The Chūō Main Line ( Japanese : 中央本線 , Hepburn : Chūō-honsen ) , commonly called the Chūō Line , is one of the major trunk railway lines in Japan. It connects Tokyo and Nagoya , although it is the slowest direct railway connection between the two cities; the coastal Tōkaidō Main Line is slightly faster, and the Tōkaidō Shinkansen is currently the fastest rail link between the cities.
27-727: The eastern portion, the Chūō East Line ( 中央東線 , Chūō-tōsen ) , is operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), while the western portion, the Chūō West Line ( 中央西線 , Chūō-saisen ) , is operated by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). The dividing point between the two companies is Shiojiri , where express trains from both operators continue north onto the Shinonoi Line towards
54-1172: A 15% shareholding in West Midlands Trains with Abellio and Mitsui that commenced operating the West Midlands franchise in England in December 2017. JR East sold their stake to Abellio in September 2021. The same consortium were also listed to be bidding for the South Eastern franchise . Iida Line The Iida Line ( 飯田線 , Iida-sen ) is a Japanese railway line connecting Toyohashi Station in Toyohashi, Aichi with Tatsuno Station in Tatsuno, Nagano , operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). The line links eastern Aichi Prefecture and southern Nagano Prefecture through northwestern Shizuoka Prefecture. It goes through steep mountains as well as cities such as Iida and Ina . The line
81-666: A development of the E231 series used on other commuter lines in the Tokyo area, and replaced the aging 201 series rolling stock introduced on the line in 1981. From 2017, new E353 series EMUs were introduced on Azusa and Super Azusa limited express services, replacing the E351 and E257 series trains. The Kobu Railway ( 甲武鉄道 ) opened the initial section of the Chūō Line from Shinjuku Station to Tachikawa Station in 1889. The company then extended
108-537: Is a front for a revolutionary political organization called the Japan Revolutionary Communist League (Revolutionary Marxist Faction) . An investigation of this is ongoing. The East Japan Railway Culture Foundation is a non-profit organization established by JR East for the purpose of developing a "richer railway culture". The Railway Museum in Saitama is operated by the foundation. JR East held
135-725: Is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as JR Higashi-Nihon ( JR東日本 , Jeiāru Higashi-Nihon ) in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi , Shibuya , Tokyo , next to Shinjuku Station . It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange (it formerly had secondary listings in the Nagoya and Osaka stock exchanges), is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and
162-467: Is one of three Japan Railways Group constituents of the Nikkei 225 index, the others being JR Central and JR West . JR East was incorporated on 1 April 1987 after being spun off from the government-run Japanese National Railways (JNR). The spin-off was nominally "privatization", as the company was actually a wholly owned subsidiary of the government-owned JNR Settlement Corporation for several years, and
189-508: Is owned and operated by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), although it stops at several JR East stations. These lines have sections inside the Tokyo suburban area (Japanese: 東京近郊区間 ) designated by JR East. This does not necessarily mean that the lines are fully inside the Greater Tokyo Area . Below is the full list of limited express and express train services operated on JR East lines as of 2022. During fiscal 2017,
216-593: The Chūō Line (Local) ( 中央線各駅停車 , Chūō-sen-kakuekiteisha ) or the Chūō-Sōbu Line on the local tracks. The former is usually referred to simply as the Chūō Line and the latter the Sōbu Line. Separate groups of trainsets are used for these two groups of services: cars with an orange belt for the rapid service trains and cars with a yellow belt for the local service trains. Signs at stations also use these colors to indicate
243-609: The Chūō Main Line Local. Local trains from Tachikawa and Takao run as far as Matsumoto or even Nagano . Legends: 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. Shinonoi Line [REDACTED] Chūō Line (for Kiso-Fukushima) Prior to the opening of the new route between Okaya and Shiojiri, there
270-684: The busiest stations in the JR East network by average daily passenger count were: JR East co-sponsors the JEF United Chiba J-League football club , which was formed by a merger between the JR East and Furukawa Electric company teams. JR East aims to reduce its carbon emissions by half, as measured over the period 1990–2030. This would be achieved by increasing the efficiency of trains and company-owned thermal power stations and by developing hybrid trains . The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has stated that JR East's official union
297-529: The cities of Matsumoto and Nagano . Compared to the huge urban areas at either end of the Chūō Line, its central portion is lightly traveled; the Shiojiri-Nakatsugawa corridor is only served by one limited express and one local service per hour. The Chūō Main Line passes through the mountainous center of Honshu . Its highest point (near Fujimi ) is about 900 meters (3,000 ft) above sea level and much of
SECTION 10
#1732851064170324-399: The city, while the section between Hon-Nagashino and Tenryūkyō is a mountain railway with fewer passengers. All trains stop at stations marked "●" and pass stations marked "-", "↓", or "↑". Arrows indicate the direction of rapid trains. Some trains stop at stops marked "▲". All trains stop at stations marked "●" and pass stations marked "-", "↓", or "↑". Arrows also indicate the directions
351-667: The electrification of the Toyohashi to Omi section the same year. The Toyohashi to Toyokawa section was double-tracked the following year. The Sanshin Railway opened the Tenryukyo to Kadoshima section as an electrified (1,500 V DC) line in 1932, the Mikawa-Kawai to Toei section (and all subsequent stages) as an electrified line in 1933, and connected the two sections (completing the line) in 1936. All four companies were nationalised in 1943. In 1955,
378-405: The entire length of the 195.7 km (121.6 mi) line by local trains takes six hours. The limited express Inaji ( 伊那路 ) runs between Toyohashi and Iida twice a day. The rapid Misuzu ( みすず ) runs between Iida and Okaya . Local service is generally divided into three parts by Hon-Nagashino and Tenryūkyō stations. The section near Toyohashi functions as commuter rail for
405-495: The entire line was electrified by 1973. Notes : On September 12, 1997, a Super Azusa limited express bound for Matsumoto collided with a 201 series local train that failed to stop at a red signal while passing through Ōtsuki Station. East Japan Railway Company The East Japan Railway Company is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name
432-421: The line both westward and eastward (towards Tokyo) until it was nationalised in 1906. The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) then continued to extend the line, reaching Shiojiri the same year, and Tokyo (at Shōheibashi Station ( 昌平橋駅 ) ) in 1908. The JGR also built the line from Nagoya, the first section opening in 1900, with the lines connecting in 1911. The Table below gives the section opening dates. In 1904,
459-464: 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 limited express terminates at Kōfu , the capital of Yamanashi Prefecture , while the Azusa continue beyond Shiojiri to Matsumoto via the Shinonoi Line . All stations from Tachikawa to Shiojiri are served by
486-844: The line from Nakatsugawa to Nagoya. This section carries urban traffic for the Greater Nagoya Area. Local trains stop at all stations (except Sannō Junction). Legends : [REDACTED] Meijō Line Nagoya Guideway Bus Yutorito Line NH Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line [REDACTED] Meijō Line [REDACTED] Meikō Line [REDACTED] Tōkaidō Main Line [REDACTED] Kansai Main Line [REDACTED] Higashiyama Line [REDACTED] Sakura-dōri Line Aonami Line NH Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line (at Meitetsu Nagoya ) E Kintetsu Nagoya Line (at Kintetsu Nagoya ) New E233 series trains entered service on Tokyo-area commuter services from 26 December 2006. These trains are
513-546: The line has a gradient of 25 per mil (2.5% or 1 in 40). Along the Chūō East Line section, peaks of the Akaishi and Kiso as well as Mount Yatsugatake can be seen from trains. The Chūō West Line parallels the old Nakasendō highway (famous for the preserved post towns of Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku ) and the steep Kiso Valley . This section lists all stations on the Chūō Main Line and generally explains regional services on
540-503: The line. In addition, there are limited express services connecting major cities along the line, namely Azusa , Super Azusa , Kaiji , Hamakaiji , Narita Express and Shinano . For details of the limited express trains, see the relevant articles. 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 at every station;
567-456: The other two are rapid tracks ( 快速線 , kaisoku-sen ) with some stations without platforms. The local tracks are used by the Chūō-Sōbu Line local trains, while the rapid tracks carry rapid service and limited express trains. The Tokyo-Mitaka portion is a vital cross-city rail link. The commuter services on the rapid tracks are collectively called the Chūō Line (Rapid) in comparison with
SECTION 20
#1732851064170594-619: The rapid trains run. The Toyokawa Railway opened the section from Toyohashi to Toyokawa in 1897, extending the line to Omi in 1900. At the northern end, the Ina Electric Railway opened the Tatsuno to Ina-Matsushima section (electrified at 1,200 V DC) in 1909, extending the line to Tenryukyo in sections between 1911 and 1927. The Horaitera Railway opened the Omi to Mikawa-Kawai section in 1923, and electrified it at 1,500 V DC in 1925 in conjunction with
621-487: The section between Iidamachi Station (formerly located between Suidōbashi Station and Iidabashi Station) and Nakano Station was the first urban electric railway in Japan using 600 V DC. Electrification was extended in 1919 and 1922, was increased to 1,200 V DC when extended to Tokyo in 1927, boosted again to 1,500 V DC in 1929, and reached Kofu in 1931. Electrification from the Nagano end was commissioned in sections from 1966, and
648-463: The services. This section is located entirely within Tokyo . The four-track section ends at Mitaka. Most of the section between Mitaka and Tachikawa had been elevated between 2008 and 2011 to eliminate level crossings. Plans have been proposed to add another two tracks as far as Tachikawa, but were not included in the track elevation. Most of the rapid service trains from Tokyo terminate at Takao , where
675-566: Was a junction (Higashi-Shiojiri Junction ( 東塩尻信号場 ) ) between Ono and Shiojiri stations. It had a reversing layout. The signal station was closed on 12 October 1983. 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 service for the rural Shiojiri-Nakatsugawa section. Chūō Line (for Tatsuno) Shinonoi Line Local and rapid service trains run on
702-573: Was not completely sold to the public until 2002. Following the breakup, JR East ran the operations on former JNR lines in the Greater Tokyo Area , the Tōhoku region , and surrounding areas. Railway lines of JR East primarily serve the Kanto and Tohoku regions , along with adjacent areas in Kōshin'etsu region ( Niigata , Nagano , Yamanashi ) and Shizuoka prefectures . The Tokyo–Osaka Tōkaidō Shinkansen
729-513: Was originally of four different private railway lines, the first of which opened in 1897. The line has an unusually high number of so-called Hikyō stations , or hikyo-eki , which have since lost their nearby communities due to depopulation. There are 94 such stations along the route. The line has been described as the "holy land for those who love touring hikyo-eki". The phrase was coined in 1999 by Takanobu Ushiyama and friends, for railroad stations that are isolated and little used. Traveling
#169830