Nambu Line
Nambu Line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Overview | |||
| Type | Heavy rail | ||
| Locale | Tokyo, Kanagawa prefectures | ||
| Termini |
Kawasaki Tachikawa | ||
| Stations | 26 (main line), 3 (branch line) | ||
| Operation | |||
| Opening | 1927 | ||
| Owner | JR East | ||
| Rolling stock | 205 series, 209 series | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 45.0 km (28.0 mi) | ||
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | ||
| Electrification | 1,500 V DC overhead catenary | ||
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The Nambu Line (南武線 Nanbu-sen) is a Japanese railway line which connects Tachikawa Station in Tachikawa, Tokyo and Kawasaki Station in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. For most of its length, it parallels the Tama River, the natural border between Tokyo and Kanagawa prefectures. It is part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) network. The name refers to the southern (南 nan) part of the ancient province of Musashi (武蔵) (now Tokyo and northern Kanagawa prefectures), through which the Nambu Line runs.
Basic data
- Operators, distances:
- Total: 45.0 km (28.0 mi)
- Passenger: 39.6 km (24.6 mi)
- Freight: 39.4 km (24.5 mi)
- East Japan Railway Company (JR East) (Services and tracks)
- Kawasaki – Tachikawa: 35.5 km (22.1 mi)
- Shitte – Hama-Kawasaki: 4.1 km (2.5 mi)
- Shitte – Shin-Tsurumi Signal Station – Tsurumi: 5.4 km (3.4 mi) (no regular service)
- Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) (Services only)
- Shitte – Tachikawa: 33.8 km (21.0 mi)
- Shitte – Hama-Kawasaki: 4.1 km (2.5 mi)
- Shitte – Shin-Tsurumi Signal Station: 1.5 km (0.9 mi)
- Total: 45.0 km (28.0 mi)
- Stations: 29
- Main line: 26
- Branch line: 3
- Double-tracking: Kawasaki – Tachikawa
- Railway signalling: Automatic Block System
Station list
Main line
Rapid service trains (two trains per hour between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m) do not stop at Shitte, Yakō, Hirama, Mukaigawara, Tsudayama, Kuji, or Shukugawara. All other trains except for some seasonal services are "Local" services, stopping at all stations.
Nambu Branch Line
- All stations are located in Kanagawa Prefecture.
- Trains can pass each other only at Kawasaki-Shinmachi.
| Station | Japanese | Distance (km) | Transfers | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Between stations |
Total | |||||
| Shitte | 尻手 | - | 0.0 | Nambu Line (main line), Nambu Line (freight branch) | Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki | |
| Hatchōnawate | 八丁畷 | 1.1 | 1.1 | Keikyu Main Line Tokaido Main Line freight branch (for Tsurumi) |
Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki | |
| Kawasaki-Shinmachi | 川崎新町 | 0.9 | 2.0 | |||
| Hama-Kawasaki | 浜川崎 | 2.1 | 4.1 | Tsurumi Line, Tokaido Main Line freight branch (for Kawasaki Freight Terminal) | ||
Freight branch
The "Shitte crossover" (尻手短絡線 Shitte-tanraku-sen) connects Shitte Station and Shin-Tsurumi Yard on the Tōkaidō Main Line (Hinkaku Line) and the Musashino Line. Freight trains operating between Tokyo Freight Terminal and northern Japan operate on both branch lines.
Former branches
- Yakō – Kawasaki-Gashi: opened 1927, closed 1972
- Mukaigawara – Shin-Tsurumi Yard: opened 1929, closed 1973
History
The private Nambu Railway opened the line in five phases between 1927 and 1930 (freight branches are omitted):[1]
- March 27, 1927: Kawasaki – Noborito
- November 1, 1927: Noborito – Ōmaru (near Minami-Tama)
- December 11, 1928: Ōmaru – Bubaigawara (then called Yashikibun)
- December 11, 1929: Bubaigawara – Tachikawa
- March 25, 1930: Shitte – Hama-Kawasaki
Passenger trains used electric multiple units from the beginning. Major freight was initially gravel from the Tama River. When the railway reached Tachikawa and made connection with the Ōme Electric Railway, limestone became one of main freight. The railway was controlled by Asano zaibatsu, which was enabled by the railway to transport limestone from its own quarry in Western Tokyo to its cement plant in Kawasaki without using the government railways.[2]
On April 1, 1944, the railway was forcibly purchased by the imperial government and became the Nambu Line of Japanese Government Railways. After the end of World War II, there were several movements to denationalize the line, but the line had been a part of the Japanese National Railways until its privatization in 1987.[2]
The postwar sprawl of the Tokyo urban area turned the most of the farmlands along the Nambu Line into residential areas and multiplied the passenger traffic on the line. On the other hand, freight traffic has been reduced after the opening of the Musashino Line in parallel to the Nambu Line in 1976 and the discontinuance of the limestone freight in 1998, except for the Nambu Branchline, which is a part of main freight route.[2]
Rapid services between Kawasaki and Noborito with stops at Musashi-Kosugi and Musashi-Mizonokuchi started on December 15, 1969, but were discontinued by the timetable revision on October 2, 1978.[3] After 33 years, rapid services between Kawasaki and Tachikawa with more stops started on April 9, 2011, postponed from originally scheduled March 12 due to the earthquake in Tōhoku on March 11.[4]
Rolling stock
The fleet of electric multiple unit (EMU) trains used on Nambu Line services is based at Nakahara Depot.[5]
- 205-0 series 6-car EMUs (since March 1989)
- 205-1200 series 6-car EMUs (since 2004)
- 209-0 series 6-car EMUs (since April 1993)
- 209-2200 series 6-car EMUS (since 2010)
- 205-1000 series 2-car EMUs (Nambu Branch Line services, since August 2002)
- E233 series 35 x 6-car EMUs (from fiscal 2014)[6]
-
Nambu Line 205-0 series
-
Nambu Line 205-1200 series
-
Nambu Line 209-0 series, January 2008
-
Nambu Line 209-2200 series, April 2011
-
Nambu Branch Line 205-1200 series, August 2009
Previously used
- 72 series 4/6-car EMUs (from 1963 until 1978)
- 101 series 4/6-car EMUs (from 1969 until January 1991)
- 103 series 6-car EMUs (from 1982 until December 2004)
- 101 series 2-car EMUs (Nambu Branchline services, until November 2003)
-
Nambu Branch Line 101 series, July 2002
References
- ↑ Ishino, Tetsu et al. (eds.) (1998). Teishajō Hensen Daijiten - Kokutetsu JR Hen (in Japanese). Tokyo: JTB Corporation. pp. 65–69, vol. II. ISBN 4533029809.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Harada, Katsumasa (1999). Nanbu-sen Ima Mukashi (in Japanese). Kawasaki: Tamagawa Shinbunsha. ISBN 4-924882-28-3.
- ↑ "南武線に33年ぶりの「快速」" (in Japanese). Town News. October 1, 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
- ↑ "ＪＲ南武線快速ようやく運行スタート、旧国鉄時代以来３３年ぶり". Kanagawa Shinbun. April 9, 2011. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
- ↑ JR電車編成表 2013夏 [JR EMU Formations - Summer 2013]. Japan: JRR. May 2013. p. 91-93. ISBN 978-4-330-37313-3.
- ↑ "通勤形車両の新造計画について" [New commuter train manufacture plans] (PDF) (in Japanese). East Japan Railway Company. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nambu Line. |
- Stations of the Nambu Line (JR East) (Japanese)
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