Nambu Line

The Nambu Line (Japanese: 南武線, romanized: 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" (Japanese: 東京メガループ) around Tokyo, consisting of the Keiyo Line, Musashino Line, Nambu Line, and the Yokohama Line.[2] The name refers to the southern (Japanese: 南) part of the ancient province of Musashi (Japanese: 武蔵) (now Tokyo and northern Kanagawa prefecture), through which the Nambu Line runs.

Nambu Line
JN
The Nambu Line E233-8000 series EMU in October 2020
Overview
Native name南武線
Owner JR East
LocaleTokyo, Kanagawa prefectures
Termini
Stations26 (main line), 3 (branch line)
Service
TypeCommuter rail
Depot(s)Nakahara
Rolling stock205-1000 series, E127-0 series, E233-8000 series, E233-8500 series
Daily ridership840,241 (daily 2015)[1]
History
Opened1927
Technical
Line length45.0 km (28.0 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification1,500 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 ● JT Tōkaidō Main Line
JK Keihin-Tōhoku Line
KK Keikyu Main Line
KK Keikyu Daishi Line (Keikyū Kawasaki)		 Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki Kanagawa
JN02 Shitte 尻手 1.7 1.7 ｜ JN 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 ● JO Yokosuka Line
JS 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 ● JO Yokosuka Line
JS Shōnan-Shinjuku Line
TY Tokyu Toyoko Line
MG 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 ● DT Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line
OM 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 ● OH Odakyu Odawara Line
JN15 Nakanoshima 中野島 2.2 19.5 ｜  
JN16 Inadazutsumi 稲田堤 1.3 20.8 ● KO 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 ● JM Musashino Line Fuchū
JN21 Bubaigawara 分倍河原 0.9 28.8 ● KO 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
JC 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 JN Nambu Line (main line)
Nambu Line (freight branch)		 Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki
JN51 Hatchōnawate 八丁畷 1.1 1.1 KK 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 JI 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]

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.[7]

  • A Nambu Branch Line 205-1000 series in May 2023
    A Nambu Branch Line 205-1000 series in May 2023
  • A Nambu Line E233-8000 series in October 2020
    A Nambu Line E233-8000 series in October 2020

Previously used
  • A 73 series EMU on the Nambu Line in January 1975
    A 73 series EMU on the Nambu Line in January 1975
  • Nambu Branch Line 101 series in July 2002
    Nambu Branch Line 101 series in July 2002
  • A Nambu Line 103 series in June 2001
    A Nambu Line 103 series in June 2001
  • Nambu Line 205-0 series set 36 in April 2011
    Nambu Line 205-0 series set 36 in April 2011
  • A Nambu Line 205-1200 series in October 2014
    A Nambu Line 205-1200 series in October 2014
  • A Nambu Line 209-0 series in January 2008
    A Nambu Line 209-0 series in January 2008
  • A Nambu Line 209-2200 series in April 2011
    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):[9]

  • 27 March 1927: Kawasaki – Noborito
  • 1 November 1927: Noborito – Ōmaru (near Minami-Tama)
  • 11 December 1928: Ōmaru – Bubaigawara (then called Yashikibun)
  • 11 December 1929: Bubaigawara – Tachikawa
  • 25 March 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.[10]

On 1 April 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.[10]

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.[10]

Limited-stop "Rapid" services between Kawasaki and Noborito with stops at Musashi-Kosugi and Musashi-Mizonokuchi started on 15 December 1969, but were discontinued by the timetable revision on 2 October 1978.[11] After 33 years, Rapid services between Kawasaki and Tachikawa with more stops started on 9 April 2011, postponed from the originally scheduled 12 March due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[12]

On 20 August 2016, station numbering was introduced with Nambu line stations being assigned station numbers between JN01 and JN26.[13][14] Numbers increase towards in the westbound direction towards Tachikawa. In addition, station numbers JN51 to JN54 were assigned to the branch line stations with numbers increasing in the direction of Hama-Kawasaki.

See also

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. E127系が南武支線で営業運転を開始 [E127 series enters revenue service on the Nambu Branch Line]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 2023-09-14. Archived from the original on 14 September 2023. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  6. "南武線(尻手～浜川崎駅間)へのE127系の投入について" (PDF). East Japan Railway. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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). Vol. II. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. pp. 65–69. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
  10. Harada, Katsumasa (1999). 南武線いまむかし [Nambu-sen Ima Mukashi] (in Japanese). Kawasaki: Tamagawa Shinbunsha. ISBN 4-924882-28-3.
  11. 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.
  12. "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.
  13. "⾸都圏エリアへ 「駅ナンバリング」を導⼊します" [Introduce “station numbering” to the Tokyo metropolitan area] (PDF). jreast.co.jp (in Japanese). 6 April 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  14. Kusamachi, Yoshikazu (7 April 2016). "JA・JK・JT・AKB…JR東日本、首都圏で駅ナンバリングなど導入へ" [JA, JK, JT, AKB … JR East to introduce station numbering in the Tokyo metropolitan area]. Response Automotive Media (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
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