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
An E501 series EMU between Kasama and Shishido stations in March 2014
Overview
Native name水戸線
StatusOperational
LocaleTochigi, Ibaraki prefectures
Termini
Stations16
Service
TypeHeavy rail
Operator(s)Logo of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) JR East
Rolling stockE501 series/E531 series EMUs
History
Opened16 January 1889; 135 years ago (16 January 1889)
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


Oyama
Crossings' details
Kishapoppo-dori
Prefectural Road 33
Nishinire River
Otabayashi
Crossings' details
2x
Prefectural Road 17
Yūki
3x
Higashi-Yūki
Crossings' details
2x
Kawashima
Crossings' details
Prefectural Road 304
2x
Tamado
Crossings' details
3x
Shimodate
Crossings' details
Prefectural Road 7
Prefectural Road 14
2x
Kyowakosen Bridge
2x
4x
Niihari
Crossings' details
2x
Kannon River
3x
Yamato
Crossings' details
2x
Sakura River
3x
Prefectural Road 41
2x
Iwase
Crossings' details
2x
2x
3x
Haguro
Crossings' details
3x
Prefectural Road 64
Fukuhara
Crossings' details
Inada River
Inada River
2x
Inada
Crossings' details
2x
Fruits Line
Kasama
Crossings' details
Prefectural Road 42
5x
Shishido
3x
Tomobe

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

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  • 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
Between
stations
Total
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

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Former rolling stock

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History

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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

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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

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  1. ^ "Mito Line Timetable".
  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.
  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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