Hachinohe Line

The Hachinohe Line (八戸線, Hachinohe-sen) is a railway line in the Tohoku Region of Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Hachinohe Station in Hachinohe, Aomori with Kuji Station in Kuji, Iwate. The line stretches 64.9 km (40.3 mi) along the Pacific Ocean coast with a total of 25 stations. The section between Hachinohe and Same stations is also known as the Umineko Rail Hachinohe-Shinai Line (うみねこレール八戸市内線).

Stations

Legend

◇, ∨, ∧ - Trains can pass each other at this station

｜ - Trains cannot pass

Rolling stock

New KiHa E130-500 series diesel multiple unit trains were introduced on the Hachinohe Line from 2 December 2017, displacing the ageing KiHa 40 series DMUs.^[1] All services on the line will be operated by KiHa E130-500 series DMUs from the start of the revised timetable on 17 March 2018.^[1]

The fleet consists of six two-car units and six single-car units.^[2]

History

In 1894, a spur line connecting Shiriuchi (now ) on the Tohoku Main Line with Hachinohe (now ) was completed. This line was soon extended south to the now-defunct Minato Station. After the nationalization of the Nippon Railway in 1907, the spur line was renamed the Hachinohe Line in 1909. From 1924, the line's name was written with its current characters, and the southern terminus of the line was extended to in Iwate Prefecture. The following year it reached , and in 1930 it reached its present southern terminus of where it connected to the Sanriku Railway Kita-Rias Line, which links Kuji with in southern Iwate. Freight operations were phased out at most stations between 1982 and 1986.^{[citation needed]}

With the privatization of the Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987, the Hachinohe Line came under the control of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), with remaining freight operations transferred to the Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) at Hachinohe Freight Terminal.

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

The line was damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and services were suspended on the section between and , with a number of vehicles trapped at Kuji Station. Services over the entire line resumed on March 17, 2012.^[3]

2025 Sanriku earthquake

The Hachinohe Line sustained significant damage from the 2025 Sanriku earthquake on 8 December 2025. A bridge pier sustained damage from the earthquake, causing service on the entire line to be suspended and replaced by buses.^[4] On 22 December, train service resumed between Kuji and Same, while bustitution still continued between Same and Hachinohe.^[5] Service on the full line was resumed on 30 December 2025.^[6]

See also

• List of railway lines in Japan

References

1. ^ "ja: 八戸線，3月17日から全列車をキハE130系500番台で運転" [All Hachinohe Line services to be operated by KiHa E130-500 series from 17 March] (in Japanese). Japan Railfan Magazine Online. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 15 December 2017. Archived 15 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
2. ^ "ja: 八戸線および新潟・秋田地区への車両新造計画" [New train manufacture plans for Hachinohe Line and Niigata/Akita regions] (in Japanese). Tetsudo Hobidas. Japan: Neko Publishing Co., Ltd. 4 July 2017. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
3. ^ "ja:八戸線で試運転とキハ40系の回送" [KiHa 40s test run on Hachinohe Line] (in Japanese). Japan Railfan Magazine Online. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
4. ^ "【地震】JR八戸線 高架橋の橋脚損傷で運転再開見通し立たず" (in Japanese). NHK NEWS. 2025-12-09. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
5. ^ 産経新聞 (2025-12-22). "JR八戸線、一部運転再開 地震影響、通学客に笑顔 30日の全線再開を目指す" (in Japanese). 産経新聞：産経ニュース. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
6. ^ "Full Service Resumes on the Damaged JR Hachinohe Line". aomoritravelmap.com. Retrieved 2026-04-09.

• Harris, Ken & Clarke, Jackie (2008). Jane's World Railways 2008-2009. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-2861-9.

External links

• JR East website (in Japanese)