中央線
The
Chûôsen, or "Central Line," is one of the main intercity rail routes in
Japan. It starts at
Tokyo Station and ascends through the western
suburbs of
Tokyo, going up into the
Japan Alps and then descending again to terminate in
Nagoya, a total distance of 413 km (about 260 miles).
Most of the Chuo line was laid down around the turn of the century: the entire line was completed in 1904, although portions of it in the major cities date back as far as the 1870's. When the line first opened, under the private ownership of Kobu Railway, it offered electric trains from Iidabashi to Nakano, the first electric service in Japanese railway history.
Although trains run frequently in both Tokyo and Aichi, the mountainous portion of the Chuo Line is fairly quiet: between Shiojiri* and Nakatsugawa, trains only pass through every two hours or so. It's also important to note that there are no trains that cover the entire line in one trip: to travel the Chuo line, you have to transfer between trains several times. If you use rapid service trains, the entire trip from Tokyo to Nagoya takes about ten hours, compared to six hours on the Tokaido Line and as little as 100 minutes on the Nozomi Shinkansen.
The portions of the line that pass through the mountains offer some absolutely breathtaking views.
There are some faster limited express trains that run on the Chuo line, but they charge premiums over the normal fare. These include the Azusa from Shinjuku to Matsumoto, the Kaiji from Shinjuku to Kofu, and the Shinano from Nagoya to Nagano.
East of Shiojiri (just south of Matsumoto), the Chuo Line is administered by the East Japan Railway. West of Shiojiri, the Central Japan Railway takes over.
Within Tokyo, the line splits: there is a "rapid line," which only stops three times on its way from Tokyo Station to Shinjuku Station, and there is also a "local line" which stops at six additional stations. On the chart below, the local stations are denoted with parentheses. The line also splits between Okaya and Shiojiri: the shorter branch travels under a mountain, while the longer branch loops around to the south to serve a few more backwater stations.
Incidentally, the Chuo Line in Tokyo is also the most popular suicide spot in Japan, partly because it's one of the only straight surface-level lines in Tokyo, and partly because JR-East charges less cleanup fees to the family of the departed than other lines do.
Tokyo Side
Station Distance Transfers
Tokyo Marunouchi Line, Shinkansen, Yamanote Line,
Keihin Tohoku Line, Tokaido Line, Yokosuka Line,
Sobu Line, Keiyo Line
Kanda 1.3 Ginza Line, Yamanote Line, Keihin Tohoku Line
Ochanomizu 2.6 Marunouchi Line, Chiyoda Line, Sobu Line
(Suidobashi) 3.4 Mita Line
(Iidabashi) 4.3 Tozai Line, Yurakucho Line, Namboku Line,
Oedo Line
(Ichigaya) 5.8 Yurakucho Line, Namboku Line, Shinjuku Line
Yotsuya 6.6 Marunouchi Line, Namboku Line
(Shinanomachi) 7.9
(Sendagaya) 8.6 Oedo Line
(Yoyogi) 9.6 Oedo Line, Yamanote Line
Shinjuku 10.3 Marunouchi Line, Oedo Line, Shinjuku Line,
Keio Railway, Odakyu, Seibu Railway,
Yamanote Line, Saikyo Line, Shonan Shinjuku Line
Nakano 14.7 Tozai Line
Koenji 16.1
Asagaya 17.3
Ogikubo 18.7 Marunouchi Line
Nishi-Ogikubo 20.6
Kichijoji 22.5 Keio Railway
Mitaka 24.1
Musashi-Sakai 25.7 Seibu Railway
Higashi-Koganei 27.4
Musashi-Koganei 29.1
Kokubunji 31.4 Seibu Railway
Nishi-Kokubunji 32.8 Musashino Line
Kunitachi 34.5
Tachikawa 37.5 Tama Monorail, Nambu Line, Ome Line
Hino 40.8
Toyoda 43.1
Hachioji 47.4 Yokohama Line, Hachiko Line
Nishi-Hachioji 49.8
Takao 53.1 Keio Railway
KANAGAWA PREFECTURE
Sagamiko 62.6
Fujino 66.3
YAMANASHI PREFECTURE
Uenohara 69.8
Shiotsu 74.0
Yanagawa 77.6
Torisawa 81.2
Saruhashi 85.3
Otsuki 87.8 Fuji Kyuko Railway
Hatsukari 93.9
Sasago 100.4
Kai-Yamato 106.5
Katsunuma-
Budokyo 112.5
Enzan 116.9
Higashi-
Yamanashi 120.1
Yamanashishi 122.2
Kasugaicho 125.0
Isawa Onsen 127.8
Sakaori 131.2
Kofu 134.1 Minobu Line
Ryuo 138.6
Shiozaki 142.7
Nirasaki 147.0
Shimpu 151.2
Anayama 154.7
Hinoharu 160.1
Nagasaka 166.3
Kobuchizawa 173.7 Koumi Line
NAGANO PREFECTURE
Shinano-Sakai 178.2
Fujimi 182.9
Suzuran-no-Sato 186.1
Aoyagi 188.0
Chino 195.2
Kamisuwa 201.9
Shimosuwa 206.3
Okaya 210.4
Branch 1:
- Midoriko 218.2
Branch 2:
- Kawagishi 213.9
- Tatsuno 219.9 Iida Line
- Shinano-
Kawashima 224.2
- Ono 228.2
Shiojiri 222.1 or 238.1 Shinonoi Line
Nagoya Side
Station Distance Transfers
Nagoya Higashiyama Line, Sakuradori Line, Shinkansen,
Meitetsu, Kintetsu, Tokaido Line, Kansai Line
Kanayama 3.3 Meijo Line, Meitetsu, Tokaido Line
Tsurumai 5.6 Tsurumai Line
Chikusa 7.1 Higashiyama Line
Ozone 9.8 Meijo Line, Meitetsu, Yutorito Line
Shin-Moriyama 12.3
Kachigawa 15.0 Tokai Kotsu Jigyo Johoku Line
Kasugai 18.1
Jinryo 20.8
Kozoji 24.0 Aichi Kanjo Railway
Jokoji 28.1
GIFU PREFECTURE
Kokokei 31.6
Tajimi 36.2 Taita Line
Tokishi 43.2
Mizunami 50.1
Kamado 57.5
Takenami 62.9
Ena 68.3 Akechi Railway
Mino-Sakamoto 73.5
Nakatsugawa 79.9
Ochiaigawa 83.7
Sakashita 89.8
NAGANO PREFECTURE
Tadachi 92.6
Nagiso 98.9
Junikane 104.4
Nojiri 108.1
Okuwa 111.1
Suhara 114.4
Kuramoto 119.2
Agematsu 125.8
Kisofukushima 133.1
Harano 138.6
Miyanokoshi 141.4
Yabuhara 147.1
Narai 153.7
Kisohirasawa 155.5
Niekawa 160.7
Hideshio 165.9
Seba 170.6
Shiojiri 174.8 Shinonoi Line
* As
gn0sis kindly pointed out,
Shiojiri literally means "salt ass."
Another Chûô line is part of the Osaka City Subway. It first opened in 1961 to connect the Osaka Loop Line to the Port of Osaka (Osakako): it was extended to the Midosuji Line in 1964, to the other side of the loop in 1967, to Fukaebashi in 1968, and to its current length in 1985. Some Chuo Line trains continue past Nagata to the Kintetsu network, going as far as Higashi-Osaka.
On maps, the Chuo Line is the green line (dark, not light; the yellowish-green line is the Nagahori Tsurumi Ryokuchi Line).
Station Distance Transfers
Osakako OTS Technoport Line
Asashiobashi 1.5
Bentencho 3.1 Osaka Loop Line
Kujo 4.4
Awaza 5.9 Sennichimae Line
Hommachi 7.0 Midosuji Line, Yotsubashi Line
Sakaisuji-H'machi 7.7 Sakaisuji Line
Tanimachi 4-chome 8.7 Tanimachi Line
Morinomiya 10.0 Nagahori Tsurumi Ryokuchi Line, Osaka Loop Line
Midoribashi 11.2
Fukaebashi 12.3
Takaida 13.7
Nagata 15.5