Nambu Line

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 lies along the Tama Hills. It is part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) network. The line forms part of what JR East refers to as the "Tokyo Mega Loop" (東京メガループ) around Tokyo, consisting of the Keiyo Line, Musashino Line, Nambu Line, and Yokohama Line.[2] The name refers to the southern (南) part of the ancient province of Musashi (武蔵) (now Tokyo and northern Kanagawa prefecture), through which the Nambu Line runs.

Nambu Line
JN
A Nambu Line E233-8000 series EMU in October 2014
Overview
Native name	南武線
Type	Commuter rail
Locale	Tokyo, Kanagawa prefectures
Termini	Kawasaki Tachikawa
Stations	26 (main line), 3 (branch line)
Daily ridership	840,241 (daily 2015)[1]
Operation
Opened	1927
Owner	JR East
Rolling stock	205-1000 series, E233-8000 series, E233-8500 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
Route map

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)
• 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, Shukugawara, Nakanoshima, Yanokuchi, Minami-Tama, Nishifu, Yaho, Yagawa, or Nishi-Kunitachi. All other trains except for some seasonal services are "Local" services, stopping at all stations.

No.	Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Rapid[3]	Transfers	Location	Prefecture
			Between stations	Total
KWSJN01	Kawasaki	川崎	-	0.0	●	Tōkaidō Main Line, Keihin-Tōhoku Line Keikyu Main Line, Keikyu Daishi Line (Keikyū Kawasaki)	Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki	Kanagawa
JN02	Shitte	尻手	1.7	1.7	｜	Nambu Branch Line (for Hama-Kawasaki)	Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki
JN03	Yakō	矢向	0.9	2.6	｜		Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama
JN04	Kashimada	鹿島田	1.5	4.1	●	Yokosuka Line, Shonan-Shinjuku Line (Shin-Kawasaki).	Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki
JN05	Hirama	平間	1.2	5.3	｜		Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki
JN06	Mukaigawara	向河原	1.3	6.6	｜
MKGJN07	Musashi-Kosugi	武蔵小杉	0.9	7.5	●	Yokosuka Line, Shōnan-Shinjuku Line Tokyu Toyoko Line, Tokyu Meguro Line
JN08	Musashi-Nakahara	武蔵中原	1.7	9.2	●
JN09	Musashi-Shinjō	武蔵新城	1.3	10.5	●
JN10	Musashi-Mizonokuchi	武蔵溝ノ口	2.2	12.7	●	Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line, Tokyu Oimachi Line (Mizonokuchi)	Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki
JN11	Tsudayama	津田山	1.2	13.9	｜
JN12	Kuji	久地	1.0	14.9	｜
JN13	Shukugawara	宿河原	1.3	16.2	｜		Tama-ku, Kawasaki
JN14	Noborito	登戸	1.1	17.3	●	Odakyu Odawara Line
JN15	Nakanoshima	中野島	2.2	19.5	｜
JN16	Inadazutsumi	稲田堤	1.3	20.8	●	Keio Sagamihara Line (Keiō-Inadazutsumi)
JN17	Yanokuchi	矢野口	1.6	22.4	｜		Inagi	Tokyo
JN18	Inagi-Naganuma	稲城長沼	1.7	24.1	●
JN19	Minami-Tama	南多摩	1.4	25.5	｜	Seibu Tamagawa Line (Koremasa)
JN20	Fuchū-Hommachi	府中本町	2.4	27.9	●	Musashino Line	Fuchū
JN21	Bubaigawara	分倍河原	0.9	28.8	●	Keiō Line
JN22	Nishifu	西府	1.2	30.0	｜
JN23	Yaho	谷保	1.6	31.6	｜		Kunitachi
JN24	Yagawa	矢川	1.4	33.0	｜
JN25	Nishi-Kunitachi	西国立	1.3	34.3	｜		Tachikawa
JN26	Tachikawa	立川	1.2	35.5	●	Chūō Main Line, Ōme Line Tama Toshi Monorail Line (Tachikawa-Kita, Tachikawa-Minami)

Nambu Branch Line

• All stations are located in Kanagawa Prefecture.
• Trains can pass each other only at Kawasaki-Shinmachi.

No.	Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Transfers	Location
			Between stations	Total
JN02	Shitte	尻手	-	0.0	Nambu Line (main line), Nambu Line (freight branch)	Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki
JN51	Hatchōnawate	八丁畷	1.1	1.1	Keikyu Main Line Tokaido Main Line freight branch (for Tsurumi)	Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki
JN52	Kawasaki-Shinmachi	川崎新町	0.9	2.0
JN53	Odasakae	小田栄	0.7	2.7
JN54	Hama-Kawasaki	浜川崎	1.4	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.

Rolling stock

Nambu Line rolling stock at Nakahara Depot

As of 1 October 2016 the following fleet of electric multiple unit (EMU) trains is used on Nambu Line services, with all trainsets based at Nakahara Depot.[4]

• 205-1000 series 3 x 2-car EMUs (Nambu Branch Line services, since August 2002)
• E233-8000 series 35 x 6-car EMUs (since 4 October 2014)
• E233-8500 series 1 x 6-car EMU (since 15 March 2017)

From 15 March 2017, the last remaining 209 series trainset, set 53, was replaced by a six-car Ome Line and Itsukaichi Line E233-0 series set 670 modified and renumbered to become E233-8500 series set N36.[5]

• 
  A Nambu Branch Line 205-1000 series in August 2009
• 
  A Nambu Line E233-8000 series in September 2014

Previously used

• 72/73 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)
• 205-0 series 6-car EMUs from (March 1989 until December 2015)[6]
• 205-1200 series 6-car EMUs (from 2004 until January 2016)
• 209-0 series 6-car EMUs (from April 1993 until February 2015)
• 209-2200 series 6-car EMUs (from 2010 until March 2017)

• 
  A 73 series EMU on the Nambu Line in January 1975
• 
  Nambu Branch Line 101 series in July 2002
• 
  A Nambu Line 103 series in June 2001
• 
  Nambu Line 205-0 series set 36 in April 2011
• 
  A Nambu Line 205-1200 series in October 2014
• 
  A Nambu Line 209-0 series in January 2008
• 
  A Nambu Line 209-2200 series in April 2011

History

The private Nambu Railway opened the line in five stages between 1927 and 1930 (freight branches are omitted):[7]

• 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 utilised electric multiple units (EMUs) from the beginning. Freight initially consisted primarily of gravel hauled from the Tama River. When the railway reached Tachikawa and made connection with the Ōme Electric Railway, limestone became one of the main freight commodities. The railway was controlled by Asano zaibatsu, which enabled the transport of limestone from its own quarry in Western Tokyo to its cement plant in Kawasaki without using the government railways.[8]

On April 1, 1944, the railway was nationalised by the imperial government and became the Nambu Line of Japanese Government Railways. After the end of World War II, there were several calls for the privatisation of the line, but the line remained a part of the Japanese National Railways (JNR) until its privatization in 1987.[8]

The postwar growth of the Tokyo urban area resulted in the conversion of most of the farmlands along the Nambu Line into residential areas and increased the passenger traffic on the line. Freight traffic reduced after the opening of the Musashino Line (parallel to the Nambu Line) in 1976 and the discontinuance of the limestone freight in 1998, except for the Nambu Branchline, which remains a major freight route.[8]

Limited-stop "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.[9] After 33 years, Rapid services between Kawasaki and Tachikawa with more stops started on April 9, 2011, postponed from the originally scheduled March 12 due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[10]

See also

• List of railway lines in Japan

References

1. "平成27年 大都市交通センサス 首都圈報告書" (PDF). P.92. 国土交通省.
2. Saka, Masayuki (August 2014). 東京メガループ　車両・路線の沿革と現況 [Tokyo Megaloop: History and current situation of trains and line]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 43 no. 364. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. pp. 28–39.
3. "川崎－立川 快速 4009F". JR East Timetable. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
4. JR電車編成表 2017冬 [JR EMU Formations - Winter 2017] (in Japanese). Japan: Kotsu Shimbunsha. 16 November 2016. pp. 91–93. ISBN 978-4-330-73716-4.
5. 南武線（川崎～立川間）E233系車輌導入完了へ [Introduction of E233 series on Nambu Line to be completed]. Tetsudo Hobidas (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing Co., Ltd. 27 January 2017. Archived from the original on 27 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
6. 205系ナハ39編成が国府津車両センターへ [205 series set 39 moved to Kozu Depot]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
7. Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory - JNR/JR] (in Japanese). II. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. pp. 65–69. ISBN 4533029809.
8. Harada, Katsumasa (1999). Nanbu-sen Ima Mukashi (in Japanese). Kawasaki: Tamagawa Shinbunsha. ISBN 4-924882-28-3.
9. 南武線に33年ぶりの「快速」 (in Japanese). Town News. October 1, 2010. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
10. "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. Archived from the original on December 4, 2011. Retrieved April 9, 2011.

External links

• Stations of the Nambu Line (JR East) (in Japanese)