Ryōmō Line
# Ryōmō Line

The Ryōmō Line (両毛線, Ryōmō-sen) is a Japanese railway line connecting Oyama in Tochigi Prefecture with Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture. 84.4 km (52.4 mi) long, the line is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The name refers to the fact that Gunma and Tochigi prefectures were once part of an ancient province called Keno (毛野), which was later split into Kōzuke (Gunma) and Shimotsuke (Tochigi). This line connects both halves of the old province.

## Services

Most Ryōmō Line services continue beyond Shin-Maebashi and terminate at Takasaki on the Joetsu Line. Local trains run about once in an hour during the day between Oyama and Maebashi and twice or three times as frequently between Maebashi and Takasaki. Some rapid services from Ueno and the Shōnan-Shinjuku Line travel through onto the Ryōmō Line, but they stop at every station.

## Station list

| Line | Station | Japanese | Distance (km) | Distance (km) | Transfers | Location | Location |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Line | Station | Japanese | Between stations | Total | Transfers | Location | Location |
| Ryōmō Line | Oyama | 小山 | | 0.0 | Tohoku Shinkansen JU Tohoku Main Line (Utsunomiya Line) JS Shonan-Shinjuku Line ■ Mito Line | Oyama | Tochigi |
| Ryōmō Line | Omoigawa | 思川 | 5.4 | 5.4 | | Oyama | Tochigi |
| Ryōmō Line | Tochigi | 栃木 | 5.4 | 10.8 | TN Tobu Nikko Line TN Tobu Utsunomiya Line | Tochigi | Tochigi |
| Ryōmō Line | Ōhirashita | 大平下 | 4.4 | 15.2 | | Tochigi | Tochigi |
| Ryōmō Line | Iwafune | 岩舟 | 4.1 | 19.3 | | Tochigi | Tochigi |
| Ryōmō Line | Sano | 佐野 | 7.3 | 26.6 | TI Tōbu Sano Line | Sano | Tochigi |
| Ryōmō Line | Tomita | 富田 | 4.5 | 31.1 | | Ashikaga | Tochigi |
| Ryōmō Line | Ashikaga Flower Park | あしかがフラワーパーク | 0.9 | 32.0 | | Ashikaga | Tochigi |
| Ryōmō Line | Ashikaga | 足利 | 6.2 | 38.2 | TI Tobu Isesaki Line (Ashikagashi) | Ashikaga | Tochigi |
| Ryōmō Line | Yamamae | 山前 | 4.5 | 42.7 | | Ashikaga | Tochigi |
| Ryōmō Line | Omata | 小俣 | 4.6 | 47.3 | | Ashikaga | Tochigi |
| Ryōmō Line | Kiryū | 桐生 | 5.6 | 52.9 | ■ Watarase Keikoku Line ■ Jōmō Line (Nishi-Kiryū) | Kiryū | Gunma |
| Ryōmō Line | Iwajuku | 岩宿 | 2.3 | 56.9 | | Midori | Gunma |
| Ryōmō Line | Kunisada | 国定 | 6.4 | 63.3 | | Isesaki | Gunma |
| Ryōmō Line | Isesaki | 伊勢崎 | 5.8 | 69.1 | TI Tobu Isesaki Line | Isesaki | Gunma |
| Ryōmō Line | Komagata | 駒形 | 5.8 | 74.9 | | Maebashi | Gunma |
| Ryōmō Line | Maebashi-Ōshima | 前橋大島 | 3.2 | 78.1 | | Maebashi | Gunma |
| Ryōmō Line | Maebashi | 前橋 | 3.8 | 81.9 | ■ Jōmō Line (Chūō-Maebashi) | Maebashi | Gunma |
| Ryōmō Line | Shin-Maebashi | 新前橋 | 2.5 | 84.4 | ■ Joetsu Line (for Minakami) ■ Agatsuma Line | Maebashi | Gunma |
| Joetsu Line | Shin-Maebashi | 新前橋 | 2.5 | 84.4 | ■ Joetsu Line (for Minakami) ■ Agatsuma Line | Maebashi | Gunma |
| Joetsu Line | Ino | 井野 | 3.3 | 87.7 | | Takasaki | Gunma |
| Joetsu Line | Takasakitonyamachi | 高崎問屋町 | 1.2 | 88.9 | | Takasaki | Gunma |
| Joetsu Line | Takasaki | 高崎 | 2.8 | 91.7 | Joetsu Shinkansen Hokuriku Shinkansen JU Takasaki Line JS Shonan-Shinjuku Line ■ Shinetsu Main Line ■ Hachiko Line ■ Jōshin Dentetsu Jōshin Line | Takasaki | Gunma |

* ↑ The official start of the Tobu Utsunomiya Line is at Shin-Tochigi, but all trains travel through on the Tōbu Nikkō Line to Tochigi.
* ↑ The official start of the Agatsuma Line is at Shibukawa, but all trains travel through on the Joetsu Line to Takasaki.
* ↑ The official start of the Hachiko Line is at Kuragano, but all trains travel through on the Takasaki Line to Takasaki.

## Rolling stock

### Present

Takasaki to Oyama

* 211-3000 series 4- and 6-car EMUs (since August 2016)

Takasaki to Maebashi (Takasaki Line through services)

* E231-1000 series
* E233-3000 series (since 1 September 2012)

Ashikaga Ō-Fuji-Matsuri special services

* 185 series (since 2005)
* E257 series (since 2005)
* 485 series (since 2006)

### Former

* 107 series (until October 2017)
* 115-1000 series 4-car EMUs (until March 2018)
* 185 series (Akagi limited express services until March 2016)
* 651 series (Akagi limited express services until 12 March 2021 and Ashikaga Ō-Fuji-Matsuri special services)
* E653 series (Ashikaga Ō-Fuji-Matsuri special services in 2013 and 2014)

## History

The Oyama to Kiryu section was opened in 1888 by the Ryomo Railway, and extended to Shin-Maebashi the following year. The company merged with the Nippon Railway in 1897, and that company was nationalised in 1906.

