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Musashino Line

 
Wikipedia: Musashino Line
     Musashino Line

Musashino Line 205 series EMU at Nishi-Funabashi Station
Info
Type Commuter rail / Freight
Locale Kanto region
Termini Fuchū-Hommachi
Nishi-Funabashi
Operation
Opened 1973
Owner JR East
Operator(s) JR East / JR Freight
Rolling stock 205 series
Technical
Line length 71.8 km
Track gauge 1,067 mm
Electrification Overhead catenary 1,500 V DC
Route map

LineMap Musashino.png

The Musashino Line (武蔵野線 Musashino-sen?) is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).

It links Tsurumi Station in Yokohama with Nishi-Funabashi Station in Chiba Prefecture, forming a 100 kilometer unclosed loop around central Tokyo. Passenger operations are limited to the 71.8 km portion between Fuchū-Hommachi Station and Nishi-Funabashi; the Tsurumi to Fuchū-Hommachi portion, called the Musashino South Line, is normally used only by freight trains.

Contents

History

Musashino Line Edogawa Bridge

The Musashino Line was initially envisioned as a "Tokyo Outer Loop Line" in a 1927 railway appropriations bill, but was not built for several decades due to World War II and its aftermath. Construction finally began in 1964.

In 1967, a train carrying jet fuel to Tachikawa Air Base in western Tokyo exploded while passing through Shinjuku Station. This disaster led to the banning of freight trains on railway lines in central Tokyo and sped the development of the Musashino Line as an alternative route. Because most of the line passed through sparsely populated areas, it was initially envisioned as a freight-only line: however, opposition from local residents, at the same time as the violent landowner battles plaguing Narita International Airport, led the railway authorities to agree to passenger service as well.

The northern portion of the line (Fuchū to Funabashi) was completed in 1973; the southern freight-only portion (Fuchū to Tsurumi) was completed in 1976. The line remains in use for transporting US military jet fuel from Yokohama to west Tokyo, among other purposes.

Trains

Railways around Funabashi; the connection of Musashino and Keiyo Line

Most trains on the Musashino Line are 205 series 8-car electric multiple units making all station stops. Some trains run on the Keiyō Line through Nishi-Funabashi to continue to Tōkyō Station or Minami-Funabashi Station. Some go to Kaihin-Makuhari Station via Minami-Funabashi.

Other trains include:

Locomotive types seen hauling freight trains include EF64, EF65, EF66, EF81, EF200, EF210, EH200, EH500, and DE10.

Rolling stock previously used includes 101-1000 series 6-car EMUs, 201 series 6-car EMUs and 103 series 8-car EMUs (until 2005).

Stations

Tsurumi Station is considered to be the origin of the Musashino Line; trains going clockwise (toward Nishi-Funabashi) are therefore called down (下り kudari?) while trains going counter-clockwise (toward Fuchū-Hommachi) are called up (上り nobori?). This is often counterintuitive, as it results in through trains to Tōkyō Station being labeled and numbered as "down" trains while on the Musashino Line; however, such trains switch to "up" after joining the Keiyō Line.

All passenger trains begin service at Fuchū-Hommachi Station; details on the Musashino South Line freight-only section can be found below the passenger station list.

Musashino Line (passenger)

  • Information on Keiyō Line through service can be found on that line's page.
  • Except for the "Musashino" rapid service, all local and rapid service trains make all stops within the Musashino Line.
Name Japanese Distance (km) Transfers Location
Between
stations
Total
Fuchū-Hommachi 府中本町 - 0.0 JR East: Nambu Line, Musashino South Line (Freight) Fuchū Tokyo
Kita-Fuchū 北府中 1.7 1.7  
Nishi-Kokubunji 西国分寺 2.2 3.9 JR East: Chūō Line (Rapid) Kokubunji
Shin-Kodaira 新小平 3.5 7.4 Seibu Railway: Seibu Tamako Line (Ōmekaidō)
JR East: Musashino Line (Kunitachi Freight Branch)
Kodaira
Shin-Akitsu 新秋津 5.6 13.0 Seibu Railway: Ikebukuro Line (Akitsu) Higashimurayama
Higashi-Tokorozawa 東所沢 2.7 15.7   Tokorozawa Saitama
Niiza Freight Terminal 新座貨物ターミナル駅 3.7 19.4   Niiza
Niiza 新座 0.3 19.7  
Kita-Asaka 北朝霞 3.1 22.8 Tōbu Railway: Tōjō Line (Asakadai) Asaka
Nishi-Urawa 西浦和 5.0 27.8 JR East: Musashino Line (Ōmiya Freight Branch) Sakura-ku, Saitama
Musashi-Urawa 武蔵浦和 2.0 29.8 JR East: Saikyō Line
Musashino Line (Nishi-Urawa Freight Branch)
Minami-ku, Saitama
Minami-Urawa 南浦和 1.9 31.7 JR East: Keihin-Tōhoku Line
Higashi-Urawa 東浦和 3.7 35.4   Midori-ku, Saitama
Higashi-Kawaguchi 東川口 3.8 39.2 Saitama Rapid Railway Line Kawaguchi
Minami-Koshigaya 南越谷 4.3 43.5 Tōbu Railway: Isesaki Line (Shin-Koshigaya) Koshigaya
Koshigaya Freight Terminal 越谷貨物ターミナル駅 0.4 43.9  
Koshigaya-Laketown 越谷レイクタウン 2.4 46.3  
Yoshikawa 吉川 1.9 48.2   Yoshikawa
Shin-Misato 新三郷 3.1 51.3   Misato
Misato 三郷 2.1 53.4  
Minami-Nagareyama 南流山 2.0 55.4 Tsukuba Express
JR East: Musashino Line (Kita-Kogane, Mabashi Freight Branches)
Nagareyama Chiba
Shin-Matsudo 新松戸 2.1 57.5 JR East: Jōban Line
Sōbu Nagareyama Line (Chiba)
Matsudo
Shin-Yahashira 新八柱 4.1 61.6 Shin-Keisei Line (Yabashira)
Higashi-Matsudo 東松戸 2.4 64.0 Hokusō Railway: Hokusō Line
Ichikawa-Ōno 市川大野 1.9 65.9   Ichikawa
Funabashi-Hōten 船橋法典 3.0 68.9   Funabashi
Nishi-Funabashi 西船橋 2.9 71.8 JR East: Sōbu Line (Local), Keiyō Line (through to Tōkyō, Kaihin-Makuhari)
Tokyo Metro: Tōzai Line (T-23)
Tōyō Rapid Railway Line
Keisei Railway: Keisei Main Line (Keisei-Nishifuna)

Ōmekaidō Station is approximately 10 minutes walk from Shin-Kodaira Station.

Musashino South Line (freight)

Name Japanese Distance (km) Transfers Location
Between
stations
Total
Tsurumi 鶴見 - 0.0 JR East: Tōkaidō Line, Tōkaidō Freight Line, Takashima Freight Line Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama Kanagawa
Shin-Tsurumi Signal Station (formerly Shin-Tsurumi Yard) 新鶴見信号場 3.9 3.9 JR East: Hinkaku Line, Nambu Line Freight Branch (for Shitte)
Kajigaya Freight Terminal 梶ヶ谷貨物ターミナル駅 8.8 12.7   Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki
Fuchū-Hommachi 府中本町 16.1 28.8 JR East: Musashino Line (towards Nishi-Kokubunji), Nambu Line Fuchū, Tokyo

See also

References


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Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Musashino Line" Read more