Musashino (train)

The Musashino (むさしの) is an all-stations train service in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) between Hachiōji or Fuchū-Hommachi in Tokyo, and Ōmiya in Saitama Prefecture.[1]

Musashino

A 209-500 series EMU on a Musashino service, August 2011
Overview
Service type	Local
Locale	Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Predecessor	Rapid Shinkansen Relay
First service	2001 (Rapid) 4 December 2010 (Local)
Current operator(s)	JR East
Route
Start	Hachiōji/Fuchū-Hommachi
End	Ōmiya
Line(s) used	Tōhoku Main Line, Musashino Line, Chūō Main Line
On-board services
Class(es)	Standard class only
Seating arrangements	Longitudinal
Catering facilities	None
Other facilities	No toilets
Technical
Rolling stock	205/209-500/E231-0 series EMUs
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC overhead

Service pattern

Services consist of two trains from Fuchū-Hommachi to Ōmiya in the morning, together with one return working from Ōmiya to Hachiōji and back. In the evening, there are two services from Ōmiya to Hachiōji, and one service from Hachiōji to Ōmiya.[2]

Routes

The trains to and from Hachiōji use two of the Musashino Line freight branches: one connects the Chūō Main Line (Kunitachi Station) and the Musashino Line (Shin-Kodaira Station) and the other connects the Musashino Line (Nishi-Urawa Station) and the Tōhoku Main Line (Yono Station).[3]

Rolling stock

115 series 6-car EMU on a Musashino rapid service, March 2004

See also: Musashino Line § Rolling stock

Services share rolling stock with the Musashino Line and are currently operated by 205-5000 series, 209-500 series, E231-0 series, or E231-900 series 8-car EMUs with longitudinal seating throughout.[4]

• 
  A 205 series EMU on a Musashino rapid service, July 2011
• 
  Musashino Line 209-500 series

History

165 series on a Shinkansen Relay rapid service at Hachiōji Station, August 2001

The Musashino was formed in 2001 following the renaming of the earlier Rapid Shinkansen Relay. From 1 December 2002, 6-car 115 series EMU formations based at Toyoda depot in Tokyo replaced the previous 165 and 169 series EMU formations.[5]

Rapid service pattern

Prior to the 4 December 2010 timetable revision, two return workings operated on weekdays, with one return Holiday Rapid Musashino working at weekends, as shown below.[6]

Weekdays

• Musashino 1: Fuchū-Hommachi (0734) → Ōmiya (0811)
• Musashino 2: Ōmiya (0853) → Hachiōji (0949)
• Musashino 3: Hachiōji (1643) → Ōmiya (1742)
• Musashino 4: Ōmiya (1847) → Hachiōji (1946)

Weekends/holidays

• Musashino: Hachiōji (07.19) → Ōmiya (08.12)
• Musashino: Hachiōji (09.53) → Ōmiya (10.40)
• Musashino: Hachiōji (16.56) → Ōmiya (17.45)
• Musashino: Hachiōji (17.47) → Ōmiya (18.36)
• Musashino: Ōmiya (08.53) → Hachiōji (09.45)
• Musashino: Ōmiya (18.22) → Hachiōji (19.16)
• Musashino: Ōmiya (19.52) → Hachiōji (20.43)

From the start of the revised timetable on 4 December 2010, the Musashino ceased to be a limited-stop "rapid" service, with trains stopping at all stations, and the number of daily services increased.[7]

See also

• List of named passenger trains of Japan
• Musashino Line
• Shimōsa (train), a similar service linking Ōmiya and the eastern side of the Musashino Line and also the Keiyō Line.

References

1. JR Timetable, February 2011 issue
2. "JR北海道・JR東日本　2010(平成22)年12月4日ダイヤ改正レポート" [JR Hokkaido & JR East 2 December 2010 Timetable Revision Report]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine. Vol. 40 no. 321. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. January 2011. pp. 82–83.
3. "行楽列車"ホリデー快速"と武蔵野線ジャンクション" ["Holiday Rapid" Excursion train and Musashino Line junctions]. Japan Railfan Magazine. No. 439. Japan: Kōyūsha. November 1997. p. 30.
4. "JR北海道・JR東日本　2010年12月4日ダイヤ改正概要" [JR Hokkaido & JR East 4 December 2010 Timetable Revision Overview]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine. Vol. 39 no. 319. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. November 2010. p. 81.
5. JR電車編成表 2010夏 [JR EMU Formations - Summer 2010]. Japan: JRR. May 2010. ISBN 978-4-330-14310-1.
6. "臨時列車運転情報" [Seasonal Train Schedule Information]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine. Vol. 39 no. 318. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. October 2010. p. 94.
7. ２０１０年１２月 ダイヤ改正について [Details of December 2010 Timetable Revision] (PDF) (Press release) (in Japanese). JR East. 24 September 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2010.