Jōban Line

The nihongo|Jōban Line|常磐線|Jōban sen is a rail line in Japan and is part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) system. It begins in Taitō-ku in Tokyo and follows the Pacific coasts of Chiba, Ibaraki, and Fukushima Prefectures before the line officially ends in Iwanuma in Miyagi Prefecture. However, trains continue north on the Tōhoku Main Line tracks all the way to Sendai.

When recorded (such as in timetables), the Jōban Line is typically split into three parts: Ueno — Toride running both Local and Rapid services for the Greater Tokyo Area, Ueno — Iwaki, for suburban and intercity service beyond Tokyo, and Iwaki — Sendai. This is because there are very few trains that go beyond Iwaki from either direction. The exceptions are the "Super Hitachi" Expresses which operate between Ueno and Sendai/Haranomachi, trains going to Yotsukura and Hisanohama from Mito, and trains going to Ueno and Mito from Kusano, Hisanohama, and Sōma.

Timeline

1889

*January 161889: Mito Railway (Mito — Oyama) begins operation.
*November 261890: Mito Railway Freight Line (Mito — Nakagawa) begins operation.
*March 11892: Mito Railway becomes part of the Nippon Railway.
*November 41895: Nippon Railway Tsuchiura Line (Tsuchiura — Tomobe) begins operation.
*December 11895: Hatori Station opens.
*December 251896: Tsuchiura Line (Tabata — Tsuchiura), Sumidagawa Line (Tabata — Sumidagawa) begin operation.
*February 251897: Iwaki Line (Mito — Taira [present-day Iwaki] ) begins operation.
*May 171897: Tsuchiura Line Kameari Station opens.
*August 291897: Iwaki Line (Taira — Kunohama) begins operation.
*November 101897: Iwaki Line (Nakamura [present-day Sōma] — Iwanuma) begins operation.
*December 271897: Tsuchiura Line Kanamachi Station opens.
*January 1898: Kitasenju — Sumidagawa connection opens.
*April 11898: Ishigami Station opens.
*April 31898: Iwaki Line (Haranomachi — Nakamura) begins operation.
*May 111898: Iwaki Line (Odaka — Haranomachi) begins operation.
*August 61898: Tsuchiura Line Mabashi Station opens.
*August 231898: Iwaki Line (Kunohama — Odaka) begins operation, connecting Tabata and Iwanuma. Tsuchiura Line and Mito Line (Tomobe — Mito) and Iwaki Line are collectively renamed the Kaigan Line.
*December 11898: Taka Station is renamed Iwaki-Ōta Station.

1900

*August 41900: Sanuki Station opens.
*November 221904: Ōno Station opens.
*April 11905: With the completion of Mikawashima — Nippori connection, the present-day route is finished. Nippori and Mikawashima Stations open. Service from Ueno to Tabata and back is abolished.
*November 11906: Nippon Railway is nationalized.
*March 251909: Tatsuta Station opens.
*October 121909: Kaigan Line split and renamed: Jōban Line (Nippori — Iwanuma) and Sumidagawa Line (Tabata — Sumidagawa). Jōban Line also handles freight services.
*February 161910: Minami-Nakagō Station opens.
*March 181910: Katsuta and Ogitsu Stations open.
*May 11911: Kita-Kogane Station opens.
*May 51911: Sumidagawa Line is merged into the Jōban Line.
*June 11915: Yoshida Station is renamed Hamayoshida Station.
*March 151921: Yonomori Station opens.
*August 151922: Nittaki Station opens.
*February 21925: Kōen-Shimo Station opens, but only operates during the "ume" blossom-viewing season.
*October 281925: Nippori — Taira connection finished (joined with northern tracks in 1965).
*December 111936: Nippori — Matsudo tracks are electrified.
*October 11939: Shimomago Station is renamed Hitachi-Taga Station.
*October 201939: Sukegawa Station is renamed Hitachi Station.
*February 151944: Momouchi signal box is built between Namie and Odaka.
*February 201944: Suetsugi signal box is built between Kunohama and Hirono.
*June 11947: Suetsugi signal box becomes Suetsugi Station.
*August 101948: Momouchi signal box becomes Momouchi Station.
*May 101949: Shimoyama Station opens.
*June 11949: Matsudo — Toride tracks are electrified.
*July 61949: JNR president at the time, Shimoyama Sadanori, is mysteriously found dead between Kita-Senju and Ayase Stations after being missing for 15 hours in a Mitsukoshi Department Store in Nihonbashi.
*May 101950: Sekimoto Station is renamed Ōtsukō Station.
*May 11952: Kita-Matsudo Station opens.
*July 101952: Komagamine Station opens.
*October 11953: Minami-Kashiwa Station opens.
*December 201956: Tsuzura Station is renamed Uchigō Station.
*April 11957: Ishigami Station is renamed Tōkai Station.
*June 11958: Semi-express "Tokiwa" begins operation.
*October 101958: The Special Express "Hatsukari" begins operation (Ueno — Aomori). It stops at Ueno, Mito, Taira, and Sendai Stations when it runs on the Jōban Line tracks.
*October 11959: Nagatsuka Station is renamed Futaba Station.
*October 11960: Kanayama signal box is built between Tatsuta and Tomioka. Ōkuma signal box is built between Watari and Iwanuma.
*March 201961: Nakamura Station is renamed Sōma Station.
*June 11961: Toride — Katsuta tracks are electrified.
*May 31962: The Mikawashima Rail Crash occurs between Mikawashima and Minami-Senju when an Iwaki-bound passenger train crashes into the wreckage of a crash between an Ueno-bound passenger train and an Ueno-bound freight train. 160 people die and 296 are injured in the incident.
*October 11962: Katsuta — Takahagi tracks are electrified.
*May 11963: Takahagi — Taira tracks are electrified.
*April 201963: Takahira signal box is built between Haranomachi and Kashima.
*September 301963: Taira — Kusano tracks are electrified.
*March 51966: "Tokiwa" semi-express becomes an express.
*February 11967: Kōen-Shimo Station is renamed Kairakuen Station.
*August 201967: With the electrification of the Kusano — Iwanuma tracks, the entire Jōban Line becomes electrified.
*October 11968: "Hatsukari" express is moved to the Tōhoku Main Line.
*October 11969: Kairakuen Station becomes a temporary station. Seasonal "Hitachi" express begins operation.
*April 101970: Freight line Kita-Kashiwa Station opens.
*October 11970: "Hitachi" operates as a regular express.
*April 201971: Construction of the Kita-Senju — Abiko Jōban Local Line is finished and runs through service to the Eidan Subway Chiyoda Line (present-day Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line). (The Chiyoda Line only ran as far as Kasumigaseki at the time). Tennōdai Station opens and Kita-Kashiwa Station is open to passengers.
*April 11973: Shin-Matsudo Station opens.
*March 311978: With the extension of its tracks to Yoyogi-Uehara Station, the Chiyoda Line shares tracks with the Odakyū Odawara Line up to Hon-Atsugi Station. 203 series trains are introduced to run through service to the Chiyoda Line.
*November 151982: Jōban Local Line extended from Abiko — Toride.
*February 11984: Mito — Nakagawa freight line is closed.
*March 141985: Bampaku-Chūō Station is temporarily opened (until September 16) for the Tsukuba Expo '85. The Uchigō-System-ku is abolished. The "Tokiwa" express ceases operations.
*April 11987: With the split of JNR, the Jōban Line becomes part of JR East.
*August 21988: Ōkuma signal box becomes Ōkuma Station.
*March 111989: 651 series "Super Hitachi" limited-express EMUs enter service.
*February 11993: Kanayama signal box is abolished.
*February 101993: Takahira signal box is abolished.
*December 31994: Taira Station is renamed Iwaki Station.
*December 11995: E501 series begins service between Ueno and Tsuchiura.
*October 11997: E653 series "Fresh Hitachi" limited-express EMUs enter service.
*March 141998: Hitachino-Ushiku Station opens where Bampaku-Chūō Station used to stand.
*December 71998: 485 series "Hitachi" limited-express EMUs are retired.

2000

*March 32002: New E231-0 series EMUs introduced on commuter services.
*March 132004: Kawajiri Station is renamed Jūō Station. Regular trains begin making stops at Mikawashima and Minami-Senju Stations throughout the day.
*October 162004: Medium-distance trains are called rapid trains for the section between Ueno and Toride.
*July 92005: New E531 series dual-voltage EMUs enter service on line. Special Rapid Service begins between Ueno — Tsuchiura. Commuter Rapid service from Ueno ends. One Commuter Rapid service still runs from Mito to Ueno.
*March 172006: All Commuter Rapid Service ends.
*May 152006: Women-only cars introduced on Jōban Local Line trains [7:10 - 9:30 AM measured by the time the trains pass through Ayase station] from Toride running through to Yoyogi-Uehara on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line.
*2007-01-06: Double-deck Green cars are phased in on E531 series EMUs running between Ueno and Takahagi. No Green car supplement required until start of new timetable on 2007-03-18.
*2007-02-21: E501 series EMUs removed from Ueno - Tsuchiura services.
*2007-03-18: Full Green car service commences on E531 series EMUs running between Ueno and Takahagi.
*2007-03-18: E501 series EMUs reassigned to Mito Line and Jōban services north of Tsuchiura as 10- or 5-car formations only.
*Summer 2008: New E233 series 10-car EMUs introduced on Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line through-running services.

tation list

Ueno – Iwaki

Iwaki – Sendai

Rolling stock

Rolling stock currently used

Commuter stock

*203 series 10-car EMUs (x17) (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line through-running services, emerald green stripe) (from 1982)
*207 series 10-car EMU (x1) (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line through-running services, emerald green stripe)
*209-1000 series 10-car EMUs (x2) (from December 1999)
*E231 series 10+5-car EMUs (emerald green/light green stripe) (from March 2002)
*E501 series 10+5-car EMUs (emerald green/white stripe) (from December 1995)
*E233 series 10-car EMUs (x18) (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line through-running services, emerald green stripe, from summer 2008)

Outer suburban stock

*415-1500 series 4-car EMUs (blue stripe) (from 1986)
*E531 series 10+5-car EMUs (x4) (blue stripe) (from July 2005)

Express stock

*651 series 7+4-car EMUs (x9) (Super Hitachi services) (from March 1989)
*E653 series 7+4-car EMUs (Fresh Hitachi services) (from October 1997)

Rolling stock used in the past

*403 series/415 series 7+4+4-car EMUs (cream with blue stripe) (from 1965 until March 2007)
*103 series 10+5-car EMUs (emerald green livery) (from December 1967 until March 2006)
*401 series EMUs (cream with blue stripe) (from June 1961 until 1987)
*485 series EMUs (Hitachi services) (from October 1972 until December 1998)
*80 series DMUs (Hitachi services) (from October 1969 until October 1972)