The UenoâÂÂTokyo Line (), formerly known as the Tà Âhoku Through Line () is a railway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), linking Ueno Station and Tokyo Station, extending the services of the Utsunomiya Line, the Takasaki Line, and the Jà Âban Line southward and onto the Tà Âkaidà  Main Line and vice versa. While on official maps the line is purple, rolling stock and signage show the line as orange stacked on green, the colours used by the lines it connects. The project began in May 2008 and was opened with the 14 March 2015 timetable revision, costing about JPY 40 billion.
Direct travel was expected to ease congestion on the Yamanote Line and KeihinâÂÂTà Âhoku Line, and the travel time was reduced by around 7 to 10 minutes because of through trains between the lines of Utsunomiya and Takasaki and the Main Line of Tokaido in addition to through trains that pass the Shinagawa Station on the Joban Line.
Beginning from Ueno Station, the project involved re-laying about of existing tracks that formerly linked the two stations until separated near Kanda Station to make room for the Tà Âhoku Shinkansen extension to Tokyo. The gap was reconnected by a new top deck on the existing Shinkansen viaduct near Kanda Station with ramps at either end up from the existing formations. Provision was made during construction of the Shinkansen link for eventual restoration of through traffic on the Tohoku Lines. JR East built turnback tracks at Shinagawa Station on the Tà Âkaidà  Line, allowing through trains from Ueno to terminate there and return north.
Trains on the Utsunomiya Line and Takasaki Line from and , and Jà Âban Line from and converge at (only trains on the Jà Âban Line stop here). From there, trains run non-stop between Ueno and Tokyo Station and then continue on the Tà Âkaidà  Line towards (all trains departing the Jà Âban Line terminate here), , à Âfuna, Hiratsuka, Kà Âzu, Odawara and Atami, with some additional through services to Numazu on the JR Central Tà Âkaidà  Main Line, and Ità  in the Ità  Line. Initially, up to 15 services per hour ran during the morning peak, increased to 20 per hour in 2016.
Jà Âban Line limited express services (Hitachi limited-stop and Tokiwa semi-fast) were extended south of Ueno via the UenoâÂÂTokyo Line, with most services terminating at Shinagawa Station.
The TÃ Âhoku Main Line ran to Tokyo station both prior to and following World War II. Although the connector between Ueno and Tokyo was only used for freight trains and forwarding at first, the Allied occupation forces ran passenger trains from Tokyo Station through the Tohoku Main Line following World War II, and this was followed by a number of through services from the 1950s until the 1970s. The connection between Ueno and Tokyo was closed to passenger service in April 1973, and to freight service in January 1983; the portion of the line around Akihabara and Kanda was dismantled to provide a right-of-way to extend the TÃ Âhoku Shinkansen to Tokyo Station, with through services to Tokyo station commencing in 1991.
A government panel recommendation in 2000 suggested restoring the connector between Ueno and Tokyo by 2015, and JR East officially announced the project on 27 March 2002.
The project received support from various local governments, particularly in Saitama Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, and other areas to the north of Tokyo. However, residents of the area immediately surrounding the project cited light blockage and earthquake risk, and applied to a Tokyo court for an injunction against construction in 2007. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2012.
The project was originally scheduled to be completed in fiscal 2013, but completion was delayed by the effects of the 2011 TÃ Âhoku earthquake and tsunami.
Beginning with the March 2022 timetable change, direct Ueno-Tokyo line services via the Utsunomiya line were truncated from Kuroiso to Utsunomiya.
In January 2014, JR East president Tetsuro Tomita indicated that the company was considering the possibility of linking the UenoâÂÂTokyo Line in the future with a new direct access line to Haneda Airport also under consideration. The line started construction in 2023 and is set to be completed by 2031.