The Utsunomiya Line (宇都宮線) is the name for the part of the Tohoku Main Line (東北本線) that runs from Tokyo Station through Utsunomiya Station to Kuroiso Station in Nasu-Shiobara, Tochigi Prefecture. East Japan Railway Company (JR East) operates it.
History
The first section opened on 28 July 1883 as part of Nippon Railway (日本鉄道). Japanese Wikipedia calls Nippon Railway Japan's first privately run railway. That first section ran from Ueno Station to Kumagaya Station. It is now the Takasaki Line (高崎線). Trains ran from Omiya to Utsunomiya on 16 July 1885. A bridge over the Tone River was not yet finished, so ferries ran across instead. Trains reached Kuroiso in 1886, and the Ueno to Utsunomiya section was complete on 17 June 1886. On 25 February 1897 the section between Utsunomiya and Yaita moved to its present route. The old route crossed two channels of the Kinugawa River, and summer floods made repairs to bridge piers and banks costly. On 7 October 1899 a train fell from the Hōki River bridge between Yaita and Nozaki.
Nippon Railway was nationalised on 1 November 1906. On 12 October 1909 the national railways gave the line its name, the Tohoku Main Line (東北本線). Ueno to Tabata (田端) was electrified on 16 December 1909. Tabata to Akabane was electrified on 1 February 1928. On 20 June 1929 a double-track line opened from Nippori through Ogu to Akabane. The Kaizuka yard was closed, and Ogu Station opened on its site. This let medium and long-distance trains and local electric trains run on separate routes. On 1 September 1932 Akabane to Omiya was electrified, and the Keihin-Tohoku Line (京浜東北線) began running there. Most trains on this line began passing Urawa Station.
During the Second World War, train service was cut back sharply. After the war, medium and long-distance trains ran from Tokyo Station to Ueno Station, and linked with ferries and lines to Hokkaido. Electrification and double tracking continued after the war. Omiya to Utsunomiya was electrified on 14 April 1958. Utsunomiya to Hōshakuji (宝積寺) was electrified on 15 December 1958. Hōshakuji to Kuroiso was electrified on 22 May 1959, which completed electrification south of Kuroiso. On 22 September 1959 the semi-express Nasu (なすの) started, using 157-series 'Nikko type' trains. On 25 September 1968 the grade separation between Kawaguchi and Omiya was finished, and trains moved to a new passenger line that had been a freight line the day before. On 1 October 1968 the 'Yonsantō' timetable revision took effect, after electrification and double tracking were complete. More express and limited express trains were added on the Tohoku Main Line.
The Tohoku Shinkansen opened between Omiya and Morioka on 23 June 1982. Long-distance daytime trains to Tokyo moved to the Shinkansen. On 15 November 1982 the express trains Hatsukari (はつかり) and Hibari (ひばり) and the express Nikko (日光) left this line. Mid-distance electric trains were added, and the line's role became mainly transport within the Tokyo area. Several new stations opened in this period. The Tohoku Shinkansen reached Ueno on 14 March 1985, and only a few daytime long-distance express trains remained. The national railway was privatised on 1 April 1987, and JR East took over the line. On 13 March 1988 trains began running to and from Shinjuku and Ikebukuro. In 1988 the Tochigi governor, Watanabe Fumio (渡辺文雄), proposed to JR East that the Ueno to Kuroiso section be named the Utsunomiya Line (宇都宮線). The proposal also promoted Utsunomiya, the prefectural capital. The governors of Tokyo, Saitama and Ibaraki agreed, and the name took effect on 10 March 1990.
In 1992 the Tsubasa express moved to the Yamagata Shinkansen, and the Aizu express was removed from this line in the December 1993 timetable. After that, no regular daytime long-distance train ran north of Kuroiso. On 18 November 2001 the Suica IC card service began at stations from Tokyo to Utsunomiya. On 1 December 2001 the Shonan-Shinjuku Line (湘南新宿ライン) began, linking this line with the Yokosuka Line through Shinjuku. On 16 October 2004 the timetable separated operations at Utsunomiya, expanded Shonan-Shinjuku service, and extended the Suica area to Kuroiso. On 18 March 2006 Tobu Railway through expresses, Nikko (日光) and Kinugawa (きぬがわ), began running on this line.
On 4 December 2010 the last express that ran wholly within this line was removed, and Shonan-Shinjuku trains were extended to Utsunomiya. On 16 March 2013 Shonan-Shinjuku trains began stopping at Urawa. On 11 March 2011 the Great East Japan Earthquake stopped trains on the whole line. Ueno to Utsunomiya resumed on 12 March 2011, and Utsunomiya to Kuroiso resumed on 16 March 2011.
On 14 March 2015 the Ueno-Tokyo Line (上野東京ライン) began, and trains ran through between this line and the Tokaido Line (東海道線) via Ueno and Tokyo stations. The sleeper Hokutosei (北斗星) became a special train that day and ended in August 2015. The sleeper Cassiopeia (カシオペア) ended on 26 March 2016. On 1 October 2016 the stations from Tokyo to Omiya were given station numbers, with the line code JU. On 23 October 2017 damage to an overhead line insulator between Kuki and Higashi-Washinomiya caused a power leak. Trains were stuck, and passengers walked along the tracks to nearby stations. Services between Shiraoka and Koga were stopped until 24 October. On 12 October 2019 Typhoon 19 damaged river-bed protection works at bridges on the Hōki River and the Jabi River. On 13 March 2021 commuter rapid trains were removed. On 12 March 2022 E131-series trains were introduced between Utsunomiya and Kuroiso, and services were split at Utsunomiya. On 23 January 2024 a Tokyo to Sendai train ran to help passengers during a Tohoku Shinkansen suspension caused by an overhead line fault. On 1 July 2026 the railway moved from branch offices to business headquarters, and sections of this line now fall under several of them. The line now runs from Tokyo Station to Kuroiso.
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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.