page_title: Jōban Line
section_title: Former connecting lines
hierarchical_section_title: Jōban Line / History / Former connecting lines
caption_attribution_description: English: Kiha 503 of Tsukuba Reilway at Iwase Sta. Ibaraki Pref. 日本語: ja:筑波鉄道筑波線 キハ500形キハ503, ja:岩瀬駅にて
context_page_description: The Jōban Line is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company. It begins at Nippori Station in Arakawa, Tokyo and approximately parallels the Pacific coasts of Chiba, Ibaraki, and Fukushima Prefectures before the line officially ends at Iwanuma Station in Iwanuma, Miyagi. However, northbound trains at Tokyo originate at Ueno rather than Nippori; likewise, many trains continue past Iwanuma onto the Tōhoku Main Line tracks to Sendai.
  The name "Jōban" is derived from the names of the former provinces of Hitachi and Iwaki, which are connected by the line to reach Tokyo.
  The section of the Jōban Line between Tomioka and Namie, which extends through the exclusion zone surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown, closed in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, but was reopened on 14 March 2020.
context_section_description: Tsuchiura Station: The Tsukura Railway opened a 40 km line to Iwase on the Mito Line in 1918. Freight services ceased in 1981, and the line closed in 1987.
  Tsuchiura Station: A 5 km line to Ami, electrified at 600 VDC, was operated by the Southern Electric Railway Co. between 1926/28 and 1938.
  Mito Station: The Mito Seashore Electric Railway Co. opened a line eventually extending 21 km between Kamimito and Nakaminato-Cho, electrified at 600 VDC, between 1922 and 1930. It closed in sections between 1953 and 1966. At Onuki station (12 km from Mito) on this line the Kashima Light Railway Co. operated a 17 km 762mm gauge line between 1926 and 1930 to Hokota (see Ishioka station entry below).
  Mito Station: The Mito Electric Railway Co. operated an 11 km line to Okunotani (not electrified, despite the company name) between 1929 and 1936.
  Ishioka Station: The Kashima Sangu Railway opened a 27 km line to Hokota between 1924 and 1929. Freight services ceased in 2002 and the line closed in 2007.
  Akatsuka Station: A 25 km line to Gozenyama was opened by the Ibaraki Railway Co. in 1926/27. In 1944/45 the first 4 km of the line to Minami Hakamatsuka was electrified. The line closed in sections between 1965 and 1971.
  Tokai Station: The Ibaraki Prefectural Government operated a 4 km 762 mm (2'6") gauge line to Muramutsu between 1926 and 1933.
  Omika Station: An 11 km line to Johoku Ota (now Hitachi-Ota on the Suigun Line) was opened by the Johoku Electric Railway in 1928/29. In 1944 the company merged with the Hitachi Electric Railway, and a 7 km line to Akukawa was opened in 1947. Both lines were electrified at 600 V DC from opening. CTC signalling was commissioned in 1969, and in 1971 the lines became the first electric railway in Japan converted to one-person operation. Both lines closed in 2005.
  Izumi Station: The Onahama Horse tram opened a 762 mm gauge line 5 km to its namesake town in 1907, and extended the line a further 5 km to Ena in 1916. The Onahama - Ena section closed in 1936, the company renamed itself the Onahama Port Railway in 1939, and converted the line to 1,067 mm gauge in 1941. The Ena Railway rebuilt the Onahama - Ena section as 1,067 mm gauge in 1953. In 1965 a typhoon caused the collapse of a retaining wall, and the Onahama - Ena section formally closed in 1967. The passenger service on the Izumi - Onahama section ceased in 1972, the line is now freight-only operated by the Fukushima Rinkai Railway.
  Yumoto station: The 10 km 762mm gauge Iwaki Coalmine Railway operated to Onahama between 1905 and 1944.
  Yumoto station: A 6 km 762mm gauge line to Nagahashi was operated by the Iwaki City Council between 1914 and 1929.
  Uchigo station: The Furukawa Co. built a 7 km 762mm gauge line to the Kita-Yoshima coal mine in 1905. In 1908 the line was rebuilt to 1067mm gauge and shortened by 1 km. The mine and line closed in 1969.
  Iwaki station: The Yoshima and Akai local railways connected here, details of these lines are not currently available.
caption: Tsukuba Railway train at Iwase station
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