The is the busiest trunk line of Japan Railway (JR), connecting Tokyo Station and Kobe Station . It is 589.5 km (366 miles) long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The Tokaido Shinkansen runs largely parallel to the line.
The term "Tokaido Main Line" is largely a holdover from pre-Shinkansen days: now, various portions of the line have different names, which are officially used in JR. Today, there are no passenger trains that operate over the entire length of the line (other than certain overnight services; see below), so longer intercity trips require several transfers along the way.
The Tokaido Main Line is operated by three JR companies:
- East Japan Railway Company , Central Japan Railway Company , West Japan Railway Company
- Total distance: 713.6km (Tōkyō — Kōbe)
- ---East Japan Railway Company
--104.6km (Tōkyō — Atami)
--17.8km (Shinagawa — Shin-Kawasaki — Tsurumi)
--20.6km (Hamamatsuchō — Tōkyō Freight Terminal — Kawasaki Freight Terminal — Hama-Kawasaki)
--2.3km (Tsurumi — Hacchō-Nawate)
-- 8.5km (Tsurumi — Higashi-Takashima — Sakuragichō)
--2.7km (Irie Signalbox — Shin-Kyō) (not used by passenger trains, currently being removed)
--16.0km (Tsurumi — Yokohama-Hazawa — Higashi-Totsuka)
- ---Central Japan Railway Company
--341.3km (Atami — Maibara) (3.3km Kanayama — Nagoya section is considered part of the Chūō Main Line; however, the Chūō Main Line does not stop at Otōbashi)
--5.0km (Ōgaki — Mino-Akasaka)
--13.8km (Ōgaki — (Shin-Tarui) — Sekigahara)
- ---West Japan Railway Company
--143.6km (Maibara — Kōbe)
--3.3km (Umekōji — Tambaguchi) (not used by passenger trains)
--10.7km (Suita — (Miyabara Switchyard) — Amagasaki) (this section is also known as the Hoppō Freight Line)
--8.5km (Suita — Umeda — Fukushima) (not used by passnger trains; this section is also known as the Umeda Freight Line)
- ---Japan Freight Railway Company
--第一種鉄道事業
-6.2km (Sannō Signalbox — Nagoya-Minato)
-8.7km (Suita Signalbox — Ōsaka Freight Terminal)
--第二種鉄道事業
-97.8km (Shinagawa — Atami)
-13.9km (Shinagawa — Shin-Tsurumi Signalbox)
-12.9km (Tōkyō Freight Terminal — Hama-Kawasaki)
-16.0km (Tsurumi — Yokohama-Hazawa — Higashi-Totsuka)
-2.3 (Tsurumi — Hacchō-Nawate)
-11.2km (Tsurumi — Shin-Kyō — Sakuragichō)
-341.3km (Atami — Maibara)
-10.7km (Minami-Arao Signalbox — Sekigahara)
-1.9km (Minami-Arao Signalbox — Mino-Akasaka)
-139.0km (Maibara — Kōbe) (via Hoppō Freight Line)
-3.3km (Umekōji — Tambaguchi)
-8.5km (Suita — Umeda — Fukushima)
- Rail Gauge : 1,067 mm
- Stations: 161 (not including branch line stations other than Shinagawa — Shin-Kawasaki and Ōgaki — Mino-Akasaka sections)
- ---JR East: 34
- ---JR Central: 80
- ---JR West: 47
- Tracks
- ---Three-track or more
--83.9 km (Tōkyō — Odawara)
--98.1 km (Asakusa — Kōbe)
- ---Dual-track
--Odawara — Asakusa
--Shinagawa — Shin-Kawasaki — Tsurumi
--Hamamatsuchō — Tōkyō Freight Terminal — Kawasaki Freight Terminal — Hama-Kawasaki
--Tsurumi — Hacchō-Nawate
--Tsurumi — Higashi-Takashima
--Tsurumi — Yokohama-Hazawa — Higashi-Totsuka
--Suita — Umeda
--Suita — (Miyabara Switchyard) — Amagasaki
- ---Single-track
--Irie Signalbox — Shin-Kyō
--Higashi-Takashima — Sakuragichō
--Sannō Signalbox — Nagoya-Minato
--Ōgaki — Mino-Akasaka
--Ōgaki — (Shin-Tarui) — Sekigahara
--Umekōji — Tambaguchi
--Suita — Ōsaka Freight Terminal
--Umeda — Fukushima
- Electrification : All (except Sannō Signalbox — Nagoya-Minato section) (Direct Current 1,500 V)
The Tokaido Main Line in the Greater Tokyo Area is often referred to as ''Shonan densha'' (湘南電車). It runs on dedicated tracks parallel to the Yamanote Line in central Tokyo, the Keihin-Tohoku Line between Tokyo and Yokohama, and the Yokosuka Line between Tokyo and Ofuna.
All trains along this section of the line have double-decker "Green Cars" with forward-facing seats, which can be used for an additional fee (payable by Suica card inside the train).
Shonan-Shinjuku Line trains also run on this segment north from Yokohama through west-central Tokyo to Saitama .
The followng types of services run on the Tokyo-Atami segment:
- Local (普通) trains stop at all stations, and can start/end at a variety of locations.
- Rapid ''Acty'' (快速アクティー) trains run between Tokyo and Odawara, and between Tokyo and Atami. They do not stop at Totsuka, Tsujido, Oiso, Ninomiya or Kamonomiya.
- Commuter Rapid (通勤快速) trains run outbound from Tokyo to Odawara on weekday nights only. These trains stop only at Shimbashi, Shinagawa, Fujisawa, Chigasaki, Hiratsuka, Kozu and Odawara.
- Shonan Liner (湘南ライナー) trains are special, all-reserved commuter express trains with comfortable seating. They operate from Odawara to Tokyo on weekday mornings, with a few services terminating in Shinagawa. Return services run from Tokyo to Odawara on weekday evenings. Like Commuter Rapid trains, Shonan Liners normally do not stop between Shinagawa and Fujisawa. Between Fujisawa and Odawara, varying stops are made. A reserved seat fee of ¥500 is required to use the Shonan Liner, in addition to the standard fare.
Beyond Maibara, the Biwako Line also turns into Nagahama Station on the Hokuriku Main Line .
- Special Rapid Services (新快速) stop at Nagahama, Tamura, Sakata, Maibara, Hikone, Notogawa, Omi-Hachiman, Yasu, Moriyama, Kusatsu, Ishiyama, Otsu, Yamashina, and Kyoto
- Rapid Services (快速) stop at all stations between Nagahama and Kyoto
- Local trains (普通) stop at all stations between Yasu and Kyoto
JR Kyoto Line(JR京都線)
- Special Rapid Services (新快速) stop at Kyoto, Takatsuki, Shin-Osaka, and Osaka.
- Rapid Services (快速) stop at every station between Kyoto and Takatsuki except JR Katsura and Shimamoto, including Ibaraki, Shin-Osaka, and Osaka. They pass through Nishi-Oji, Mukomachi, and Yamazaki in the morning and at night.
- Local trains (普通) stop at all stations except JR Katsura and Shimamoto.
The JR Kobe Line continues as far west as Himeji Station , although the line between Kobe and Himeji is technically part of the Sanyo Main Line (which goes all the way to Hakata Station in Fukuoka ).
In addition to standard local, rapid, and special rapid service trains, the Tokaido Line also hosts a number of limited express services.
- ''Biwako Express'' (Maibara-Osaka)
- ''Fujikawa'' (Shizuoka-Fuji)
- ''Haruka'' (Maibara- Kansai International Airport )
- ''Hida'' (Nagoya-Gifu, Gifu-Osaka)
- ''Odoriko'' (Tokyo-Atami)
- ''Shinano'' (Nagoya-Osaka)
- ''Shirasagi'' (Nagoya-Maibara)
- ''Tokai'' (Tokyo-Shizuoka)
Most overnight trains on the Tokaido Line go from Tokyo to western Honshu , or even as far as Kyushu .
- ''Fuji'' (Tokyo-Oita)
- ''Ginga'' (Tokyo-Osaka)
- ''Hayabusa'' (Tokyo-Kumamoto)
- ''Moonlight Nagara'' (Tokyo-Ogaki)
- '' Sunrise Izumo '' (Tokyo-Izumo via Okayama)
- '' Sunrise Seto '' (Tokyo-Takamatsu)
The ''Izumo'' (Tokyo-Izumo via Tottori) was discontinued as of March , 2006 .
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