsuru, the Tohoku Main Line's first overnight limited express and sleeper train, was introduced, running
Yuuzuru was introduced,
running the same section via the Joban Line These trains were later also powered by the 583 series electric train.

In this way, the Tohoku Main Line continued to transport many people, day and night,
and played an important role not only in transporting people but also in transporting freight.

Tohoku Main Line after the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen in Morioka

In 1982, the Tohoku Shinkansen opened between Omiya Station and Morioka Station.
With the timetable revisions in June and November of that year, most daytime express and rapid trains running south of Morioka Station on the Tohoku Main Line, such as the "Hibari" and "Yamabiko," were discontinued.
The Tohoku Main Line's main role became local transport and freight transport.
However, the limited express "Hatsukari" continued to operate north of Morioka Station.
Night trains such as the sleeper express "Hakutsuru" and "Yuzuru" also continued to operate.
In 1987, the Japanese National Railways was divided and privatized, and the entire Tohoku Main Line was taken over by JR East.

Furthermore, in 1988, the undersea Seikan Tunnel connecting Aomori Prefecture and Hokkaido was opened, and this marked the introduction of a new sleeper express train:
the Hokutosei, which connected Ueno Station with Sapporo Station in Hokkaido .
Naturally, the journey from Ueno Station to Aomori Station took place via the Tohoku Main Line.
You could board the train, dine in the dining car, spend the night, and then spend 16 hours on the train from Ueno Station before arriving in Sapporo...
it was a dreamlike time when such a train ran every day

Cassiopeia , using newly manufactured passenger cars , also began operating between Ueno Station and Sapporo Station in 1999.
However, during the 1990s , several night trains, including the sleeper express Yuuzuru, were discontinued .

Tohoku Main Line shortened due to the extension and opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen

In 2002, the Tohoku Shinkansen was extended from Morioka Station to Hachinohe Station in Aomori Prefecture.
As a result, the section of the Tohoku Main Line that runs parallel to the newly opened section was separated from JR East. The section
from Morioka Station to Metoki Station in Aomori Prefecture was transferred to IGR Iwate Galaxy Railway, a newly established third-sector railway company, and the section from Metoki Station to Hachinohe Station was also transferred to Aoimori Railway.
JR East's Tohoku Main Line was divided into two sections: one south of Morioka Station and one north of Hachinohe Station.
At this time, the limited express "Hatsukari" and the sleeper express "Hakutsuru" were discontinued.

In 2010, the Tohoku Shinkansen was extended from Hachinohe Station to Shin-Aomori Station, and the entire line was opened. As a result, was
also transferred from JR East to Aoimori Railway The Tohoku Main Line was shortened to run from Tokyo Station to Morioka Station, and remains so to this day. The Tohoku Main
Line, which was once the longest line in Japan, has now been overtaken by the San'in Main Line and the Tokaido Main Line, making it the third longest line in Japan .

In 2016, the Hokkaido Shinkansen opened from Shin-Aomori Station to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station.
Around this time, the Hokutosei was discontinued and the Cassiopeia ceased regular service as conventional trains could no longer pass through the Seikan Tunnel .
This meant that limited express trains disappeared from most sections of the Tohoku Main Line.

Currently, the only express trains operating on certain sections of the Tohoku Main Line are trains that run directly to other lines, such as the "Kusatsu-Shima" which runs directly to the Takasaki Line, and the "Hitachi" which runs mainly on the Joban Line, and none of them can be called "Tohoku Main Line express trains." It's
a bit sad to think that there used to be express trains like the "Hatsukari" that ran all along the Tohoku Main Line.

However, there is also an advantage to the abolition of express trains.
The absence of express trains means that local trains and freight trains can now be increased.
These trains continue to play an important role on the Tohoku Main Line today.

summary

The Tohoku Main Line, which was built during the Meiji period as an essential part of the development of Japan's industry, has continued to play an important role connecting the Tokyo area with the Tohoku region.
When I see the unusually long Tohoku Main Line platforms at stations such as Sendai and Morioka, I can't help but think, "Long trains like the Hatsukari used to stop here..."
Although the Tohoku Shinkansen has now taken over the role of long-distance passenger transport remains an essential part of the lives of many people, transporting passengers in each region and serving as a freight train route

Yuto Ono

A former railway engineer and current freelance writer who has loved trains since childhood, his dream is to make train travel his career