TheOsaka Higashi Line (おおさか東線,Ōsaka-Higashi-sen) (Literally: Osaka East Line) is a railway line in Osaka, Japan, operated by theWest Japan Railway Company (JR-West). The line connectsŌsaka Station in northernOsaka withKyūhōji Station inYao, forming an arc around the northern and eastern suburbs of the city. Before being named on August 23, 2007, the line was constructed with the tentative name "Osaka Outer Loop Line (大阪外環状線,Ōsaka-soto-kanjōsen)".
The line is constructed and owned by the Osaka Soto-Kanjo Railway Co., Ltd. (大阪外環状鉄道株式会社,Ōsaka Sotokanjō Tetsudō Kabushiki Kaisha) as aCategory-3 railway business under the Railway Business Act of Japan. JR-West and JR Freight operate trains asCategory-2 railway business.[citation needed] The Kita-Umeda extension opened on March 18, 2023, replacing the above-ground Umeda Freight Line.
Conceived in the 1950s during Japan's explosive postwar economic growth, it was planned as a grand "outer loop" of the city, using existing freight lines to linkAmagasaki withShin-Osaka,Suita,Awaji,Hanaten,Kami, Uriwari andSugimotochō, with a newly constructed segment into Osaka's (then primarily industrial) Nankō Port Town. However, with JNR's financial situation deteriorating catastrophically (culminating in its privatization) and continuing issues surrounding land acquisition and squatting by local residents on railway property, the plan was cut back to Shin-Osaka and Kami, terminating atKyūhōji in the south.[citation needed] (The Hanwa Freight Line, which would have carried the southern segment from Kami to Sugimotochō, was officially abandoned by JR Freight in 2009.) The line connectsShin-Osaka Station in northernOsaka withKyūhōji Station inYao, forming an arc around the northern and eastern suburbs of the city.
The southern part opened on March 15, 2008.[1][clarification needed] But because of problems with the illegal occupation of a site, construction of the northern part was delayed.[2] Construction of the northern segment started in 2011 and the section betweenShin-Osaka andHanaten has opened on March 16, 2019.[3][4]
Incorporated into the second phase of the Osaka Higashi Line project is the construction of underground platforms at Osaka Station (known as Umekita).[5] The project provides the basis for the future Naniwasuji Line while also providing a small shortcut on current services on theHaruka andKuroshio limited express trains.
In February 2023, track switching work took place between the 11th and 13th of that month.[6] The underground platforms began operation later in the year on March 18.[7]
207 series (used for Direct Rapid Services from March 12, 2011, until March 17, 2023)[9]
223-6000 series (used for Direct Rapid Services from March 15, 2008, until March 11, 2011)
321 series (Used for Direct Rapid Services until March 17, 2023)[9]
The 103 and 201 series trains are based at Nara Depot, the 207 series trains are based at Aboshi Depot, while the 223-6000 series trains were based at Miyahara Depot.
^"おおさか東線が開業" [Osaka Higashi Line opens for service].Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). March 17, 2008.Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. RetrievedJanuary 31, 2024.
^"直結！おおさか東線".jr-odekake.net. March 16, 2019. Archived fromthe original on March 4, 2019. RetrievedMarch 18, 2019.
^"運輸政策審議会 答申図（三大都市圏） - 大阪圏" [Transport Policy Council Report Map (Three Major Metropolitan Areas) - Osaka Area](PDF).Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation (in Japanese). March 10, 2007.Archived(PDF) from the original on February 22, 2021. RetrievedFebruary 7, 2020.
^"「はるか」地下へ切り替え 東海道線、ホーム開業控え工事" [Work Continues at Osaka Umekita as the Haruka Limited Express Is Rerouted Underground].Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). February 14, 2023. Archived fromthe original on February 14, 2023. RetrievedFebruary 14, 2023.
^"梅田貨物線「地下化」来年2月に「うめきた地下ホーム」使用開始に先行" [Umeda Freight Line "Underground ahead of the start of use of "Umekita Underground Platform in February next year].news.railway-pressnet.com. December 9, 2022. Archived fromthe original on December 9, 2022. RetrievedMarch 18, 2023.
^ab"おおさか東線で221系の運用開始" [221 series starts operation on the Osaka Higashi Line].Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. March 12, 2022. RetrievedMarch 12, 2022.
^abc"おおさか東線の直通快速が221系に" [The direct rapid service on the Osaka Higashi Line becomes the 221 series.].Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Koyusha Co., Ltd. March 19, 2023. RetrievedDecember 19, 2023.
JR West
Osaka Metro
Kobe Municipal Subway
Kyoto Municipal Subway
Hankyu
Hanshin
Keihan
Nankai
Kintetsu
Shintetsu
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