Uchibō Line

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The Uchibō Line (内房線, Uchibō-sen^?) is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) along Tokyo Bay, on the Western shore of the Bōsō Peninsula. It runs from Soga Station in Chiba to Awa-Kamogawa Station in Kamogawa, passing through Chiba, Ichihara, Sodegaura, Kisarazu, Kimitsu, Futtsu, Kyonan, Tateyama, and Minami-Bōsō. The line is connected on both ends to the Sotobō Line.

Contents 1 Line Information 2 History 2.1 Timeline: 3 Operation 3.1 Local trains 3.2 Rapid service 3.2.1 Rolling stock 3.3 Special trains 3.3.1 Rolling stock 4 Station list

[edit] Line Information

• Operated by: JR East
• Length: 119.4 km
• Gauge: narrow (1,067 mm)
• Number of Stations: 30
• Double Track Section: Soga Station to Kimitsu Station (excluding Chiba and Hon-Chiba)
• Electrified Section: Entire Line (1,500 V DC)
• Interlocking Method: automatic
• Top Speed: 120 km/h

[edit] History

The Uchibō line began operation in 1912, and was originally known as the Kisarazu Line (木更津線). It stretched from Soga Station to Anegasaki Station in Ichihara. Several extensions were built over the next few years, and in 1919 it reached as far as Awa-Hōjō (present day Tateyama). At this time it was renamed the Hōjō Line (北条線). By 1925 it had been extended to its present day terminus, Awa-Kamogawa Station. In 1929, the Hōjō Line was incorporated into the Bōsō Line. However, in 1933, the original stretch between Soga and Awa-Kamogawa Stations again became its own line, this time renamed the Bōsō West Line (房総西線), and in 1972 it received its current name.

[edit] Timeline:

• March 28, 1912 – Kisarazu Line (Soga to Anegasaki) begins operation
• August 21, 1912 – Extended from Anegasaki to Kisarazu
• January 15, 1915 – Extended from Kisarazu to Kazusa-Minato
• October 11, 1916 – Extended from Kazusa-Minato to Hamakanaya
• August 1, 1917 – Extended from Hamakanaya to Awa-Katsuyama
• August 10, 1918 – Extended from Awa-Katsuyama to Nako-Funakata
• May 24, 1919 – Extended from Nako-Funakata to Awa-Hōjō; renamed Hōjō Line
• June 1, 1921 – Extended from Awa-Hōjō to Minamihara
• December 20, 1922 – Extended from Minamihara to Emi
• July 25, 1924 – Extended from Emi to Futomi
• July 11, 1925 – Extended from Futomi to Awa-Kamogawa
• June 16, 1926 – Takeoka station opened
• May 20, 1927 – Chitose railyard opened
• August 15, 1929 – Bōsō line extended to Awa-Kamogawa; Hōjō Line incorporated into Bōsō Line
• August 1, 1930 – Chitose railyard is upgraded to a station
• April 1, 1933 – Bōsō line from Soga to Awa-Kamogawa (the run of the former Hōjō Line) is renamed Bōsō West Line
• November 20, 1941 – Iwane station opened
• March 1, 1946 – Awa-Hōjō station renamed Tateyama Station
• January 10, 1947 – Nagaura station opened
• April 10, 1956 – Shūsai station renamed Kimitsu Station
• July 1, 1964 – Double-track section built between Soga and Hamano
• September 20, 1964 – Double track extended from Hamano to Yawatajuku
• July 4, 1965 – Double track extended from Yawatajuku to Goi
• May 26, 1968 – Double track extended from Goi to Nagaura
• July 13, 1968 – Electric wires extended from Chiba station, past Sogo, extending to Kisarazu
• March 20, 1969 – Double track extended from Nagaura to Naraba
• July 10, 1969 – 135 C57-105 steam engines removed from service
• July 11, 1969 – Electric wires extended from Kisarazu to Chikura
• March 18, 1970 – Double track extended from Naraba to Kisarazu
• March 24, 1970 – Double track extended from Kisarazu to Kimitsu
• July 1, 1971 – Electric wires extended from Chikura to Awa-Kamogawa
• July 15, 1972 – Renamed Uchibō Line
• March 31, 1974 – Naraba station renamed Sodegaura
• November 15, 1982 – Freight service between Kisarazu and Awa-Kamogawa discontinued
• April 1, 1987 – Acquired by East Japan Railway Company following the division and privatization of JNR initiated by prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone; Japan Freight Railway Company becomes a second class railway enterprise between Soga and Kisarazu
• November 1, 1996 – Japan Freight Railway Company second class enterprise between Soga and Kisarazu is discontinued
• February 4, 2001 – ATS-P usage implemented between Chiba and Iwane

[edit] Operation

The Uchibō Line operates local service with trains generally originating and terminating at Chiba station. Trains headed directly for Tokyo station merge with the Sotobō Line between Soga and Chiba stations, and with the Sōbu Main Line between Chiba and Tokyo, while express and commuter trains merge with the Keiyō Line from Soga station.

[edit] Local trains

Daytime service from Chiba to Kisarazu and Kimitsu (sometimes to Kazusa-Minato) is generally 3 round trips per hour, from Chiba to Awa-Kamogawa and Tateyama (sometimes to Chikura) is 1 round trip per hour.

Formerly, the Uchibō and Sotobō lines were connected by trains running from Hota station to Sotobō Line Kazusa-Ichinomiya station, and from Kazusa-Ichinomiya station to Chiba station via Tateyama/Kisarazu stations, but currently no trains pass Awa-Kamogawa station in either direction.

The line runs 113 series and 211 series trains (belonging to the Makuhari Rolling Stock Center). Trains connecting directly to the Keiyō Line (2 inbound trains in the evening) are 205 series.

[edit] Rapid service

• Direct connection to Sōbu Line Rapid (Rapid)

  Trains leaving north from Kimitsu station connect directly to the Sōbu Line Rapid. After a revision to the schedule in October 2004, all trains now stop at Nagaura and Sodegaura stations.

• Direct connection to Keiyō Line (Rapid/Commuter Rapid)

  Commuter Ripid and Rapid service trains connecting to the Keiyō Line extend to Kimitsu station in the morning and evening, with three trains inbound in the morning, and five outbound trains in the evening. One of the inbound morning trains originates from Kazusa-Minato station.

[edit] Rolling stock

• Trains connecting to the Yokosuka Line—Sōbu Line Rapid use E217 series trains. Trains including green cars belong to the Kamakura Rolling Stock Center or the Makuhari Rolling Stock Center.
• Keiyō Line Rapid/Commuter Rapid trains use 205 and 201 series.

[edit] Special trains

The limited express train Sazanami runs from Tokyo station to Kimitsu and Tateyama stations (and Chikura station during busy periods). Formerly the limited express View Sazanami ran on the Uchibō Line as well, however it was merged with the Sazanami in a revision to the schedule made on December 10, 2005. Additionally, the special limited express Shinjuku Sazanami runs from Shinjuku station to Chikura station on weekends.

[edit] Rolling stock

• 255 series (including green cars)
• E257-500 series (standard-class only)

[edit] Station list

• Regular trains are local and stop at every station.
• See Limited Express Sazanami article also.

Line Name	Station Name	Japanese	Distance from Origin	Rapid/ Commuter Rapid	Connecting Lines	Area
Sotobō Line	Chiba	千葉	3.8	X	JR East: Sōbu Main Line Chiba Urban Monorail Line 1, Line 2 Keisei Electric Railway: Chiba Line (Keisei Chiba)	Chūō-ku, Chiba
	Hon-Chiba	本千葉	2.4
	Soga	蘇我	0.0	X	JR East: Sotobō Line Keiyō Line
Uchibō Line
	Hamano	浜野	3.4
	Yawatajuku	八幡宿	5.6	X		Ichihara
	Goi	五井	9.3	X	Kominato Railway: Kominato Line
	Anegasaki	姉ケ崎	15.1	X
	Nagaura	長浦	20.5	X		Sodegaura
	Sodegaura	袖ケ浦	24.4	X
	Iwane	巖根	27.5			Kisarazu
	Kisarazu	木更津	31.3	X	JR East: Kururi Line
	Kimitsu	君津	38.3	X		Kimitsu
	Aohori	青堀	42.0	X		Futtsu
	Ōnuki	大貫	46.6	X
	Sanukimachi	佐貫町	50.7	X
	Kazusa-Minato	上総湊	55.1	Terminal Station
	Takeoka	竹岡	60.2
	Hamakanaya	浜金谷	64.0
	Hota	保田	67.5			Kyonan, Awa District
	Awa-Katsuyama	安房勝山	70.8
	Iwai	岩井	73.7			Minami-Bōsō
	Tomiura	富浦	79.8
	Nako-Funakata	那古船形	82.1			Tateyama
	Tateyama	館山	85.9
	Kokonoe	九重	91.7
	Chikura	千倉	96.6			Minami-Bōsō
	Chitose	千歳	98.6
	Minamihara	南三原	102.2
	Wadaura	和田浦	106.8
	Emi	江見	111.4			Kamogawa
	Futomi	太海	116.0
	Awa-Kamogawa	安房鴨川	119.4		JR East: Sotobō Line

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