Senseki Line


The Senseki Line is a railway line in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company. It connects Aoba-dōri Station in Sendai to Ishinomaki Station in Ishinomaki, and provides access to the central coast areas of Miyagi Prefecture, including the Matsushima area.
The Senseki Line connects with the Sendai Subway Nanboku Line at Aoba-dōri Station; the Tōhoku Shinkansen, the Tōhoku Main Line and the Senzan Line at Sendai Station; and the Ishinomaki Line in Ishinomaki. The name Senseki comes from the combination of the first kanji of Sendai and Ishinomaki, the two cities that the Senseki Line connects. It is the only line in the Sendai area with DC overhead electrification.

Basic data

Services

Prior to the partial suspension of services by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, all trains originated from Aoba-dōri Station, with most running to or. Local trains and rapid service trains that ran the entire length of the line operated at 30-minute intervals. When the line was fully recovered in 2015, rapid services were switched to the route via the Senseki-Tōhoku Line. Therefore, under the 2015 timetable, the section between Aoba-dōri and Takagimachi is served only by local trains.
At Sendai Station, the line crosses under the Tōhoku Main Line and its platforms, similar to the situation with the Keiyō Line in and the Chikuhi Line in Hakata.
The segment from Aoba-dōri to Higashi-Shiogama is a crucial part of Sendai's transportation system and gets very crowded during peak periods, with headways as short as 4 minutes. During non-peak times, 3–5 trains run per hour. Between Higashi-Shiogama and Ishinomaki, two trains run per hour.
In addition to all-station local trains, limited-stop rapid and special rapid services run between Takagimachi and Ishinomaki. Between Sendai and Takagimachi, rapid and special rapid services operate on the Senseki-Tōhoku Line. Special rapid services only stop at Yamoto Station, while rapid services also stop at Nobiru, Rikuzen-Ono, Rikuzen-Akai, Hebita, and Rikuzen-Yamashita Stations.
A "Mangattan Train" operates on the Senseki Line, with a livery featuring manga characters by local artist Shotaro Ishinomori.

Stations

All stations are in Miyagi Prefecture.
The distances shown above are as of 30 May 2015 following the rerouting of the section between Rikuzen-Ōtsuka and Rikuzen-Ono, by which the section was shortened by 1.2 kilometers.

Rolling stock

New HB-E210 series 2-car hybrid diesel multiple unit trains were introduced on the line from 30 May 2015 between and following the start of new Senseki-Tohoku Line services using a newly built link connecting with the Tohoku Main Line at.
New E131-800 series trains were introduced on the line from 1 December 2025 to replace the 205-3100 series.

Former rolling stock

History

The Miyagi Electric Railway opened the line in sections between 1925 and 1928. Individual opening dates are given in the timeline section below. The Rikuzen-Haranomachi to Nishi-Shiogama section was double-tracked between 1968 and 1969, and extended to Higashi-Shiogama in 1981.
In 2000, the surface section between Rikuzen-Haranomachi and Sendai was replaced by a double-track underground line, with a new section to Aoba-dori to connect to the Sendai subway.
On 26 March 2016, a new station, Ishinomakiayumino Station, located between Rikuzen-Akai and Hebita, was opened.

Disaster and reconstruction, 2011–2015

Service was halted after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami as several trains, stations, and sections of the line were destroyed, heavily damaged, and flooded. Service for the first of the line from Sendai was expected to be restored by the end of May 2011. By mid-July, the Sendai–Matsushima-Kaigan and Yamoto–Ishinomaki sections returned to service, although the latter segment was with diesel trains due to the loss of the power substation. The remainder of the line between Matsushima-Kaigan and Yamoto was obliterated by the tsunami.
Between March and October 2012, services resumed on all sections of the line except between and section; service there did not resume until 30 May 2015.
Along with the above reopening in 2015, a new 400m long link, which cost approximately 2 billion yen, was constructed from between Shiogama and Matsushima on the Tōhoku Main Line to a point between and Takagimachi Station on the Senseki Line. This link allowed through-running services from the Tohoku Main Line to the Senseki Line, and cut approximately 10 minutes off the journey time between Sendai and Ishinomaki.

Timeline