Ōme Line

The Ōme Line (青梅線, Ōme-sen) is a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in western Tokyo, Japan. It links Tachikawa and the Chūō Line with the town of Okutama. Many Chūō Line trains operate via the Ōme Line to Ōme Station, providing non-stop service to Tokyo Station.

Ōme Line
JC
Overview
Other name(s)Tokyo Adventure Line (Ōme - Okutama)
Native name青梅線
OwnerJR East
LocaleTokyo
Termini
Stations25
Service
TypeHeavy rail
Operator(s)JR East, JR Freight
History
Opened1894
Technical
Line length37.2 km (23.1 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification1,500 V DC overhead catenary
Route map

The section between Ōme and Oku-Tama is now nicknamed as the "Tokyo Adventure Line (東京アドベンチャーライン)".[1]

Services

A Shinjuku-bound Holiday Rapid Okutama (E233 series EMU) at Haijima Station

Ōme Line Local

Local trains stop at all stations. However, they rarely run along the entire Ōme Line, with services splitting at Ōme Station.

Through services

The Ōme Line, at times, runs through services along the Chūō Rapid, Itsukaichi, and Hachikō lines. Supplemental trains during the peak season may also run along the Nambu Line. Trains that operate only on the Ōme Line have "Ōme-Itsukaichi Line" displayed at the front.

  • Chūō - Ōme Line through service: Some Chūō Line trains operate through service to the Ōme Line via Tachikawa. Most through services only go as far as Ōme, and stop at all stations on the Ōme Line, except the Holiday Rapid Okutama (See below). There are two other through service variations which uses the Ōme Line as an intermediate line, which are shown below.
    • Chūō - Ōme - Itsukaichi Line through service: At rush hours, few Chūō Line trains run through services between Tokyo and the Itsukaichi Line via Haijima. These services are always joined with another through service train, which couples / decouples at Haijima. During morning rush, some trains from Musashi-Itsukaichi on the Itsukaichi Line, and another train from Ōme on the Ōme Line, or from Hakonegasaki / Komagawa on the Hachiko Line, couple at Haijima, and head for Tokyo. During evening rush, the reverse occurs.
    • Chūō - Ōme - Hachiko Line through service: As mentioned above, there are through services from Tokyo on the Chūō Line to the Hachiko Line, via the Ōme Line. These trains terminate at Hakonegasaki or Komagawa.
  • Ōme - Itsukaichi Line through service: Some Itsukaichi Line operate through service to the Ōme Line via Haijima. They operate between Musashi-Itsukaichi and Tachikawa. Note that these trains do not go on the Chūō Line.

Ōme Limited Express

The Ōme Limited Express (特急おうめ) is limited express train service for commuters on the Chūō Rapid Line and Ōme Line. The train operates on weekdays only. Prior to 16 March 2019, this train operated as the Ōme Liner (青梅ライナー)[2]

Holiday Rapid Okutama.Akigawa

Holiday Rapid Okutama and Holiday Rapid Akigawa services run on weekends from Tokyo. See their article for more information.

Station list

  • All stations are located in Tokyo.
  • Local, rapid, and special rapid trains stop at all stations.
  • On the track column, stations where trains can pass one another are marked "∥", "◇", "∨", and "∧", and those where trains cannot pass each other at stations marked "".
No. Station Japanese Distance (km) Holiday Rapid Transfers  Track Location
Between
stations
Total Okutama Akigawa
JC19 Tachikawa 立川 - 0.0 JC Chūō Line

JN Nambu Line
Tama Toshi Monorail Line (Tachikawa-Kita, Tachikawa-Minami)

Tachikawa
JC51 Nishi-Tachikawa 西立川 1.9 1.9  
JC52 Higashi-Nakagami 東中神 0.8 2.7   Akishima
JC53 Nakagami 中神 0.9 3.6  
JC54 Akishima 昭島 1.4 5.0  
JC55 Haijima 拝島 1.9 6.9

(Coupled / Decoupled)

JC Itsukaichi Line

Hachikō Line
Seibu Haijima Line

JC56 Ushihama 牛浜 1.7 8.6 Heads to

Itsukaichi Line

  Fussa
JC57 Fussa 福生 1.0 9.6  
JC58 Hamura 羽村 2.1 11.7   Hamura
JC59 Ozaku 小作 2.4 14.1  
JC60 Kabe 河辺 1.8 15.9   Ōme
JC61 Higashi-Ōme 東青梅 1.3 17.2  
JC62 Ōme 青梅 1.3 18.5  
JC63 Miyanohira 宮ノ平 2.1 20.6  
JC64 Hinatawada 日向和田 0.8 21.4  
JC65 Ishigamimae 石神前 1.0 22.4  
JC66 Futamatao 二俣尾 1.2 23.6  
JC67 Ikusabata 軍畑 0.9 24.5  
JC68 Sawai 沢井 1.4 25.9  
JC69 Mitake 御嶽 1.3 27.2 Mitake Tozan Railway: Cable car (Takimoto via bus)
JC70 Kawai 川井 2.8 30.0   Okutama, Nishitama District
JC71 Kori 古里 1.6 31.6  
JC72 Hatonosu 鳩ノ巣 2.2 33.8  
JC73 Shiromaru 白丸 1.4 35.2  
JC74 Oku-Tama 奥多摩 2.0 37.2  

Rolling stock

Services on the Ōme Line are usually formed of E233-0 series 10-car / 6+4 car EMUs. However, while 209-1000 series trains usually only run on the Chuo Line (Rapid) between Tokyo and Takao stations, on rare occasions (such as a shortage of train sets due to an accident) they may also run on the Ome Line as far as Ome station. Due to the lack of passenger-operated door controls on these sets all doors open at each station on these sets.

History

No. 1 Hikawa tunnel on the Ogouchi dam line (now Mizune Freight Line)
No. 1 Mizune bridge on the Ogouchi dam line (now Mizune Freight Line)

The section between Tachikawa and Ōme was opened in 1894 by the Ōme Railway as a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge line, extended 2 km as a freight-only section to Hinatawada the following year. Passenger services were extended to Hinatawada in 1898, and the line was converted to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) in 1908. A further freight-only section opened to Miyanohira in 1914, and to Futamatao in 1920. Passenger services were extended to Miyanohira in 1923, the same year the entire line was electrified at 1,200 V DC. The line was further extended to Mitake in 1929, when the company changed its name to the Ōme Electric Railway Co. and the voltage raised to 1,500 V DC in 1930. Passenger services were extended to Mitake in 1935.

The company was nationalized on 1 April 1944, the same year that the Tachikawa to Nagakami section was double-tracked.

The Okutama Electric Railway was constructing a line from Mitake to Hikawa (now Okutama) when it was nationalised, and the line opened on 1 July 1944, creating the present-day Ōme Line.

The Nakagami to Haijima section was double-tracked in 1946, and direct services to Tokyo commenced in 1949. The Haijima to Higashi-Ōme section was double-tracked between 1961 and 1962, CTC signalling was commissioned in 1971, and freight services ceased in 1998.

On 20 August 2016, station numbering was introduced to the Ōme Line, with stations being assigned station numbers between JC51 (Nishi-Tachikawa) and JC74 (Oku-Tama).[3][4]

From the timetable revision on 18 March 2023, operation on the Ōme Line has been almost completely divided at Ōme Station, with very few trains operating along the entire length of the line.[5]

Former connecting lines

  • Oku-Tama Station: The Tokyo Waterworks Bureau operated a 7 km line to the Ogouchi dam during its construction between 1952 and 1957. It featured 23 tunnels and 23 bridges. In 1963 it was transferred to the Seibu Railway, which transferred it to the Okutama Limestone Quarrying Co. in 1978, and although the line is now known as the Mizune Freight Line, it has been out of service for some time.


Future developments

In February 2015, JR East announced plans to introduce Green (first class) cars on Chuo Line (Rapid) and through-running Ome Line services from fiscal 2020. This will involve adding two bilevel Green cars to 10- and 6-car E233-0 series EMU sets, forming 12- and 8-car sets. Work is now undergoing to lengthen station platforms and depot facilities to handle the longer trains.[6]

References

  1. 青梅線が変わります ~東京アドベンチャーライン始動!~ [Transforming the Ōme Line: Initiating the Tokyo Adventure Line!] (PDF). East Japan Railway Company. 14 September 2018.
  2. "2019年3月ダイヤ改正について(PDF,Japanese)" (PDF).
  3. "⾸都圏エリアへ 「駅ナンバリング」を導⼊します" [Introduce “station numbering” to the Tokyo metropolitan area] (PDF). jreast.co.jp (in Japanese). 6 April 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  4. Kusamachi, Yoshikazu (7 April 2016). "JA・JK・JT・AKB…JR東日本、首都圏で駅ナンバリングなど導入へ" [JA, JK, JT, AKB … JR East to introduce station numbering in the Tokyo metropolitan area]. Response Automotive Media (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  5. "沿線の四季を描いた列車でPR JR青梅線青梅−奥多摩間 28日から順次お目見え:東京新聞 TOKYO Web". 東京新聞 TOKYO Web (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  6. 中央快速線等へのグリーン車サービスの導入について [Introduction of Green cars on Chuo Rapid and other lines] (PDF). News release (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
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