Chūō Main Line
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The Chūō Main Line (中央本線 Chūō-honsen?), commonly called the Chūō Line, is one of the trunk lines of JR in Japan. It runs between Tokyo and Nagoya, although it is the slowest railway connection between the two cities (the Tōkaidō Shinkansen is much faster).
The eastern portion, the Chūō East Line (中央東線 Chūō-tōsen?), is run by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), while the western portion, the Chūō West Line (中央西線 Chūō-saisen?), is run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). The dividing point between the two jurisdictions is Shiojiri Station, where express trains from both ends spur off to the Shinonoi Line, a route to the major cities of Matsumoto and Nagano. Despite the huge urban areas at either end of the Chūō Line, its central portion is very lightly travelled: the Shiojiri-Nakatsugawa corridor is only served by bi-hourly local trains and hourly express trains.
Route of Chūō Main Line is quite mountainous through central Honshu Island. Its highest point (around Fujimi station) is about 900 meters height and many of the line consists of 25/1000 gradient. In Chūō East Line section, high mountain ranges called Japan Alps, such as Mount Yatsugatake, is viewed from train. Chūō West Line runs along Nakasendō old highway known for Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku historical town, and steep Kiso Valley.
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[edit] Routes
- Entire Route (Tokyo - Nagoya including branch): 424.6 km
- East Line (Tokyo - Shiojiri): 222.1 km
- Tokyo - Kanda: 1.3 km (alongside Tōhoku Main Line)
- Kanda - Yoyogi: 8.3 km
- Yoyogi - Shinjuku: 0.7 km (alongside Yamanote Line)
- Shinjuku - Shiojiri: 211.8 km
- East Line Tatsuno Branch (Okaya - Tatsuno - Shiojiri): 27.7 km
- West Line (Shiojiri - Nagoya): 174.8 km
- Shiojiri - Kanayama: 171.5 km
- Kanayama - Nagoya: 3.3 km (alongside Tōkaidō Main Line)
[edit] Stations
[edit] Tokyo - Mitaka
The section between Tokyo and Mitaka is grade-separated, with no level crossings. Between Ochanomizu and Mitaka, the Chūō Main Line has four tracks; two of them are local tracks (緩行線 kankō-sen?) with platforms in every station and the other two are rapid tracks (快速線 kaisoku-sen?) with some stations without platforms. The local tracks are used by the main line local trains (operated only in early morning and late night) and the Chūō-Sōbu Line local trains, while the rapid tracks carries rapid service and express trains. The Tokyo-Mitaka portion is a vital cross-town rail link, and also the city's best-known suicide location due to the high speed and cramped schedule of the trains.
This section is entirely in Tokyo.
Abbreviations of trains are tentative for this section.
- CS: Chūō-Sōbu Line through service Local
- L: Local (各駅停車 or 各停 Kakukeki Teisha or Kakutei?) (from Tokyo)
- T: Local through to Tozai Line
- R: Rapid (快速 Kaisoku?)
- CR: Commuter Rapid (通勤快速 Tsūkin Kaisoku?)
- C/O: Chūō Special Rapid (中央特快 Chūō Tokkai?) / Ōme Special Rapid (青梅特快 Ōme Tokkai?) through to Ōme Line
- CSR: Commuter Special Rapid (通勤特快 Tsūkin Tokkai?)
| Station | Stops | Transfers | Location | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | L | T | R | CR | C/O | CSR | |||
| Tokyo | S | (S) | S | S | S | S | Chiyoda | ||
| Kanda | S | S | S | S | S |
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| Ochanomizu | S | S | S | S | S | S |
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| Suidōbashi | S | S | Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei): Mita Line | ||||||
| Iidabashi | S | S | (S) |
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| Ichigaya | S | S |
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| Yotsuya | S | S | S | S | S | S |
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| Shinanomachi | S | S | Shinjuku | ||||||
| Sendagaya | S | S | Toei: Ōedo Line (at Kokuritsu-Kyōgijō) | Shibuya | |||||
| Yoyogi | S | S |
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| Shinjuku | S | S | S | S | S | S |
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Shinjuku | |
| Ōkubo | S | S | |||||||
| Higashi-Nakano | S | S | Toei Metro: Ōedo Line | Nakano | |||||
| Nakano | S | S | S | S | S | ◇ | Tokyo Metro: Tōzai Line (through service) | ||
| Kōenji | S | S | S | ◆ | Suginami | ||||
| Asagaya | S | S | S | ◆ | |||||
| Ogikubo | S | S | S | S | S | Tokyo Metro: Marunouchi Line | |||
| Nishi-Ogikubo | S | S | S |
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| Kichijōji | S | S | S | S | S | Keio Electric Railway: Inokashira Line | Musashino | ||
| Mitaka | S | S | S | S | S | S | Mitaka | ||
- ◆: Trains pass the station on weekends.
- ◇: Chūō Special Rapid service down trains started from Shinjuku don't stop Nakano.
[edit] Mitaka - Takao
The four-track section ends at Mitaka. Currently, construction is ongoing between Mitaka and Tachikawa to elevate the tracks and eliminate level crossings; this section of the line is notorious for its level crossings which can be shut for upwards of an hour during rush hour. Further plans have been proposed to add another two tracks as far as Tachikawa; however, this will not be included in the track elevation, due to be completed between 2008-2011.
This section is also all in Tokyo.
| Station | Stops | Transfers | Location | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | L | R | CR | C/O | CSR | |||
| Mitaka | S | S | S | S | S | Mitaka | ||
| Musashi-Sakai | S | S | S | Seibu Railway: Tamagawa Line | Musashino | |||
| Higashi-Koganei | S | S | S | Koganei | ||||
| Musashi-Koganei | S | S | S | |||||
| Kokubunji | S | S | S | S | S | S |
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Kokubunji |
| Nishi-Kokubunji | S | S | S | JR East: Musashino Line | ||||
| Kunitachi | S | S | S | Kunitachi | ||||
| Tachikawa | S | S | S | S | S | S | Tachikawa | |
| Hino | S | S | S | S | Hino | |||
| Toyoda | S | S | S | S | ||||
| Hachiōji | S | S | S | S | S |
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Hachiōji | |
| Nishi-Hachiōji | S | S | S | S | ||||
| Takao | S | S | S | S | S | Keio Corporation: Takao Line | ||
[edit] Takao - Shiojiri
Most of the rapid service trains from Tokyo turn at Takao where the line exits the large urban area of Tokyo. The section between Takao and Ōtsuki still carries some commuter trains as well as long distance local trains and Limited Express trains. The Kaiji LE turns at Kōfu, the capital of Yamanashi Prefecture, while the Azusa and Super Azusa continue beyond Shiojiri to the Shinonoi Line.
[edit] Okaya – Shiojiri
The Okaya-Shiojiri branch is an old route of the Chūō Main Line. It carries a small number of shuttle trains and trains from/to the Iida Line, which branches off at Tatsuno.
| Station | Distance | Transfers | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okaya | 210.4 | East Japan Railway Company (JR East): Chūō Line (for Kami-Suwa, Midoriko) | Okaya | Nagano |
| Kawagishi | 213.9 | |||
| Tatsuno | 219.9 | Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central): Iida Line | Tatsuno | |
| Shinano-Kawashima | 224.2 | |||
| Ono | 228.2 | |||
| Shiojiri | 238.1 |
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Shiojiri | |
[edit] Shiojiri - Nakatsugawa
Shiojiri is the dividing point of the East Line and the West Line; no train continues from one to the other. The Shinano limited express is the main player of the rural Shiojiri-Nakatsugawa section.
| Station | Distance | Transfers | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shiojiri | 222.1 | (see above) | Shiojiri | Nagano |
| Seba | 226.3 | |||
| Hideshio | 231.0 | |||
| Niekawa | 236.2 | |||
| Kiso-Hirasawa | 241.4 | |||
| Narai | 243.2 | |||
| Yabuhara | 249.8 | Kiso (village) | ||
| Miyanokoshi | 255.5 | Kiso (town) | ||
| Harano | 258.3 | |||
| Kiso-Fukushima | 263.8 | |||
| Agematsu | 271.1 | Agematsu | ||
| Kuramoto | 277.7 | |||
| Suhara | 282.5 | Ōkuwa | ||
| Ōkuwa | 285.8 | |||
| Nojiri | 288.8 | |||
| Jūnikane | 292.5 | Nagiso | ||
| Nagiso | 298.0 | |||
| Tadachi | 304.3 | |||
| Sakashita | 307.1 | Nakatsugawa | Gifu | |
| Ochiaigawa | 313.2 | |||
| Nakatsugawa | 317.0 | Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central): Chūō Line (for Tajimi, Nagoya) | ||
[edit] Nakatsugawa - Nagoya
Local and rapid service trains run on the line from Nakatsugawa to Nagoya. This section carries urban traffic of the Greater Nagoya Area.
Abbreviations of trains are tentative for this section.
- S: Stop, S*: some trains stop
- R: Rapid
- CL: Central Liner
- HL: Home Liner
| Station | Distance | R | CL | HL | Transfers | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nakatsugawa | 317.0 | S | S | S | Nakatsugawa | Gifu | ||
| Mino-Sakamoto | 323.4 | S | S | |||||
| Ena | 328.6 | S | S | S | Ena | |||
| Takenami | 334.0 | S | S | |||||
| Kamado | 339.4 | S | S | Mizunami | ||||
| Mizunami | 346.8 | S | S | S | ||||
| Toki-shi | 353.7 | S | S | S | Toki | |||
| Tajimi | 360.7 | S | S | S |
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Tajimi | ||
| Kokokei | 365.3 | |||||||
| Jōkōji | 368.8 | Kasugai | Aichi | |||||
| Kōzōji | 372.9 | S | S | S* | ||||
| Jinryō | 376.1 | |||||||
| Kasugai | 378.8 | S | ||||||
| Kachigawa | 381.9 | S | ||||||
| Shin-Moriyama | 384.6 | Nagoya | ||||||
| Ōzone | 387.1 | S | S* |
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| Chikusa | 389.8 | S | S | S |
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| Tsurumai | 391.3 | S | S* |
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| Kanayama | 393.6 | S | S | S |
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| Sannō S.B. | (395.1) |
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| Nagoya | 396.9 | S | S | S |
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[edit] Trains
[edit] Rolling stock used
[edit] Chūō East Line
New E233 series trains entered service on Tokyo-area commuter services from December 26, 2006. These trains are a development of the E231 series used on other commuter lines in the Tokyo area, and are replacing the aging 201 series rolling stock introduced on the line in 1981.
- Chūō Line Rapid Service
- Chūō-Sōbu Line
- Local Trains
- Limited Express
- E257 series (Azusa, Kaiji)
- E351 series (Super Azusa)
- 183 series (Azusa, Wing Azusa, Moonlight Shinshu)
- 185 series (Hamakaiji)
- 215 series (View Yamanashi)
[edit] Chūō West Line
- Local Trains
- Limited Express
[edit] History
The oldest portion of the Chūō Line is the segment from Shinjuku Station to Tachikawa Station, which dates back to 1889. The extension westward continued through the turn of the century, with Hachiōji Station and eastern Yamanashi prefecture in 1901, and Kōfu in 1903. The Nagoya-Shiojiri segment was completed by 1902, and connected to Kōfu by 1905.
The section between Iidabashi Station and Nakano Station was the first urban electric railway in Japan.
[edit] Station opening dates
- 1890 January 6: Hino Station opens.
- 1901 February 22: Yoyogi Station opens.
- 1902 June 1: Torisawa Station opens.
- 1904 December 21: Hinoharu, Kobuchizawa, Fujimi Stations open.
- 1904: Sendagaya Station opens.
- 1905 November 25: Fujimi-Okaya Extension.Aoyagi, Chino, Kami-Suwa, Shimo-Suwa, Okaya Stations open.
- 1906 September 23: Yoyogi Station opens.
- 1906 September 24: Suidōbashi Station opens.
- 1913 April 8: Katsunuma Station (now Katsunuma-budōkyō Station) opens.
- 1913 August 8: Anayama Station opens.
- 1918 December 11: Nagasaka Station opens.
- 1922 July 15: Kōenji, Asagaya, Nishi-Ogikubo Stations open.
- 1939 April 1: Nishi-Hachiōji Station opens.
- 1951 December 25: Shiozaki Station opens.
- 1985 October 31: Suzurannosato Station opens.
[edit] External links
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| Subway lines | ■Higashiyama (H) • ■Kamiiida (K) • ■Meijō (M) • 〓Meikō (E) • ■Sakura-dōri (S) • ■Tsurumai (T) |
| Meitetsu lines | ■Airport • ■Hiromi • ■Inuyama • ■Kakamigahara • ■Komaki • ■Kōwa • ■Monorail • ■Nagoya • ■Seto • ■Tokoname • ■Toyota |
| Kintetsu lines (Chūkyō) | Hachiōji • Nagoya • Shima • Suzuka • Toba • Yamada • Yunoyama • Utsube |
| JR lines | Chūō • Kansai • Takayama • Tōkaidō |
| Other lines | Aikan • Aonami • Linimo • TKJ • Toyotetsu • Yutorīto |
| Miscellaneous | Terminals: Kanayama • Kintetsu Nagoya • Meitetsu-Nagoya • Nagoya • Ōzone • Sakae • Cards: TOICA • Tranpass |
