Osaka Higashi Line

The Osaka Higashi Line (おおさか東線, Ōsaka-Higashi-sen) (Literally: Osaka East Line) is a railway line in Osaka, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR-West). The line connects Shin-Osaka Station in northern Osaka with Kyūhōji Station in Yao, forming an arc around the northern and eastern suburbs of the city. Before being named on August 23, 2007, the line was constructed with the tentative name "Osaka Outer Loop Line (大阪外環状線, Ōsaka-soto-kanjōsen)".

Osaka Higashi Line
A 201 series EMU on a "Local" service in February 2011
Overview
Native name	おおさか東線
Owner	Osaka Soto-Kanjo Railway Co., Ltd.
Locale	Osaka Prefecture
Termini	Osaka Kyūhōji
Stations	14
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	Urban Network
Operator(s)	JR-West JR Freight
Depot(s)	Aboshi
Rolling stock	201 series EMU 207 series EMU 321 series EMU
History
Opened	March 15, 1929 (as Katamachi Freight Branch Line) March 15, 2008 (as Osaka Higashi Line)
Technical
Line length	20.2 km (12.6 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC, overhead lines
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph)
Route map Umeda Freight Line Tōkaidō Main Line (JR Kobe Line, JR Takarazuka Line) Osaka Umeda Signal Box (formerly JR Freight Umeda Freight Terminal) Hankyu Kobe Main Line, Hankyu Takarazuka Main Line (Nakatsu) Osaka Metro: Midōsuji Line Tōkaidō Main Line (JR Kyoto Line) Yodo River Old Tōkaidō Line Hankyu Kyoto Main Line Spur track to Miyahara Depot 0.0 – Shin-Osaka Sanyō Shinkansen Tōkaidō Shinkansen Osaka Metro: Midōsuji Line Higashi-Yodogawa Kanzaki River Suita Freight Line Minami-Suita Jōtō Freight Line Hankyu Senri Line – 10.3 Senri Signal Box –1982 – 10.7 Suita Kanzaki River Tōkaidō Shinkansen Hankyu Kyoto Line JR-Awaji Akagawa Bridge Yodogawa River – 5.7 Miyakojima Signal Box –1982 Shirokitakōendōri JR-Noe Osaka Metro: Tanimachi Line (Noe-Uchindai) Keihan Main Line Yodogawa Freight Line and Sakuranomiya Line – 2.9 Tatsumi Signal Box −1982 Jōtō Freight Line Katamachi Line (Gakkentoshi Line) Neya River Shigino Osaka Metro: Imazatosuji Line 11.1 0.0 Hanaten Katamachi Line (Gakkentoshi Line) Daini Neya River Aboshi Depot Hanaten Branch 12.8 1.7 Takaida-Chūō Osaka Metro: Chūō Line (Takaida) 14.4 3.3 JR Kawachi-Eiwa Kintetsu Nara Line (Kawachi-Eiwa) 15.0 3.9 JR Shuntokumichi Osaka Line (Shuntokumichi) Shuntokumichi Signal Box 2007–2008 16.0 4.9 JR Nagase Hagusa Signal Box –2003 South Jōtō Freight Line (see inset below) Old Jōtō Freight Line (see inset below) 18.7 7.6 Shin-Kami Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line) Kami Hanwa Freight Line 20.3 9.2 Kyūhōji Ryūge Signal Box –1997 10.4 Yao Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line) Old Jōtō Freight Line 0.0 Shogakuji Signal Box Osaka Higashi Line Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line) Jōtō Freight–Yamatoji connection Kutara No. 1 Signal Box 1.5 Hirano Jōtō Freight–Yamatoji connexion Kudara Freight Terminal Kudarashijō –1984

The line is constructed and owned by the Osaka Soto-Kanjo Railway Co., Ltd. (大阪外環状鉄道株式会社, Ōsaka Sotokanjō Tetsudō Kabushiki Kaisha) as a Category-3 railway business under the Railway Business Act of Japan. JR-West and JR Freight operate trains as Category-2 railway business. The Kita-Umeda extension will open in 2023, replacing the above-ground Umeda Freight Line.

History

Conceived in the 1950s during Japan's explosive postwar economic growth, it was planned as a grand "outer loop" of the city, using existing freight lines to link Amagasaki with Shin-Osaka, Suita, Awaji, Hanaten, Kami, Uriwari and Sugimotochō, with a newly constructed segment into Osaka's (then primarily industrial) Nankō Port Town. However, with JNR's financial situation deteriorating catastrophically (culminating in its privatization) and continuing issues surrounding land acquisition and squatting by local residents on railway property, the plan was cut back to Shin-Osaka and Kami, terminating at Kyūhōji in the south. (The Hanwa Freight Line, which would have carried the southern segment from Kami to Sugimotochō, was officially abandoned by JR Freight in 2009.) The line connects Shin-Osaka Station in northern Osaka with Kyūhōji Station in Yao, forming an arc around the northern and eastern suburbs of the city.

The southern part opened on March 15, 2008.[1] But because of problems with the illegal occupation of a site, construction of the northern part was delayed.[2] Construction of the northern segment started in 2011 and the section between Shin-Osaka and Hanaten has opened on March 16, 2019.[3][4]

Stations

• ● : Direct Rapid service stop
• | : Direct Rapid service non-stop

Status	No.	Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Direct Rapid	Transfers	Location
				Between Stations	Total
Under construction	F01	Ōsaka (Ume-kita underground station)	大阪（うめきた地下駅）	-	-		JR Kōbe Line (JR-A47) JR Takarazuka Line (JR-G47) Osaka Loop Line (JR-O11) From Umeda Station: Hankyū Kōbe Main Line, Hankyu Takarazuka Main Line, Hankyu Kyoto Main Line (HK-01) Hanshin Main Line (HS 01) Midōsuji Line (M16) From Higashi-Umeda Station: Tanimachi Line (T20) From Nishi-Umeda Station: Yotsubashi Line (Y11) From Kitashinchi Station: JR Tōzai Line (JR-H44)	Kita-ku, Osaka
In operation	F02	Shin-Osaka	新大阪	-	0.0	●	JR Kyoto Line (JR-A46) Tokaido・Sanyo Shinkansen Osaka Metro Midōsuji Line (M13)	Yodogawa-ku, Osaka
	F03	Minami-Suita	南吹田	2.0	2.0	|		Suita
	F04	JR-Awaji	JR淡路	1.3	3.3	|	From Awaji Station: Hankyu Kyoto Line (HK-63) Hankyu Senri Line (HK-63)	Higashiyodogawa-ku, Osaka
	F05	Shirokitakōendōri	城北公園通	2.1	5.4	|		Miyakojima-ku, Osaka
	F06	JR-Noe	JR野江	2.2	7.6	|	From Noe Station: Keihan Main Line (KH-05) From Noe-Uchindai Station: Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line (T16)	Joto-ku, Osaka
	F07	Shigino	鴫野	1.8	9.4	|	Katamachi Line (Gakkentoshi Line, JR-H40) Osaka Metro Imazatosuji Line
	F08	Hanaten	放出	1.6	11.0	●	Katamachi Line (Gakkentoshi Line, JR-H39)	Tsurumi-ku, Osaka
	F09	Takaida-Chūō	高井田中央	1.7	12.7	●	From Takaida Station: Osaka Metro Chuo Line (C22)	Higashiosaka, Osaka
	F10	JR Kawachi-Eiwa	JR河内永和	1.6	14.3	●	From Kawachi-Eiwa Station  A  Kintetsu Nara Line (A07)
	F11	JR Shuntokumichi	JR俊徳道	0.6	14.9	|	From Shuntokumichi Station:  D  Osaka Line (D07)
	F12	JR Nagase	JR長瀬	1.0	15.9	|
	F13	Kizuri-Kamikita	衣摺加美北	1.3	17.2	|
	F14	Shin-Kami	新加美	1.4	18.6	|		Hirano-ku, Osaka
	F15	Kyūhōji	久宝寺	1.6	20.2	●	Yamatoji Line (Kansai Main Line)	Yao, Osaka
Rapid service through to Nara via the Yamatoji Line

Notes

Rolling stock

Passenger

• 201 series (until 2023)
• 207 series (used for rapid services since March 12, 2011)
• 321 series (used for rapid services)
• 221 series (from 2020)

Former

• 103 series (until 2018)
• 223-6000 series (used for rapid services from March 15, 2008 until March 11, 2011)

The 103 and 201 series trains are based at Nara Depot, the 207 series trains are based at Aboshi Depot, while the 223-6000 series trains were based at Miyahara Depot.

Freight

Locomotives seen hauling freight trains include the DD51, DE10, EF66, EF81 and EF210.

• 
  A DD51 locomotive on the Osaka Higashi Line in November 2001
• 
  An EF81 locomotive on the Akagawa Bridge in August 2013

See also

• Musashino Line, in the Tokyo area
• Aichi Loop Line

References

1. JR-West Press Release (December 20, 2007) (in Japanese)
2. "JRおおさか東線、北ヤード乗り入れ、18年度までに開業、150億円追加投資。" (in Japanese). Nihon Keizai Shimbun. 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
3. "2019年 春ダイヤ改正について" (Press release). 西日本旅客鉄道. 2018-12-14. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
4. "直結！おおさか東線". jr-odekake.net. 2019-03-16. Archived from the original on 2019-03-04. Retrieved 2019-03-18.

External links

• Osaka Soto-Kanjo Railway Co., Ltd. (in Japanese)