East Japan Railway Company Totally Explained

Everything about Jr East totally explained

is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven JR companies. It is often known as .

History

JR East was incorporated on April 1, 1987 after being spun off from the government-run Japanese National Railways. Although this was a nominal "privatization," the company was actually a wholly owned subsidiary of the government-owned JNR Settlement Corporation for several years, and wasn't completely sold to the public until 2002.
Following the JNR breakup, JR East assumed responsibility for passenger operations on former JNR lines in the Greater Tokyo Area, the Tōhoku region and surrounding areas.

Lines

Its railway lines serve Kantō and Tōhoku regions primarily, along with adjacent parts of Niigata, Nagano, Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures.

Shinkansen

JR East operates all of the Shinkansen (high speed rail lines) north of Tokyo.

Akita Shinkansen (秋田新幹線)(Morioka - Akita)
Hokuriku Shinkansen (北陸新幹線)(Tokyo - Nagano)
Jōetsu Shinkansen (上越新幹線)(Tokyo - Niigata)
Tōhoku Shinkansen (東北新幹線)(Tokyo - Sendai - Hachinohe)
Yamagata Shinkansen (山形新幹線)(Fukushima - Shinjō)

Note that the Tokyo-Osaka Tōkaidō Shinkansen is owned and operated by the Central Japan Railway Company, although it stops at several JR East stations.

Kantō regional lines

Greater Tokyo Area

These lines have sections inside Tokyo Suburban Area, officially set by JR East. It doesn't necessarily mean the lines are fully inside Greater Tokyo Area.

Akabane Line (赤羽線) (Ikebukuro - Akabane)

■ Chūō Main Line (中央本線) (Tokyo - Shiojiri - Nagoya)

■ Chūō Rapid Line (中央快速線) (Tokyo - Takao - Ōtsuki)

■ Chūō-Sōbu Line (中央・総武緩行線) (Mitaka - Shinjuku - Chiba)

■ Hachikō Line (八高線) (Hachiōji - Takasaki)

■ Itsukaichi Line (五日市線) (Haijima - Musashi Itsukaichi)

■ Jōban Line (常磐線) (Ueno - Hitachi)

■ Kawagoe Line (川越線) (Ōmiya - Kawagoe - Komagawa)

■ Keihin-Tōhoku Line (京浜東北線) (Ōmiya - Tokyo - Yokohama)

■ Keiyō Line (京葉線) (Tokyo - Soga)

■ Mito Line (水戸線) (Oyama - Tomobe)

■ Musashino Line (武蔵野線) (Tokyo - Fuchū Hommachi) (Tokyo outer loop)

■ Nambu Line (南武線) (Kawasaki - Tachikawa; Shitte - Hamakawasaki)

■ Narita Line (成田線) (Sakura - Chōshi; Abiko - Narita; Narita - Narita Airport)

■ Negishi Line (根岸線) (Yokohama - Ōfuna)

■ Ōme Line (青梅線) (Tachikawa - Ōme - Okutama)

■ Ryōmō Line (両毛線) (Oyama - Shin Maebashi)

■ Sagami Line (相模線) (Hashimoto - Chigasaki)

■ Saikyō Line (埼京線) (Ōsaki - Ōmiya)

■ Shōnan-Shinjuku Line (湘南新宿ライン) (Ōmiya - Shinjuku - Ōfuna)

■ Sōbu Main Line (総武本線) (Tokyo - Chōshi)

■ Sotobō Line (外房線) (Chiba - Mobara - Awa Kamogawa)

■ Takasaki Line (高崎線) (Ōmiya - Takasaki)

■ Tōgane Line (東金線) (Narutō - Ōami)

■ Tōhoku Main Line(Utsunomiya Line) (東北本線(宇都宮線)) (Ueno - Kuroiso)

■ Tōkaidō Main Line (東海道本線) (Tokyo - Yokohama - Atami)

■ Tsurumi Line (鶴見線) (Tsurumi - Ōgimachi; Anzen - Ōkawa; Asano - Umishibaura)

■ Uchibō Line (内房線) (Soga - Kisarazu - Awa Kamogawa)

■ Yamanote Line (山手線) (Tokyo inner loop)

■ Yokohama Line (横浜線) (Higashi Kanagawa - Hachiōji)

■ Yokosuka Line (横須賀線) (Tokyo - Kurihama)

Other lines in Kantō

Karasuyama Line (烏山線) (Karasuyama - Hōshakuji)

■ Kashima Line (鹿島線) (Katori - Kashima Soccer Stadium)

■ Kururi Line (久留里線) (Kisarazu - Kazusa Kameyama)

Nikkō Line (日光線) (Utsunomiya - Nikkō)

Tōkai and Kōshinetsu regional lines

■ Agatsuma Line (吾妻線) (Shibukawa - Ōmae)

■ Chūō Main Line (中央本線) (Kōfu - Shiojiri)

■ Echigo Line (越後線) (Niigata - Kashiwazaki)

■ Hakushin Line (白新線) (Niigata - Shibata)

■ Iiyama Line (飯山線) (Toyono - Echigo Kawaguchi)

Itō Line (伊東線) (Atami - Itō) (treated as Tokyo Suburban Area lines)

■ Jōetsu Line (上越線) (Takasaki - Miyauchi; Echigo Yuzawa - Gala Yuzawa)

Koumi Line (小海線) (Kobuchisawa - Komoro)

■ Ōito Line (大糸線) (Matsumoto - Minamiotari)

■ Shin'etsu Main Line (信越本線) (Takasaki - Yokokawa; Shinonoi - Nagano - Niigata)

■ Shinonoi Line (篠ノ井線) (Shinonoi - Shiojiri)

■ Yahiko Line (弥彦線) (Higashi Sanjō - Yahiko)

Tōhoku regional lines

Aterazawa Line (左沢線) (Kita Yamagata - Aterazawa)

■ East Ban'etsu Line (磐越東線) (Iwaki - Kōriyama)

■ East Rikuu Line (陸羽東線) (Kogota - Shinjō)

Gonō Line (五能線) (Higashi Noshiro - Kawabe)

Hachinohe Line (八戸線) (Hachinohe - Kuji)

■ Hanawa Line (花輪線) (Ōdate - Kōma)

■ Ishinomaki Line (石巻線) (Kogota - Onagawa)

■ Iwaizumi Line (岩泉線) (Moichi - Iwaizumi)

■ Jōban Line (常磐線) (Hitachi - Iwanuma)

■ Kamaishi Line (釜石線) (Hanamaki - Kamaishi)

■ Kesennuma Line (気仙沼線) (Maeyachi - Kesennuma)

■ Kitakami Line (北上線) (Kitakami - Yokote)

■ Ōfunato Line (大船渡線) (Ichinoseki - Sakari)

Oga Line (男鹿線) (Oiwake - Oga)

Ōminato Line (大湊線) (Noheji - Ōminato)

Ōu Main Line (奥羽本線) (Fukushima - Yamagata - Akita - Aomori)

■ Senseki Line (仙石線) (Aobadōri - Ishinomaki)

■ Senzan Line (仙山線) (Sendai - Uzen Chitose)

■ Suigun Line (水郡線) (Mito - Asaka Nagamori; Kamisugaya - Hitachi Ōta)

■ Tadami Line (只見線) (Aizu Wakamatsu - Koide)

■ Tazawako Line (田沢湖線) (Morioka - Ōmagari)

■ Tōhoku Main Line (東北本線) (Kuroiso - Morioka; Hachinohe - Aomori; Iwakiri - Rifu)

Tsugaru Line (津軽線) (Aomori - Mimmaya) (a part of Tsugaru-Kaikyō Line)

Tsugaru-Kaikyō Line (津軽海峡線) (Aomori - Nakaoguni)

■ Uetsu Main Line (羽越本線) (Niitsu - Akita)

■ West Ban'etsu Line (磐越西線) (Kōriyama - Niitsu)

■ West Rikuu Line (陸羽西線) (Shinjō- Amarume)

■ Yamada Line (山田線) (Morioka - Kamaishi)

■ Yonesaka Line (米坂線) (Yonezawa - Sakamachi)

Trains

Following is the full list of limited express (including Shinkansen) and express trains operated on the JR East lines as of 2008.

Shinkansen limited express

Hayate

Komachi

Yamabiko

Nasuno/Max Nasuno

Tsubasa

Asama

Toki/Max Toki

Tanigawa/Max Tanigawa

Limited express (daytime)

Tsugaru

Hakucho/Super Hakucho

Kamoshika

Inaho

Nikko

Kinugawa/Spacia Kinugawa

Ohayō Tochigi/Hometown Tochigi

Kusatsu

Minakami

Akagi/Weekend Akagi

Super Hitachi/Fresh Hitachi

Super Azusa/Azusa

Kaiji

Wide View Shinano/Shinano

Narita Express

Wakashio

Sazanami

Ayame

Shiosai

Super View Odoriko/Odoriko

Hakutaka

Limited express (overnight)

Akebono

Sunrise Izumo/Sunrise Seto

Hayabusa

Fuji

Express (overnight)

Kitaguni

Noto

Hamanasu

Subsidiaries

Higashi-Nihon Kiosk - provides newspapers, drinks and other items in station kiosks and operates the NEWDAYS convenience store chain

JR Bus Kantō / JR Bus Tōhoku - intercity bus operators

Nippon Restaurant Enterprise - provides bentō (box lunches) on trains and in train stations

Tokyo Monorail - waterfront monorail line in Tokyo (70% owned)

Sponsorship

JR East co-sponsors the JEF United Ichihara Chiba J-League soccer club, which was formed by a merger between JR East and Furukawa Electric company teams.

East Japan Railway Culture Foundation

East Japan Railway Culture Foundation is a non-profit organization established by JR East for the puspose of developing a "richer railway culture". The Railway Museum in Saitama is operated by the foundation.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Jr East'.

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