Utsunomiya Light Rail

(Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Utsunomiya Light Rail (宇都宮ライトレール, Utsunomiya raitorēru) is a light rail transit (LRT) line serving the Utsunomiya metropolitan area [ja] in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. The 14.6 km line links Utsunomiya, the capital city of Tochigi, with the nearby town of Haga, running between Utsunomiya Station East, a tram stop in front of the East Exit of Utsunomiya Station in central Utsunomiya, and Haga Takanezawa Industrial Park in Haga.

Utsunomiya Light Rail HU300 series "Lightline"

Overview

Other name(s)

Haga Utsunomiya LRT

Native name

宇都宮ライトレール

Status

Operational

Owner

Utsunomiya City and Haga Town

Locale

Utsunomiya and Haga,
Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

Termini

Utsunomiya Station East
Haga Takanezawa Industrial Park

Stations

Website

https://www.miyarail.co.jp/index.html

Service

Type

Light rail

Operator(s)

Utsunomiya Light Rail Co., Ltd.

Rolling stock

HU300 series

History

Opened

26 August 2023; 9 months ago

Technical

Line length

14.6 km (9.1 mi)^[1]

Track gauge

1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

Electrification

750 V DC^[1]

Operating speed

40 km/h (25 mph)^[2]

Route map

Legend

					Utsunomiya Station East
					Higashi-Shukugo
					Ekihigashi Park
					Mine
					Yoto 3-chome
					Utsunomiya University Yoto Campus
					Hiraishi
					Depot
					Hiraishi-chuo Elementary School
					Kinugawa River
					Tobiyama Castle Site
					Seiryo High School
					Kiyohara District Civic Center
					Green Stadium
					Yuinomori-west
					Yuinomori-central
					Yuinomori-east
					Hagadai
					Haga Industrial Park Management Center
					Kashinomori Park
					Haga Takanezawa Industrial Park

The line is operated by the Utsunomiya Light Rail Co., Ltd. (宇都宮ライトレール株式会社, Utsunomiya raitorēru Kabushiki-gaisha) and is officially known as the Utsunomiya Light Rail Utsunomiya Haga Line (宇都宮ライトレール宇都宮芳賀ライトレール線), although there are no other light rail lines in Utsunomiya.

History

The project was approved in 2016.^[3] Construction started in 2018, with a target opening date of March 2022, but it was eventually moved back to March 2023.^[4] This date was later further postponed to August 26, 2023.^[5] On April 3, 2023, ten round trips a day of driver proficiency training using the new light rail vehicles began.^[6]

On November 19, 2022, an LRT train derailed during a trial run. There were no injuries.^[7]

The line started operation on August 26, 2023. Utsunomiya became the first city in Japan to have a new tram system in 75 years after Takaoka, Toyama.^[8]

Services

Rolling stock

The line is served by the Utsunomiya Light Rail HU300 series [ja], branded Lightline.^[9] Niigata Transys built and delivered 17 sets of three-section low-floor light rail vehicles.^[9]

Stations

No	Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Transfers	Location
No	Station	Japanese	Between stations	Total	Transfers	Location
01	Utsunomiya Station East	ja:宇都宮駅東口停留場	–	0.0	JR East (Utsunomiya Station) Tōhoku Shinkansen JS Shōnan–Shinjuku Line JU Utsunomiya Line ■ Nikkō Line ■ Karasuyama Line	Utsunomiya	Tochigi Prefecture
02	Higashi-Shukugo	ja:東宿郷停留場	0.4	0.4
03	Ekihigashi Park	ja:駅東公園前停留場	0.4	0.8
04	Mine	ja:峰停留場	0.7	1.5
05	Yoto 3-chome	ja:陽東3丁目停留場	0.6	2.1
06	Utsunomiya University Yoto Campus	ja:宇都宮大学陽東キャンパス停留場	0.7	2.8
07	Hiraishi	ja:平石停留場	0.9	3.7
08	Hiraishi-chuo Elementary School	ja:平石中央小学校前停留場	0.5	4.2
09	Tobiyama Castle Site	ja:飛山城跡停留場	1.9	6.1
10	Seiryo High School	ja:清陵高校前停留場	1.3	7.4
11	Kiyohara District Civic Center	ja:清原地区市民センター前停留場	0.8	8.2
12	Green Stadium	ja:グリーンスタジアム前停留場	0.8	9.0
13	Yuinomori-west	ja:ゆいの杜西停留場	1.7	10.7
14	Yuinomori-central	ja:ゆいの杜中央停留場	0.5	11.2
15	Yuinomori-east	ja:ゆいの杜東停留場	0.5	11.7
16	Hagadai	ja:芳賀台停留場	0.7	12.4		Haga
17	Haga Industrial Park Management Center	ja:芳賀町工業団地管理センター前停留場	0.5	12.9
18	Kashinomori Park	ja:かしの森公園前停留場	0.9	13.8
19	Haga Takanezawa Industrial Park	ja:芳賀・高根沢工業団地停留場	0.7	14.5