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| Hachikō Line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
AKiHa 110 series nearTakezawa Station, February 2017 | |||
| Overview | |||
| Native name | 八高線 | ||
| Status | In operation | ||
| Owner | |||
| Locale | Tokyo Metropolis,Saitama Prefecture,Gunma Prefecture | ||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | 23 | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Heavy rail | ||
| Operator(s) | JR East | ||
| Rolling stock | 209-3500 series EMU,E231-3000 series EMU,KiHa 110 series DMU | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | 1931 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 92.0 km (57.2 mi) | ||
| Number of tracks | Single-track (Hachiōji – Kita-Fujioka)Double-track shared with Takasaki Line (Kita-Fujioka – Kuragano) | ||
| Character | Urban in some areas and rural in others | ||
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | ||
| Electrification | 1,500 V DCoverhead catenary (Hachiōji – Komagawa) None (Komagawa – Kuragano) | ||
| Operating speed | 85 km/h (53 mph) (Hachiōji – Kita-Fujioka) 100 km/h (62 mph) (Kita-Fujioka – Kuragano) | ||
| |||
TheHachikō Line (八高線,Hachikō-sen) is a 92.0 km (57.2 mi) regionalrailway line owned and operated byEast Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is located withinTokyo,Saitama, andGunma Prefectures in Japan. It connectsHachiōji Station inHachiōji, Tokyo withKuragano Station inTakasaki, Gunma Prefecture.
Komagawa Station inHidaka, Saitama is the boundary point between two distinct sections. The southern section from Hachiōji to Komagawa is electrified at 1,500 V DC. Some trains terminate at Komagawa, while others continue over theKawagoe Line toKawagoe Station.
The non-electrified northern section connects Komagawa with Kuragano. All trains continue on theTakasaki Line toTakasaki, where transfer to theJōetsu andHokuriku Shinkansen is available. There are no through services connecting the southern and northern halves of the line.
The Hachikō Line takes the firstkanji of its name from the first character of Hachiōji (八王子) and the secondkanji from the first character of Takasaki (高崎).
| Station | Japanese | Distance (km) | Transfers | Track | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Between stations | Total | ||||||
| Hachiōji | 八王子 | - | 0.0 | o | Hachiōji | Tokyo | |
| Kita-Hachiōji | 北八王子 | 3.1 | 3.1 | o | |||
| Komiya | 小宮 | 2.0 | 5.1 | o | |||
| Haijima | 拝島 | 4.8 | 9.9 | o | Akishima | ||
| Higashi-Fussa | 東福生 | 2.8 | 12.7 | o | Fussa | ||
| Hakonegasaki | 箱根ヶ崎 | 3.0 | 15.7 | o | Mizuho,Nishitama District | ||
| Kaneko | 金子 | 4.8 | 20.5 | o | Iruma | Saitama | |
| Higashi-Hannō | 東飯能 | 5.1 | 25.6 | o | Hannō | ||
| Komagawa | 高麗川 | 5.5 | 31.1 | ■Kawagoe Line (through toKawagoe) ■ Hachikō Line (for Takasaki) | o | Hidaka | |
| Station | Japanese | Distance (km) | Transfers | Track | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Between stations | Total | ||||||
| Komagawa | 高麗川 | 5.5 | 31.1 | ■Kawagoe Line ■ Hachikō Line (for Hachiōji) | o | Hidaka | Saitama |
| Moro | 毛呂 | 5.8 | 36.9 | o | Moroyama,Iruma District | ||
| Ogose | 越生 | 2.7 | 39.6 | | | Ogose, Iruma District | ||
| Myōkaku | 明覚 | 5.2 | 44.8 | o | Tokigawa,Hiki District | ||
| Ogawamachi | 小川町 | 8.0 | 52.8 | o | Ogawa, Hiki District | ||
| Takezawa | 竹沢 | 3.5 | 56.3 | | | |||
| Orihara | 折原 | 4.0 | 60.3 | | | Yorii,Ōsato District | ||
| Yorii | 寄居 | 3.6 | 63.9 | ■Chichibu Main Line | o | ||
| Yōdo | 用土 | 4.5 | 68.4 | | | |||
| Matsuhisa | 松久 | 2.7 | 71.1 | | | Misato,Kodama District | ||
| Kodama | 児玉 | 4.8 | 75.9 | o | Honjō | ||
| Tanshō | 丹荘 | 4.1 | 80.0 | | | Kamikawa, Kodama District | ||
| Gunma-Fujioka | 群馬藤岡 | 4.7 | 84.7 | o | Fujioka | Gunma | |
| Kita-Fujioka | 北藤岡 | 3.7 | 88.4 | ^ | |||
| Kuragano | 倉賀野 | 3.6 | 92.0 | ■Takasaki Line (forTokyo) | ∥ | Takasaki | |
| Through toTakasaki on theTakasaki Line | |||||||
| Takasaki | 高崎 | 4.4 | 96.4 | ■Shinetsu Main Line ■Joetsu Line ■Ryōmō Line ■Agatsuma Line ■Jōshin Dentetsu Jōshin Line | ∥ | Takasaki | Gunma |
From 2017, former E231-0 series ten-car sets based at Mitaka Depot for use onChūō–Sōbu Line services were reformed and converted to become four-carE231-3000 series sets based at Kawagoe for use on Kawagoe Line and Hachiko Line services.[3] The first set entered revenue service on the line on 19 February 2018.[4]
From 2018, former 209-500 series ten-car sets based at Mitaka Depot for use on Chūō–Sōbu Line services were reformed and converted to become four-car209-3500 series sets based at Kawagoe for use on Kawagoe Line and Hachiko Line services.[5]
The first section of the line, named the Hachikō North Line (Japanese:八高北線,Hepburn: Hachikō-kita-sen), opened from Kuragano to Kodama on 1 July 1931, followed by the section from Hachioji to Higashi-Hanno, named the Hachikō South Line (Japanese:八高南線, Hepburn: Hachikō-minami-sen), on 10 December 1931.[1] The Hachiko North Line was extended southward from Kodama to Yorii on 25 January 1933, and the Hachiko South Line was extended northward from Higashi-Hanno to Ogose on 15 April 1933.[1] The Hachiko South Line was further extended northward from Ogose to Ogawamachi on 24 March 1934, and the last section between Ogawamachi and Yorii opened on 6 October 1934, connecting the north and south sections, and completing the entire line, which became known simply as the Hachiko Line.[1]
All passenger operations were switch from steam haulage to electric trains from 20 November 1958.[1]
CTC signalling was commissioned over the entire line from 27 February 1985.[1] On 1 April 1987, with the privatization and splitting ofJapanese National Railways (JNR), the Hachiko Line was transferred to the ownership of JR East.[1]
From 16 March 1996, the Hachioji toKomagawa section was electrified at 1,500 V DC, and services on the non-electrified section north of Komagawa to and fromTakasaki were operated separately asone-man driver only operation services usingKiHa 110 series DMUs,[1][8] and the southern section began through service operations to theKawagoe Line toKawagoe Station. Also from the same date until 11 March 2022, some morning rush hour services left the Hachikō Line atHaijima Station and travel toTokyo via theŌme Line andChūō Line; the reverse happened during the evening rush.
Starting 12 March 2022, the southern section from Hachiōji to Komagawa (and through services to the Kawagoe Line) beganone-man driver only operation services using the existing 209-3500 and E231-3000 series EMUs.
From the start of the revised timetable on 15 March 2025, single-car services between Komagawa and Takasaki were discontinued.[2]
At 07:40 on 24 August 1945, ahead-on collision at theTamagawa bridge [ja] resulted in 105 fatalities.[10]
TheHachikō Line derailment in 1947 is Japan's worst rail accident since World War II in terms of fatalities.
この鉄橋上で悲劇が起きたのは、太平洋戦争終結からわずか9日目の昭和20年(1945)8月24日早朝です。数日来の大雨の中で人為ミスも重なり、単線の八高線でありながら上り下りの列車が鉄橋上(橋脚No.7と8の間)で正面衝突し、少なくとも105人が死亡するという、特異な大惨事となりました。[Tragedy occurred on the bridge in the early morning of August 24, 1945, only nine days after the end of the Pacific War. Due to a combination of human error and several days of heavy rain, trains on the single-track Hachiko Line collided head-on on the bridge (between piers 7 and 8), resulting in a remarkable catastrophe that killed at least 105 people.]