Ryōmō Line

Ryōmō Line
Ryōmō Line
	A JR East 211 series EMU at Ōhirashita in June 2020
Overview
Locale	Gunma, Tochigi prefectures
Termini	Oyama; Shin-Maebashi;
Stations	19
Service
Operator(s)	JR East
History
Opened	1889
Technical
Line length	84.4 km (52.4 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC overhead catenary
Operating speed	95 km/h (60 mph)
Route map
Route map

The Ryōmō Line (両毛線, Ryōmō-sen) is a Japanese railway line connecting Oyama in Tochigi Prefecture with Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture. 84.4 km (52.4 mi) long, the line is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The name refers to the fact that Gunma and Tochigi prefectures were once part of an ancient province called Keno (毛野), which was later split into Kōzuke (Gunma) and Shimotsuke (Tochigi). This line connects both halves of the old province.

Services

Most Ryōmō Line services continue beyond Shin-Maebashi and terminate at Takasaki on the Joetsu Line. Local trains run once an hour during the day between Oyama and Maebashi (more frequently between Maebashi and Takasaki). Some rapid services from Ueno and the Shōnan-Shinjuku Line have through-service to the Ryōmō Line, after which they stop at every station.

Prior to its discontinuation in 2021, Akagi limited express services, branded Swallow Akagi on weekdays, ran between Maebashi and Ueno or Shinjuku.

Station list

Line	Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Transfers	Location
Line	Station	Japanese	Between stations	Total	Transfers	Location
Ryōmō Line	Oyama	小山		0.0	Tohoku Shinkansen JU Tohoku Main Line (Utsunomiya Line) JS Shonan-Shinjuku Line ■ Mito Line	Oyama	Tochigi
	Omoigawa	思川	5.4	5.4		Oyama
	Tochigi	栃木	5.4	10.8	TN Tobu Nikko Line TN Tobu Utsunomiya Line^{[* 1]}	Tochigi
	Ōhirashita	大平下	4.4	15.2
	Iwafune	岩舟	4.1	19.3
	Sano	佐野	7.3	26.6	TI Tōbu Sano Line	Sano
	Tomita	富田	4.5	31.1		Ashikaga
	Ashikaga Flower Park	あしかがフラワーパーク	0.9	32.0
	Ashikaga	足利	6.2	38.2	TI Tobu Isesaki Line (Ashikagashi)
	Yamamae	山前	4.5	42.7
	Omata	小俣	4.6	47.3
	Kiryū	桐生	5.6	52.9	■ Watarase Keikoku Line ■ Jōmō Line (Nishi-Kiryū)	Kiryū	Gunma
	Iwajuku	岩宿	2.3	56.9		Midori
	Kunisada	国定	6.4	63.3		Isesaki
	Isesaki	伊勢崎	5.8	69.1	TI Tobu Isesaki Line	Isesaki
	Komagata	駒形	5.8	74.9		Maebashi
	Maebashi-Ōshima	前橋大島	3.2	78.1
	Maebashi	前橋	3.8	81.9	■ Jōmō Line (Chūō-Maebashi)
	Shin-Maebashi	新前橋	2.5	84.4	■ Joetsu Line (for Minakami) ■ Agatsuma Line^{[* 2]}
Joetsu Line	Shin-Maebashi	新前橋	2.5	84.4	■ Joetsu Line (for Minakami) ■ Agatsuma Line^{[* 2]}
	Ino	井野	3.3	87.7		Takasaki
	Takasakitonyamachi	高崎問屋町	1.2	88.9
	Takasaki	高崎	2.8	91.7	Joetsu Shinkansen Hokuriku Shinkansen JU Takasaki Line JS Shonan-Shinjuku Line ■ Shinetsu Main Line ■ Hachiko Line^{[* 3]} ■ Jōshin Dentetsu Jōshin Line

^ The official start of the Tobu Utsunomiya Line is at Shin-Tochigi, but all trains travel through on the Tōbu Nikkō Line to Tochigi.
^ The official start of the Agatsuma Line is at Shibukawa, but all trains travel through on the Joetsu Line to Takasaki.
^ The official start of the Hachiko Line is at Kuragano, but all trains travel through on the Takasaki Line to Takasaki.

Rolling stock

Present

Takasaki to Oyama

211-3000 series 4- and 6-car EMUs (since August 2016)

Takasaki to Maebashi (Takasaki Line through services)

E231-1000 series
E233-3000 series (since 1 September 2012)^[1]

Ashikaga Ō-Fuji-Matsuri special services

185 series (since 2005)
E257 series (since 2005)
485 series (since 2006)

Former

107 series (until October 2017)
115-1000 series 4-car EMUs (until March 2018)
185 series (Akagi limited express services until March 2016)
651 series (Akagi limited express services until 12 March 2021 and Ashikaga Ō-Fuji-Matsuri special services)
E653 series (Ashikaga Ō-Fuji-Matsuri special services in 2013 and 2014)

History

The Oyama to Kiryu section was opened in 1888 by the Ryomo Railway, and extended to Shin-Maebashi the following year. The company merged with the Nippon Railway in 1897, and that company was nationalised in 1906.

References

^ JR東日本高崎線・両毛線 E233系3000番代営業運転開始 [JR East E233-3000 series enter revenue service on Takasaki and Ryomo Lines]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine. Vol. 41, no. 343. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. November 2012. p. 78.

External links

Stations of the Ryōmō Line (JR East) (in Japanese)

[1] The official start of the Tobu Utsunomiya Line is at Shin-Tochigi, but all trains travel through on the Tōbu Nikkō Line to Tochigi.

[2] The official start of the Agatsuma Line is at Shibukawa, but all trains travel through on the Joetsu Line to Takasaki.

[3] The official start of the Hachiko Line is at Kuragano, but all trains travel through on the Takasaki Line to Takasaki.

[dj343-4] JR東日本高崎線・両毛線 E233系3000番代営業運転開始 [JR East E233-3000 series enter revenue service on Takasaki and Ryomo Lines]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine. Vol. 41, no. 343. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. November 2012. p. 78.

[* 1]

[* 2]

[* 3]

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