Yamanote Line

63 series

72 series

101 series ("Canary" yellow livery, from September 1961 until circa 1968)

103 series ("Uguisu" green livery, from December 1963 until June 26, 1988)

205 series (from March 25, 1985 until April 17, 2005)

E231-500 series (from April 21, 2002 until January 20, 2020)

## Overview

The **Yamanote Line** (Japanese: 山手線, Hepburn: *Yamanote-sen*) is a railway loop line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of Tokyo's busiest lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centres, including Marunouchi, the Yūrakuchō/Ginza area, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Ueno, with all but two of its 30 stations connecting to other railway or underground (subway) lines.

## Service Pattern

* Inner Loop:
	+ ueno, ikebukuro direction
	+ ikebukuro, shinjuku direction
	+ Shinjuku, Shibuya Drection
	+ Shibuya, shinagawa direction
	+ Shinagawa, Tokyo direction
	+ Ueno, Tokyo direction (Ueno Tokyo Line)
* Outer loop
	+ Shinagawa, shibuya direction From tokyo to Tamachi.
	+ Shinjuku , Shibuya direction to Ebisu.
	+ Shinjuku, Ikebukuro direction from Shibuya to Yoyoyi.
	+ Ueno, Ikebukuro direction Shinjuku to meguro.
		- inner loop（内回り）：Tokyo→Ueno→Tamachi→Ikebukuro→Shinjuku→Shinagawa→Tokyo Drection
		- outer loop（外回り）：Tokyo→Shinagawa→Shinjuku→Ikebukuro→Tamachi→Ueno→Tokyo Direction

## Overcrowding

Yamanote Line is famous worldwide for its overcrowding. Before alternative lines nearby ever opens, the boarding rate could rise to 300% maximum. this requires platform guard and assistant to push people in like a sardine can.

## Station list

Station list has been moved to Yamanote Line station list Page.

## History

The predecessor of the present-day Yamanote Line was opened on 1 March 1885 by the Nippon Railway Company, operating between Shinagawa Station in the south and Akabane Station in the north.[14] The top part of the loop between Ikebukuro and Tabata (a distance of 3.3 km) opened on 1 April 1903, and both lines were merged to become the Yamanote Line on 12 October 1909.[14]

The line was electrified on December 16, 1909, soon after the Osaki – Shinagawa section was double-tracked on November 30th.[*citation needed*] The loop was completed in 1925 with the opening of the double track, electrified section between Kanda and Ueno on 1 November, providing a north-south link via Tokyo Station through the city's business centre.[12] A parallel freight line, also completed in 1925, ran along the inner side of the loop between Shinagawa and Tabata.

The contemporary Yamanote Line came into being on 19 November 1956 when it was separated from the Keihin-Tōhoku Line and given its own set of tracks along the eastern side of the loop between Shinagawa and Tabata.[12] However, Yamanote Line trains continued to periodically use the Keihin-Tōhoku tracks, particularly on holidays and during off-peak hours, until rapid service trains were introduced on the Keihin-Tōhoku Line in 1988.

A new station, Takanawa Gateway Station,[16] opened on 14 March 2020, in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics to be held in Tokyo.[17] Takanawa Gateway was built on the Yamanote Line and Keihin-Tohoku Line between Shinagawa and Tamachi stations, becoming the first new station on the line since Nishi-Nippori was built in 1971.[18][19] The distance between Shinagawa and Tamachi stations was 2.2 km, making it the longest stretch of track between stations on the Yamanote Line.[18] The new station was constructed on top of the 20-hectare former railyard, which is undergoing rationalization and redevelopment by JR East; it is roughly parallel to the existing Sengakuji Station on the Toei Asakusa and Keikyu Main lines. The Yamanote Line and the Keihin-Tohoku Line tracks were moved slightly to the east to be aligned closer to the Tokaido Shinkansen tracks. The area on the west side of the yard made available will be redeveloped with high-rise office buildings, creating an international business center with good connections to the Shinkansen and Haneda Airport.

## See Also:

Osaka Loop Line , a loop line serving osaka and area close to it.