| Ōminato Line | |
| Native Name: | 大湊線 |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Color: | 808080 |
| Locale: | Aomori Prefecture |
| Type: | Heavy rail |
| Status: | In operation |
| Stations: | 11 |
| Character: | Rural |
| Owner: | East Japan Railway Company |
| Operator: | East Japan Railway Company |
| Open: | 1921 |
| Stock: | KiHa 100 series DMU |
| Linelength: | 58.4km (36.3miles) |
| Tracks: | Entire line single tracked |
| Speed: | 85 km/h (53 mph) |
| Electrification: | None |
| Map State: | collapsed |
The is a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Noheji Station and Ōminato Station on the Shimokita Peninsula in eastern Aomori Prefecture.[1]
| Station | Japanese | Distance (km) | Rapid Shimokita | Transfers | Location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Between stations | Total | |||||||
| 野辺地 | style="text-align:right;" | - | 0.0 | ● | Aoimori Railway Line | Noheji | Aomori | |
| 北野辺地 | 2.8 | 2.8 | ｜ | |||||
| 有戸 | 6.3 | 9.6 | ｜ | |||||
| 吹越 | 13.4 | 23.0 | ｜ | Yokohama | ||||
| 陸奥横浜 | 7.1 | 30.1 | ● | |||||
| 有畑 | 5.9 | 36.0 | ｜ | |||||
| 近川 | 6.7 | 42.7 | ▲ | Mutsu | ||||
| 金谷沢 | 5.0 | 47.7 | ｜ | |||||
| 赤川 | 5.5 | 53.2 | ｜ | |||||
| 下北 | 2.3 | 55.4 | ● | |||||
| 大湊 | 2.9 | 58.4 | ● | |||||
●: All rapid service trains stop, ○: Some rapid service trains stop
On March 20, 1921, the began operations between Noheji Station and Mutsu-Yokohama Station. The line was extended to its present terminus of Ōminato Station by September 25, 1921. In 1922 the line was nationalised, and renamed the Ōminato Line of the Japanese Government Railway (JGR, later JNR).
Express Natsudomari operations began from Aomori Station on a seasonal basis in 1968. The express was later downgraded to rapid service and renamed the Usori, and later the Shimokita. All freight operations ceased on February 1, 1984. With the dissolution and privatization of the JNR on April 1, 1984, the line came under the control of the East Japan Railway Company. On December 4, 1999, a new centralized traffic control (CTC) system became operational. In 2002, seasonal excursion train Kirakira Michinoku operations commenced and a limited number of Shimokita trains were extended to terminate at Hachinohe Station instead of Noheji. The Shimokita service operates a daily round trip to Aomori and 3 round trips to Hachinohe in conjunction with the Aoimori Railway.[2]
The Tōhoku Main Line, including Noheji was transferred from JR East to Aoimori Railway on December 4, 2010, following the extension of the Tohoku Shinkansen from Hachinohe to Shin-Aomori.[3] This resulted in the isolation of the Ōminato Line, a branch of the Tōhoku Main Line, from the rest of the JR East network with the exception of the Shimokita service from Aomori where it connects with the Ōu Main Line and Tsugaru Line.[4]
This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.