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.

Contents 1 Routes 2 Stations 2.1 Tokyo - Mitaka 2.2 Mitaka - Takao 2.3 Takao - Shiojiri 2.3.1 Okaya – Shiojiri 2.4 Shiojiri - Nakatsugawa 2.5 Nakatsugawa - Nagoya 3 Trains 3.1 Rolling stock used 3.2 Chūō East Line 3.3 Chūō West Line 4 History 5 External links

[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.

Station Name	Japanese	Stops							Transfers	Direction
		Chūō-Sōbu Line	Local (from Tokyo)	Through trains to Tozai Line	Rapid	Commuter Rapid	Chūō/Ōme Special Rapid	Commuter Special Rapid		Ward/City	Prefecture
Tokyo	東京	Through service to Sobu Main Line	●	(●)	●	●	●	●	JR East: Tōhoku Shinkansen, Jōetsu Shinkansen, Nagano Shinkansen, Yamanote Line, Keihin-Tōhoku Line, Tōkaidō Line, Sōbu (Rapid) Line, Yokosuka Line, Keiyō Line JR Central: Tōkaidō Shinkansen Tokyo Metro: Marunouchi Line, Tōzai Line	Chiyoda Ward	Tokyo
Kanda	神田		●		●	●	●	●	JR East: Yamanote Line, Keihin-Tōhoku Line Tokyo Metro:Ginza Line
Ochanomizu	御茶ノ水	●	●		●	●	●	●	JR East: Chūō-Sōbu Line Tokyo Metro: Marunouchi Line, Chiyoda Line (Shin-Ochanomizu Station
Suidōbashi	水道橋	●	●		｜	｜	｜	｜	Toei Metro: Mita Line
Iidabashi	飯田橋	●	●	(●)	｜	｜	｜	｜	Tokyo Metro: Tōzai Line, Yūrakuchō Line, Namboku Line
Ichigaya	市ヶ谷	●	●		｜	｜	｜	｜	Tokyo Metro:Yūrakuchō Line, Namboku Line Toei Metro:Shinjuku Line
Yotsuya	四ツ谷	●	●		●	●	●	●	Tokyo Metro: Marunouchi Line, Namboku Line
Shinanomachi	信濃町	●	●		｜	｜	｜	｜		Shinjuku Ward
Sendagaya	千駄ヶ谷	●	●		｜	｜	｜	｜	Toei Metro:Ōedo Line(Kokuritsu-Kyōgijō Station)	Shibuya Ward
Yoyogi	代々木	●	●		｜	｜	｜	｜	JR East: Yamanote Line Toei Metro: Ōedo Line
Shinjuku	新宿	●	●		●	●	●	●	JR East: Yamanote Line, Saikyō Line, Shōnan-Shinjuku Line Odakyu Electric Railway: Odawara Line Keio Electric Railway: Keiō Line, Keio New Line Tokyo Metro: Marunouchi Line Toei Metro: Shinjuku Line, Ōedo Line	Shinjuku Ward
Ōkubo	大久保	●	●		｜	｜	｜	｜
Higashi-Nakano	東中野	●	●		｜	｜	｜	｜	Toei Metro: Ōedo Line	Nakano Ward
Nakano	中野	●	●	●	●	●	◇	｜	Tokyo Metro: Tōzai Line (Through service)
Kōenji	高円寺	●	●	●	◆	｜	｜	｜		Suginami Ward
Asagaya	阿佐ヶ谷	●	●	●	◆	｜	｜	｜
Ogikubo	荻窪	●	●	●	●	●	｜	｜	Tokyo Metro: Marunouchi Line
Nishi-Ogikubo	西荻窪	●	●	●	◆	｜	｜	｜
Kichijōji	吉祥寺	●	●	●	●	●	｜	｜	Keio Electric Railway: Inokashira Line	Musashino City
Mitaka	三鷹	●	●	●	●	●	●	｜		Mitaka City

• ◆: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.

Station Name	Japanese	Stops						Transfers	Direction
		Chūō-Sōbu Line	Local	Rapid	Commuter Rapid	Chūō/Ōme Special Rapid	Commuter Special Rapid		City	Prefecture
Mitaka	三鷹	●	●	●	●	●	｜		Mitaka City	Tokyo
Musashi-Sakai	武蔵境	●	●	●	｜	｜	｜	Seibu Tamagawa Line	Musashino City
Higashi-Koganei	東小金井	●	●	●	｜	｜	｜		Koganei City
Musashi-Koganei	武蔵小金井	●	●	●	｜	｜	｜
Kokubunji	国分寺	●	●	●	●	●	●	Seibu Kokubunji Line, Seibu Tamako Line	Kokubunji City
Nishi-Kokubunji	西国分寺	●	●	●	｜	｜	｜	Musashino Line
Kunitachi	国立	●	●	●	｜	｜	｜		Kunitachi City
Tachikawa	立川	●	●	●	●	●	●	Ōme Line, Nambu Line, Tama Toshi Monorail Line	Tachikawa City
Hino	日野		●	●	●	●	｜		Hino City
Toyoda	豊田		●	●	●	●	｜
Hachiōji	八王子		●	●	●	●	●	Yokohama Line, Hachikō Line	Hachiōji City
Nishi-Hachiōji	西八王子		●	●	●	●	｜
Takao	高尾		●	●	●	●	●	Keio 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 express trains. The Kaiji limited express turns at Kōfu, the capital of Yamanashi Prefecture, while the Azusa and Super Azusa continue beyond Shiojiri to the Shinonoi Line.

Station Name	Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
Takao	53.1		Hachiōji City	Tokyo
Sagamiko	62.6		Sagamihara City	Kanagawa
Fujino	66.3
Uenohara	69.8		Uenohara City	Yamanashi
Shiotsu	74.0
Yanagawa	77.6		Ōtsuki City
Torisawa	81.2
Saruhashi	85.3
Ōtsuki	87.8	Fuji Kyuko: Fuji Kyuko Line
Hatsukari	93.9
Sasago	100.4
Kai-Yamato	106.5		Kōshū City
Katsunuma-budōkyō	112.5
Enzan	116.9
Higashi-Yamanashi	120.1		Yamanashi City
Yamanashishi	122.2
Kasugaichō	125.0		Fuefuku City
Isawa-onsen	127.8
Sakaori	131.2		Kōfu City
Kōfu	134.1	Central Japan Railway: Minobu Line
Ryūō	138.6		Kai City
Shiozaki	142.7
Nirasaki	147.0		Nirasaki City
Shimpu	151.2
Anayama	154.7
Hinoharu	160.1		Hokuto City
Nagasaka	166.3
Kobuchizawa	173.7	East Japan Railway: Koumi Line
Shinano-Sakai	178.2		Fujimi Town	Nagano
Fujimi	182.9
Suzurannosato	186.1
Aoyagi	188.0		Chino City
Chino	195.2
Fumonji signal box	(198.9)		Suwa City
Kami-Suwa	201.9
Shimo-Suwa	206.3		Shimosuwa Town
Okaya	210.4	East Japan Railway: Chūō Line (For Tatsuno)	Okaya City
Midoriko	218.2		Shiojiri City
Shiojiri	222.1	East Japan Railway: Chūō line (For Tatsuno), Shinonoi Line Central Japan Railway: Chūō Line (For Kiso-Fukushima)

[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 Name	Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
Okaya	210.4	East Japan Railway: Chūō Line (For Kami-Suwa, Midoriko)	Okaya City	Nagano
Kawagishi	213.9
Tatsuno	219.9	Central Japan Railway: Iida Line	Tatsuno Town
Shinano–Kawashima	224.2
Ono	228.2
Shiojiri	238.1	East Japan Railway: Chūō line (For Midoriko), Shinonoi Line Central Japan Railway: Chūō Line (For Kiso-Fukushima)	Shiojiri City

[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 name	Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
Shiojiri	222.1	East Japan Railway: Chūō Line (For Okaya, Tatsuno), Shinonoi Line	Shiojiri City	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 Town
Kuramoto	277.7
Sugahara	282.5		Ōkuwa Village
Ōkuwa	285.8
Nojiri	288.8
Jūnikane	292.5		Nagiso Town
Nagiso	298.0
Tadachi	304.3
Sakashita	307.1		Nakatsugawa City	Gifu
Ociaigawa	313.2
Nakatsugawa	317.0	Central Japan Railway: 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.

The table below starts from Nagoya as opposed to the foregoing tables.

Station Name	Japanese	Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
Nagoya	名古屋	0.0	JR Central: Kansai Main Line, Tōkaidō Main Line Kintetsu: Nagoya Line (via Kintetsu Nagoya) Meitetsu: ♦ Nagoya Line (via Meitetsu Nagoya) Nagoya Subway: ■ Higashiyama Line, ■ Sakura-dōri Line Nagoya Seaside Rapid: Aonami Line Tōkaidō Shinkansen	Nagoya	Aichi
Kanayama	金山	3.3	JR Central: Tōkaidō Main Line Meitetsu: ♦ Nagoya Line Nagoya Subway: ■ Meijō Line, □ Meiko Line
Tsurumai	鶴舞	5.6	Nagoya Subway: ■ Tsurumai Line
Chikusa	千種	7.1	Nagoya Subway: ■ Higashiyama Line
Ōzone	大曽根	9.8	Meitetsu: ♦ Seto Line Nagoya Guideway Bus: Yutorīto Line Nagoya Subway: ■ Meijō Line
Shin Moriyama	新守山	12.3
Kachigawa	勝川	15.0	TKJ: Jōhoku Line	Kasugai
Kasugai	春日井	18.1
Jinryō	神領	20.8
Kōzōji	高蔵寺	24.0	Aichi Loop Line
Jōkōji	定光寺	28.1
Kokokei	古虎渓	31.6		Tajimi	Gifu
Tajimi	多治見	36.2	JR Central: Taita Line
Toki-shi	土岐市	43.2		Toki
Mizunami	瑞浪	50.1		Mizunami
Kamado	釜戸	57.5
Takenami	武並	62.9		Ena
Ena	恵那	68.3
Mino Sakamoto	美乃坂本	73.5		Nakatsugawa

[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 will replace the aging 201 series rolling stock introduced on the line in 1981.

• Chūō Line Rapid Service
  • 201 series
  • E233 series
• Chūō-Sōbu Line
  • 209 series
  • E231 series
• Local Trains
  • 115 series
  • 119 series
  • 123 series
  • 313 series
• 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
  • 313 series
  • 115 series
  • 211 series
  • 213 series
  • 311 series
  • 313 series
• Limited Express
  • 383 series (Shinano)
  • 381 series

[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] External links

• Detailed information on the various Chuo Lines

v • d • e Mass transit in the Tokyo area (# of lines indicated in parentheses)
JR lines	■Yamanote • ■Chūō • ■Chūō-Sōbu • ■Jōban • ■Keihin-Tōhoku • ■Keiyō • ■Saikyō •■Shōnan-Shinjuku • ■Sōbu Rapid • ■Tōkaidō • ■Utsunomiya • ■Yokosuka
Tokyo Metro lines	○Chiyoda (C) • ○Fukutoshin (F) • ○Ginza (G) • ○Hibiya (H) • ○Marunouchi (M) • ○Namboku (N) • ○Tōzai (T) • ○Yūrakuchō (Y) • ○Hanzōmon (Z)
Toei lines	Subway: ○Asakusa (A) • ○Ōedo (E) • ○Mita (I) • ○Shinjuku (S) • Guideway: Nippori-Toneri • Streetcar: Arakawa
Major / semi-major lines	Keikyū (5) • Keiō (7) • Keisei (7) • Odakyū (5) • Seibu (13) • Shin-Keisei • Sōtetsu (2) • Tōbu (12) • Tōkyū (8)
Other lines	Tama Monorail • Tokyo Monorail • TWR • TX • Yurikamome
Suburban, JR	■Hachikō • ■Kawagoe • ■Mito • ■Musashino • ■Nambu • ■Narita • ■Negishi • ■Ōme • ■Ryōmō • ■Sagami • ■Sōbu Main • ■Sotobō • ■Takasaki • ■Tōgane • ■Tsurumi • ■Uchibō • ■Yokohama
Suburban, Non-JR	Chiba Monorail • Nagareyama • New Shuttle • Saitama • Seaside Line • Shōnan Monorail • Yokohama MM • Yokohama Subway (2, 3 in 2008)
Terminals	Akihabara • Chiba • Ikebukuro • Kawasaki • Kita-Senju • Ōmiya • Ōtemachi • Shibuya • Shinagawa • Shinjuku • Tokyo • Ueno • Yokohama
Miscellaneous	Shinkansen (commuter) • PASMO • Passnet • Suica • Transportation in Greater Tokyo

v • d • e Mass transit in Nagoya (Chūkyō Metropolitan Area)
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)	Nagoya Line • Yunoyama Line • Suzuka Line • Yamada Line • Toba Line • Shima Line • Utsube Line • Hachiōji Line
JR lines	Chūō • Kansai • Takayama • Tōkaidō
Other lines	Aikan • Aonami • Linimo • TKJ • Toyotetsu • Yutorīto
Miscellaneous	Terminals: Kanayama • Meitetsu-Nagoya • Kintetsu Nagoya • Nagoya • Ōzone • Sakae • Cards: TOICA • Tranpass

cs:Linie Čúó

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