The Keihin-Tohoku Line (京浜東北線) is a service run by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It runs from Omiya Station in Omiya ward, Saitama city, through Tokyo Station, to Yokohama Station in Nishi ward, Yokohama.
History
The Keihin Line (京浜線) began on 20 December 1914, when electric trains started running from Tokyo Station to Takashimacho. At the time it was the longest electric train section run by the Railway Agency (鉄道院). Its cars had a half-compartment of second class. The line opened together with Tokyo Station, but it was not ready. On the first day a down train carrying guests stalled. The Railway Agency's head apologised in the newspapers, and electric service was halted for more than half a year of careful test runs. On 26 December 1914 service was suspended, and the Keihin-only stations at Oi-machi and Takashimacho closed. Service resumed on 10 May 1915. On 15 August 1915 Takashimacho station was merged into Yokohama station when Yokohama station moved, and it closed. On 30 December 1915 the line was extended to Sakuragicho. In November 1916 express trains began, and they were dropped on 1 April 1918. On 1 November 1925 the electric section of the Tohoku Line between Tokyo and Akihabara was completed, and Keihin trains ran to Tabata. On 1 February 1928 the line was extended to Akabane on a new double track beside the Tohoku Line tracks. On 26 January 1930 the track near Yokohama was moved to its present route. On 1 September 1932 the Tohoku Line section from Akabane to Omiya was electrified, and trains ran through to Omiya.
On 3 September 1938 second-class cars were removed for wartime transport. On 15 April 1945 an air raid destroyed the Kamata electric depot, and steam trains ran for a time. On 29 May 1945 an air raid on Yokohama destroyed the Higashi-Kanagawa electric depot.
On 15 September 1949 a women-and-children-only car was set. On 24 April 1951 a construction error at Sakuragicho station led to a fire that destroyed two cars, and 106 people died. Japanese Wikipedia calls it the Sakuragicho accident. In December 1951 cars that had been used by the occupation forces were turned to second-class use. On 15 March 1952 second-class cars were officially brought back. On 19 November 1956 the line was separated from the Yamanote Line between Tabata and Tamachi, and it became the Keihin-Tohoku Line. Between Shinagawa and Tokyo, some platforms and viaducts had been built before the war for a planned Keihin express, and the war stopped that plan. On 30 June 1957 second-class cars were abolished.
On 19 May 1964 the Negishi Line opened between Sakuragicho and Isogo, and through running began. Yokohama to Sakuragicho was moved from the Tokaido Line to the Negishi Line. In October 1965 the 103 series was introduced. On 1 October 1968 the three-track section between Omiya and Akabane on the Tohoku Line was completed, and this line was separated from Tohoku trains. All level crossings between Omiya and Kawaguchi were removed. This was part of the commuter five-direction campaign to separate freight, long-distance and short-distance trains. On 17 March 1970 the Negishi Line was extended from Isogo to Yokodai, a distance of 4.6 km, and Shin-Sugita and Yokodai stations opened. In November 1970 101 series cars came from the Chuo Line rapid service. On 19 April 1971 the older 72 series trains ended service. On 9 April 1973 the Negishi Line was complete, with the 8.0 km section from Yokodai to Ofuna opening, and Konandai and Hongodai stations opened.
On 6 December 1981 automatic train control (ATC) began between Omiya and Kamata. On 29 January 1984 it began between Kamata and Ofuna. On 13 March 1988 rapid trains began running in central Tokyo, between Tabata and Tamachi. In the summer of 1989 the 103 series cars were air-conditioned, and all cars became air-conditioned. On 26 October 1989 205 series trains began service. On 7 May 1992 the 901 series began service, later renamed the 209 series. On 15 February 1993 the mass-produced 209 series 0 began service. On 3 December 1994 the Saturday timetable was ended, and Saturdays followed the holiday timetable. On 24 May 1995 six-door cars were added to the 209 series.
On 1 February 1996 205 series trains were withdrawn to free cars for the extension of the Saikyo Line to Ebisu. On 13 March 1998 the 103 series ended service. The trains were due to end on the 12th, but a timetable disruption that day meant they ran on the 13th as well. On 4 July 1998 the ATOS train management system began. On 5 January 2001 the 209 series 500 entered service. On 14 July 2002 rapid trains began stopping at Hamamatsucho. On 6 October 2003 the first train of the day from Kamata toward Omiya hit a digging machine's bucket that had been left inside the clearance. The train's front guard was damaged, and service between Higashi-Jujo and Kamata was suspended for about four hours. On 22 December 2007 E233 series trains began service. On 14 August 2009 digital ATC (D-ATC) was extended, so the whole line now used it. On 24 January 2010 the 209 series 0 and 500 ended, and from the next day the line used E233 1000 series trains. On 19 April 2010 women-only cars were set on weekday morning trains. On 4 December 2010 weekday daytime service was reduced.
On 23 February 2014 an empty train derailed and overturned at Kawasaki station. The line did not run between Kamata and Tsurumi that day. On 14 March 2015 rapid trains began stopping at Kanda all day, and at Okachimachi on Saturdays and holidays. In August 2016 station numbering was introduced. On 16 December 2017 an overhead wire broke between Kawasaki and Tsurumi in the late morning. The line could not run for nearly seven hours, and parts of the Tokaido and Yokosuka lines were also affected. The company said the likely cause was a wire fitting placed too close to the overhead wire, which touched it through the vibration of passing trains. In June 2018 track changes were made for the construction of Takanawa Gateway station. On 14 March 2020 Takanawa Gateway station opened, and all trains stopped there. On 17 November 2024 track changes at Oi-machi meant no trains ran between Shinagawa and Kamata until about 4:30 pm. In April 2025 track work for the Haneda airport access line closed parts of the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines on 19 and 20 April. On 1 July 2026 the company moved from branch offices to business headquarters. Sections of this line are now split among several of them. The company plans platform doors at all stations, with the remaining Tokyo stations due by the end of fiscal 2028. One-man operation was announced for spring 2027 between Omiya and Minami-Urawa and between Kamata and Ofuna.
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Written by an AI from the line's history on Japanese Wikipedia, nothing else, and checked by a program for dates and numbers that are not in those facts. It can still be wrong. Adapted from Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0; this text is shared under the same licence.