Utsunomiya Light Rail

The Utsunomiya Light Rail (宇都宮ライトレール) is a light rail transit (LRT) line serving the Utsunomiya metropolitan area 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.

The line is operated by the Utsunomiya Light Rail Co., Ltd. (宇都宮ライトレール株式会社) 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. Construction started in 2018, with a target opening date of March 2022, but it was eventually moved back to March 2023. This date was later further postponed to August 26, 2023. On April 3, 2023, ten round trips a day of driver proficiency training using the new light rail vehicles began.

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

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.

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