The is a major railway line in Japan, owned by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects

Takasaki Station is a junction railway station located in the city of Takasaki, Gunma, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the private railway operator Jōshin Dentetsu. It is also a freight depot for the Japan Freight Railway Compa ...

Gunma Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 Square kilometre, km2 (2,456 Square mile, sq mi). Gunma P ...

with Miyauchi Station in

Niigata Prefecture is a prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area at . Niigata Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture and ...

, linking the northwestern

Kanto region Kantō (Japanese) Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain * Kantō region * Kantō-kai, organized crime group * Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in th ...

and the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...

coast of the Chūbu region. The name refers to the old

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Kōzuke (上野) and

Echigo was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niigata ...

(越後), which the line connects.

Services

Before the opening of the Jōetsu Shinkansen in 1982, the Joetsu Line had frequent service by express trains connecting

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

and Niigata. With the opening of the Jōetsu Shinkansen, however, the line became dominated by local and

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...

trains. The branch of the Jōetsu Shinkansen between

Echigo-Yuzawa Station is a railway station operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), located in the resort town of Yuzawa in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The station is located from . Lines Echigo-Yuzawa Station is serviced by the following lines: * JR East ...

and

Gala-Yuzawa Station is a seasonal railway station on the Gala-Yuzawa Line in the town of Yuzawa, Niigata, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines The station is served by the Gala-Yuzawa Line from Echigo-Yuzawa Station, and forms the only ...

(the

Gala-Yuzawa Line The is the unofficial name for a railway branch line in Yuzawa, Niigata, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The standard gauge line is a short (1.8 km) branch line that extends from Echigo-Yuzawa Station on the Jōet ...

) technically belongs to the Joetsu Line.

Stations

Rolling stock

Present

Local

Takasaki to Minakami * 211-3000 series 4- and 6-car EMUs (since August 2016) Minakami to Nagaoka *

E129 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on local services in the Niigata area since 6 December 2014. Design Built at the J-TREC factory in Niitsu, Niigata, the stainless steel body ...

2/4-car EMUs (since November 2015) Takasaki to Shin-Maebashi (Takasaki Line, Ryomo Line through services) *

E231-1000 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type used for commuter and outer-suburban services operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan since 2000. Design Trains were manufactured by Tokyu Car Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy In ...

E233-3000 series The is a commuter and suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type developed by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) from the earlier E231 series and the E531 series design. The first train was introduced in December 2006 for use on the Ch� ...

Limited Express

Takasaki to Shibukawa (Takasaki Line, Agatsuma Line through services) * 651-1000 series 7-car EMUs ('' Kusatsu'' limited express services since March 2014)

SL

SL Gunma Minakami and SL YOGISHA Minakami * JNR 12 series 6-car Vehicles and C61-20

Former

Local

Takasaki to Minakami * 115-1000 series 4-car EMUs (until March 2018) Minakami to Nagaoka *

115 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type developed by Japanese National Railways (JNR) and now operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West), and the Shinano Railway. Operations JR East JR East operated their last 115 series ...

2/3/4-car EMUs (until March 2016)

Limited Express

Takasaki to Shibukawa (Takasaki Line, Agatsuma Line through services) *

185 series Year 185 ( CLXXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lascivius and Atilius (or, less frequently, year 938 ''Ab urbe cond ...

7-car EMUs (''Kusatsu'' limited express services until March 2014) Four-car 211-3000 series EMUs entered service on the section between Takasaki and Minakami from 23 August 2016. E129 A4 Echigo-Nakazato 20160430.jpg, An

EMU at Echigo-Nakazato Station in April 2016 File:JNR 211-3000 02.JPG, A 211-3000 series EMU JR East 115-1000 Jōetsu Line 6 cars 20170216.jpg, A 115 series EMU between Gokan Station and Kamimoku Station in February 2017 115-niigata.jpg, A 115 series EMU at

Jōetsu_Line_Iwappara_Curve-1978-06.jpg,

181 series The (and the earlier 151 and 161 series variants) was a Japanese limited express electric multiple unit (EMU) type operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR). Variants * 151 series * 161 series * 181 series The 151 series trains were introd ...

Limited Express '' Toki'' (Echigo-Nakazato - Iwappara Skiing Ground, August 1978) Jōetsu_Line_Iwappara_Curve-1978-03.jpg, 165 series Express ''Sado'' (Echigo-Nakazato - Iwappara Skiing Ground, August 1978)

History

The Nippon Railway opened the Takasaki to Maebashi (now Shinmaebashi) section in 1884. The company was nationalised in 1906. The first railway between Niigata and the east coast of Honshu was the

Ban'etsu West Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, and Niitsu Station in Akiha Ward, Niigata, Niigata Prefecture. The name "Banetsu" is taken fr ...

, completed in 1914. In 1920, it was decided to build the Jōetsu Line as a more direct route between Tokyo and Niigata. The Miyauchi to Echigo-Yuzawa section opened in stages between 1920 and 1925, and the Shinmaebashi to Minakami section of the line opened in stages between 1921 and 1928. In 1931, with the completion of the 9,702 m Shimizu tunnel, the Echigo-Yuzawa - Minakami section of the line opened, including electrification at 1,500 V DC between Echigo-Yuzawa and Ishiuchi. When completed, the line shortened the Ueno to Niigata route by 98 km, and included two spiral sections in the tunnels. In 1947, the Takasaki to Minakami and Ishiuchi to Miyauchi sections were electrified, making this one of the first non-urban

JNR The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

lines to be completely electrified. The Takasaki to Shinmaebashi section was double-tracked in 1957, and the rest of the line was double-tracked between 1961 and 1967, the final section involving the construction of the 13,500 m Arashimizu tunnel. Passengers catching Miyauchi-bound trains at and stations do so from platforms situated within the Arashimizu tunnel.

Service disruptions

The

2004 Chūetsu earthquake The occurred in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, at 17:56 local time (08:56 UTC) on Saturday, October 23, 2004. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) named it the .

seriously damaged the Jōetsu Line, closing the Minakami to Miyauchi section for about two months. Single-line operation at speeds limited to 30–45 km/h then resumed, being raised to 45–65 km/h four months after the earthquake, and the second track reopened, also with speed restrictions, 5 months after the quake. Full service was restored 9 months after the line had first closed. In late July 2011, torrential rainfall damage resulted in the closure of the Echigo-Yuzawa - Muikamachi section for two weeks.

References

External links

Stations of the Jōetsu Line
(JR East) {{DEFAULTSORT:Joetsu Line Lines of East Japan Railway Company Rail transport in Gunma Prefecture Rail transport in Niigata Prefecture Railway lines opened in 1920 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan