Iwate Galaxy Railway Line

Iwate Galaxy Railway Line
IGR 7000 series EMU at Morioka Station, June 2023
Overview
Native name	いわて銀河鉄道線
Owner	Iwate Galaxy Railway Company
Locale	Iwate Prefecture
Termini	Morioka Metoki
Stations	16
Service
Rolling stock	IGR 7000 series
History
Opened	1 December 2002
Technical
Line length	82 km (51 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	Overhead line, 20 kV 50 Hz AC
Operating speed	100 km/h (62 mph)
Route map Show static map Legend km Tōhoku Shinkansen Tōhoku Main Line 0.0 Morioka Yamada Line Tazawako Line (Akita Shinkansen) Iwate Galaxy Railway Control Center 3.2 Aoyama Tokusa River 5.6 Kuriyagawa 9.0 Nagano Signal (to 1968) 10.2 Sugo 12.2 Takizawa 16.6 Shibutami 21.3 Kōma Hanawa Line 26.9 Iwate-Kawaguchi 32.0 Iwate-Numakunai 37.3 Midō 41.6 Yachi Signal (to 1949) 44.4 Okunakayama-Kōgen 48.4 Nishioka Signal (to 1966) 52.2 Kotsunagi 55.3 Takimi Signal (to 1967) 59.8 Kozuya 64.5 Ichinohe 67.6 Torigoe Signal (to 1968) 70.8 Ninohe 73.7 Tomai 78.4 Kintaichi-Onsen 82.0 Metoki Tōhoku Shinkansen Aoimori Railway Line This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram

The Iwate Galaxy Railway Line (Japanese: いわて銀河鉄道線, Hepburn: Iwate Ginga Tetsudō-sen) is a railway line in Japan operated by third-sector railway company Iwate Galaxy Railway Company. It connects Morioka Station in Morioka, Iwate to Metoki Station in Sannohe, Aomori.

Formerly part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) Tōhoku Main Line, the line was separated on 1 December 2002 with the opening of the Tōhoku Shinkansen which parallels the route. JR Freight services continue to travel over the line.

Operation

All trains operate as local services, stopping at every station.

Trains from Morioka terminate at various stations along the line, including Koma, Takizawa and Iwate-Numakunai. No trains terminate at Metoki; trains serving the station continue as a through service to or from Hachinohe on the Aoimori Railway Line.

Station list

Station	Distance in km (mi)		Transfers	Location
	Between stations	Total
Morioka 盛岡	—N/a	0.0 (0)	Akita Shinkansen Tōhoku Shinkansen      Tazawako Line      Tōhoku Main Line      Yamada Line	Morioka	Iwate
Aoyama 青山	3.2 (2.0)	3.2 (2.0)
Kuriyagawa 厨川	2.4 (1.5)	5.6 (3.5)
Sugo 巣子	4.6 (2.9)	10.2 (6.3)		Takizawa
Takizawa 滝沢	2.0 (1.2)	12.2 (7.6)
Shibutami 渋民	4.4 (2.7)	16.6 (10.3)		Morioka
Kōma 好摩	4.7 (2.9)	21.3 (13.2)	Hanawa Line (through service)
Iwate-Kawaguchi 岩手川口	5.6 (3.5)	26.9 (16.7)		Iwate
Iwate-Numakunai いわて沼宮内	5.1 (3.2)	32.0 (19.9)	Tōhoku Shinkansen
Midō 御堂	5.3 (3.3)	37.3 (23.2)
Okunakayama-Kōgen 奥中山高原	7.1 (4.4)	44.4 (27.6)		Ichinohe
Kotsunagi 小繋	7.8 (4.8)	52.2 (32.4)
Kozuya 小鳥谷	7.6 (4.7)	59.8 (37.2)
Ichinohe 一戸	4.7 (2.9)	64.5 (40.1)
Ninohe 二戸	6.3 (3.9)	70.8 (44.0)	Tōhoku Shinkansen	Ninohe
Tomai 斗米	2.9 (1.8)	73.7 (45.8)
Kintaichi-Onsen 金田一温泉	4.7 (2.9)	78.4 (48.7)
Metoki 目時	3.6 (2.2)	82.0 (51.0)	Aoimori Railway Line (through service)	Sannohe	Aomori
↑ Through-running to/from Hachinohe via the Aoimori Railway Line ↓

Rolling stock

The Iwate Galaxy Railway Company operates a fleet of seven IGR 7000 series 2-car electric multiple unit (EMU) trains. Its fleet comprises four 7000-0 series sets, originally JR East 701-1000 series sets transferred in December 2002, and three newly built 7000-100 series sets.

History

The section of the line between Morioka and Metoki first opened on 1 September 1891, and was nationalized on 1 November 1906. The line was double-tracked by 12 July 1968, and it was electrified on 22 August 1968. With the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR) on 1 April 1987, the line came under the control of East Japan Railway Company (JR East). From 1 December 2002, with the opening of the parallel Tohoku Shinkansen extension to Hachinohe, ownership of the line was transferred to the third-sector Iwate Galaxy Railway Company.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iwate Galaxy Railway Line.

• Official website (in Japanese)