The Osaka Higashi Line (おおさか東線, Ōsaka-Higashi-sen) (Literally: Osaka East Line) is a railway line in Osaka, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR-West). The line connects Ōsaka Station in northern Osaka with Kyūhōji Station in Yao, forming an arc around the northern and eastern suburbs of the city. Before being named on August 23, 2007, the line was constructed with the tentative name "Osaka Outer Loop Line (大阪外環状線, Ōsaka-soto-kanjōsen)".
The line is constructed and owned by the Osaka Soto-Kanjo Railway Co., Ltd. (大阪外環状鉄道株式会社, Ōsaka Sotokanjō Tetsudō Kabushiki Kaisha) as a Category-3 railway business under the Railway Business Act of Japan. JR-West and JR Freight operate trains as Category-2 railway business.[citation needed] The Kita-Umeda extension opened on March 18, 2023, replacing the above-ground Umeda Freight Line.
History
Conceived in the 1950s during Japan's explosive postwar economic growth, it was planned as a grand "outer loop" of the city, using existing freight lines to link Amagasaki with Shin-Osaka, Suita, Awaji, Hanaten, Kami, Uriwari and Sugimotochō, with a newly constructed segment into Osaka's (then primarily industrial) Nankō Port Town. However, with JNR's financial situation deteriorating catastrophically (culminating in its privatization) and continuing issues surrounding land acquisition and squatting by local residents on railway property, the plan was cut back to Shin-Osaka and Kami, terminating at Kyūhōji in the south.[citation needed] (The Hanwa Freight Line, which would have carried the southern segment from Kami to Sugimotochō, was officially abandoned by JR Freight in 2009.) The line connects Shin-Osaka Station in northern Osaka with Kyūhōji Station in Yao, forming an arc around the northern and eastern suburbs of the city.
The southern part opened on 15 March 2008.[1][clarification needed] But because of problems with the illegal occupation of a site, construction of the northern part was delayed.[2] Construction of the northern segment started in 2011 and the section between Shin-Osaka and Hanaten has opened on 16 March 2019.[3][4]
Incorporated into the second phase of the Osaka Higashi Line project is the construction of underground platforms at Osaka Station (known as Umekita).[5] The project provides the basis for the future Naniwasuji Line while also providing a small shortcut on current services on the Haruka and Kuroshio limited express trains.
In February 2023, track switching work took place between the 11th and 13th of that month.[6] The underground platforms began operation later in the year on 18 March.[7]
Stations
● : Direct Rapid service stops here
| : Direct Rapid service does not stop here
Local trains stop at all stations.
For limited express Mahoroba, please see their respective article.
207 series (used for Direct Rapid Services from 12 March 2011 until 17 March 2023)[9]
223-6000 series (used for Direct Rapid Services from 15 March 2008 until 11 March 2011)
321 series (Used for Direct Rapid Services until 17 March 2023)[9]
The 103 and 201 series trains are based at Nara Depot, the 207 series trains are based at Aboshi Depot, while the 223-6000 series trains were based at Miyahara Depot.
^"おおさか東線が開業" [Osaka Higashi Line opens for service]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). March 17, 2008. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
^"2019年 春ダイヤ改正について" (Press release). 西日本旅客鉄道. December 14, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
^"直結！おおさか東線". jr-odekake.net. March 16, 2019. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
^"運輸政策審議会 答申図（三大都市圏） - 大阪圏" [Transport Policy Council Report Map (Three Major Metropolitan Areas) - Osaka Area] (PDF). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation (in Japanese). March 10, 2007. Archived(PDF) from the original on February 22, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
^"「はるか」地下へ切り替え 東海道線、ホーム開業控え工事" [Work Continues at Osaka Umekita as the Haruka Limited Express Is Rerouted Underground]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). February 14, 2023. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
^"梅田貨物線「地下化」来年2月に「うめきた地下ホーム」使用開始に先行" [Umeda Freight Line "Underground ahead of the start of use of "Umekita Underground Platform in February next year]. news.railway-pressnet.com. December 9, 2022. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
^ ab"おおさか東線で221系の運用開始" [221 series starts operation on the Osaka Higashi Line]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. March 12, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
^ abc"おおさか東線の直通快速が221系に" [The direct rapid service on the Osaka Higashi Line becomes the 221 series.]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Koyusha Co., Ltd. March 19, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
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