Ueno–Tokyo Line
JJJTJU
An E233-3000 series EMU, one of the train types used on the Ueno–Tokyo Line
Overview
Native name	上野東京ライン
Status	Operational
Locale	Tokyo
Termini	Ueno (services through-run toMaebashi/Utsunomiya/Narita/Takahagi) Tokyo (services through-run toNumazu/Atami/Ito)
Service
Type	Commuter rail
Operator(s)	JR East
Daily ridership	320,229 (daily, 2015)[1]
History
Opened	14 March 2015
Technical
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DCoverhead catenary

TheUeno–Tokyo Line (Japanese:上野東京ライン,romanized: Ueno–Tōkyō Rain), formerly known as theTōhoku Through Line (Japanese:東北縦貫線,romanized: Tōhoku-Jūkan-sen)^[2] is a railway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by theEast Japan Railway Company (JR East), linkingUeno Station andTokyo Station, extending the services of theUtsunomiya Line, theTakasaki Line, and theJōban Line southward and onto theTōkaidō Main Line^[2][3] and vice versa. While on official maps the line is purple, rolling stock and signage show the line as orange stacked on green to reflect the through-running nature of services on these respective lines. The project began in May 2008^[4] and was opened with the 14 March 2015 timetable revision,^[5] costing about JPY 40 billion.^[2]

Direct travel was expected to ease congestion on theYamanote Line andKeihin–Tōhoku Line, and the travel time was reduced by around 7 to 10 minutes because of through trains between the lines ofUtsunomiya andTakasaki and the Main Line of Tokaido in addition to through trains that pass theShinagawa Station on the Joban Line.^[4]

Beginning from Ueno Station, the project involved re-laying about 2.5 km (1.6 mi)^[4] of existing tracks that formerly linked the two stations until separated nearKanda Station to make room for theTōhoku Shinkansen extension to Tokyo.^{[citation needed]} The gap was reconnected by a new 1.3 km (0.81 mi)^[4] top deck on the existing Shinkansen viaduct near Kanda Station with ramps at either end up from the existing formations.^[6] Provision was made during construction of the Shinkansen link for eventual restoration of through traffic on the Tohoku Lines.^[7]JR East built trainturnback facilities atShinagawa Station on theTōkaidō Line, allowing through trains from Ueno to terminate there and return north.^[2]

Trains on theUtsunomiya Line andTakasaki Line fromMaebashi andUtsunomiya, andJōban Line fromNarita andTakahagi converge atNippori (only trains on the Jōban Line stop here). From there, trains run non-stop between Ueno and Tokyo Station and then continue on theTōkaidō Line towardsShinagawa (all trains departing the Jōban Line terminate here),Yokohama,^[8]Ōfuna,Hiratsuka,Kōzu,Odawara andAtami, with some additional through services toNumazu on the JR Central Tōkaidō Main Line, andItō in theItō Line. Initially, up to 15 services per hour ran during the morning peak, increased to 20 per hour in 2016.^[9]

Jōban Line limited express services (Hitachi limited-stop andTokiwa semi-fast) were extended south of Ueno via the Ueno–Tokyo Line, with most services terminating atShinagawa Station.^[10]

TheTōhoku Main Line ran to Tokyo station both prior to and followingWorld War II. Although the connector between Ueno and Tokyo was only used for freight trains and forwarding at first, the Allied occupation forces ran passenger trains from Tokyo Station through the Tohoku Main Line following World War II, and this was followed by a number of through services from the 1950s until the 1970s. The connection between Ueno and Tokyo was closed to passenger service in April 1973, and to freight service in January 1983; the portion of the line around Akihabara and Kanda was dismantled to provide a right-of-way to extend theTōhoku Shinkansen to Tokyo Station, with through services to Tokyo station commencing in 1991.

A government panel recommendation in 2000 suggested restoring the connector between Ueno and Tokyo by 2015, and JR East officially announced the project on 27 March 2002.

The project received support from various local governments, particularly inSaitama Prefecture,Ibaraki Prefecture, and other areas to the north of Tokyo.^{[citation needed]} However, residents of the area immediately surrounding the project cited light blockage and earthquake risk, and applied to a Tokyo court for aninjunction against construction in 2007.^[11] The lawsuit was dismissed in 2012.

The project was originally scheduled to be completed in fiscal 2013, but completion was delayed by the effects of the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.^[9]

Beginning with the March 2022 timetable change, direct Ueno-Tokyo line services via the Utsunomiya line were truncated fromKuroiso toUtsunomiya.

• 
  View of the planned route south of Akihabara Station in March 2007
• 
  View from the platform of Kanda Station, October 2009. A bridge pylon is being built to carry a viaduct of the future Ueno–Tokyo Line. A ramp structure can be seen in the background.
• 
  Sign atSanuki Station on theJōban Line promoting the early completion of the project. The headline readsWithout transfer, to Tokyo Station, to the Shinkansen
• 
  Elevated section of the Ueno–Tokyo Line under construction over the Tohoku Shinkansen tracks in August 2011

In January 2014, JR East president Tetsuro Tomita indicated that the company was considering the possibility of linking the Ueno–Tokyo Line in the future with a new direct access line toHaneda Airport also under consideration.^[12] The line started construction in 2023 and is set to be completed by 2031.^[13][14]

• Shōnan–Shinjuku Line, a similar line on the west side of Tokyo

• Official website(in Japanese)

• Lines of East Japan Railway Company
• Tōhoku Main Line
• Railway lines in Tokyo
• Railway lines opened in 2015
• 2015 establishments in Japan
• 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan

• CS1 uses Japanese-language script (ja)
• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from December 2013
• Articles containing Japanese-language text
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from May 2009
• Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia
• Articles with Japanese-language sources (ja)