Sōbu Line (Rapid)

The Sōbu Line (Rapid) (Japanese: 総武快速線, romanized: Sōbu-kaisoku-sen) is a railway service on the Sōbu Main Line in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Tokyo Station in Chūō, Tokyo with Chiba Station in Chūō-ku, Chiba via the cities of Ichikawa, Funabashi, and Narashino.

Sōbu Line (Rapid)
JO
An E235 series EMU at Ichikawa Station
Overview
LocaleTokyo, Chiba prefectures
Termini
Stations10
Service
TypeCommuter rail
Operator(s)JR East
Daily ridership693,998 (daily 2015)[1]
History
Opened1972
Technical
Line length60.2 km (37.4 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification1,500 V DC overhead catenary
Operating speed120 km/h (75 mph)
Route map

Services

Rapid services on the Sōbu Line are primarily operated between Tokyo and Chiba, although there are many through services onto the Yokosuka Line as well as some through services operated from the Yokosuka Line via Tokyo terminating at Tsudanuma. During weekday morning peak periods Tokyo-bound trains arrive once every 3.2 minutes; this is reduced to 10 Chiba-bound trains per hour during weekday evening peak periods. At other times there are approximately six trains per hour. There are many through services operated onto other lines.

Commuter rapid trains, operated during weekday peak periods in the mornings and evenings, make fewer stops than normal rapid trains. There are two Zushi-bound trains from Narita in the morning and a single Narita-bound train from Tokyo in the evening.

For information on the Narita Express, Shiosai, and other limited express services, see their respective articles.

Sōbu Line (Rapid) trains travel through onto the Yokosuka Line to Ōfuna, Zushi, and Kurihama. Trains also travel through beyond Chiba to as far as:

Home Liner Chiba
Main article: Home Liner Chiba

Before 16 March 2019, there were five Home Liner Chiba commuter liner services that operated every weekday evening, four of which started from Tokyo and another which started at Shinjuku.

Stations served:

(Shinjuku – Akihabara) / Tokyo – Tsudanuma – Inage – Chiba

Limited Express Ayame
Main article: Ayame (train)

Station list
  • For information on local services between Kinshichō and Chiba, see the Chūō-Sōbu Line article.
  • Trains stop at stations marked "●" and pass those marked "｜".
Station
No.		 Station Japanese Distance (km) Rapid Commuter
Rapid		 Transfers Location
Between
stations		 Total
Through services to JO Yokosuka Line for Yokohama, Ofuna, Kamakura, Zushi and Kurihama
TYOJO19
 Tokyo 東京 - 0.0 ● ●
Chiyoda Tokyo
JO20 Shin-Nihombashi 新日本橋 1.2 1.2 ● ●
Chūō
JO21 Bakurochō 馬喰町 1.1 2.3 ● ●
JO22 Kinshichō 錦糸町 2.5 4.8 ● ●
Sumida
JO23 Shin-Koiwa 新小岩 5.2 10.0 ● ｜ JB Chūō-Sōbu Line (JB25) Katsushika
JO24 Ichikawa 市川 5.4 15.4 ● ｜ JB Chūō-Sōbu Line (JB27) Ichikawa Chiba
JO25 Funabashi 船橋 7.8 23.2 ● ●
Funabashi
JO26 Tsudanuma 津田沼 3.5 26.7 ● ｜
Narashino
JO27 Inage 稲毛 9.2 35.9 ● ｜ JB Chūō-Sōbu Line (JB37) Inage-ku, Chiba
JO28 Chiba 千葉 3.3 39.2 ● ●
Chūō-ku, Chiba
Through services to:

■ Sotobō Line for Kazusa-Ichinomiya
■ Uchibō Line for Kimitsu
■ Narita Line for Narita and Narita Airport
Kashima Line for Kashima-Jingū via the Narita Line
■ Sōbu Main Line for Narutō

Note: Special Rapid service was discontinued on 4 March 2017.[2]

Rolling stock
JNR 113 series train at Kinshichō Station in 1978

Rapid service

Limited express service

Former rolling stock

History

On 20 August 2016, station numbering was introduced with stations being assigned station numbers between JO19 and JO28.[4][5] Numbers increase towards in the eastbound direction towards Chiba.

References
  1. "平成27年 大都市交通センサス 首都圏報告書" (PDF). P.92. 国土交通省.
  2. 2017年3月ダイヤ改正について [Timetable revision in March 2017] (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  3. Daisuke, Kousaku (4 September 2018). JR東日本E235系、横須賀線・総武快速線へ車両新造 - 2020年度落成 [JR East E235 series for Yokosuka line and Sobu Rapid Line to be completed in 2020]. MyNavi Corporation (in Japanese). Japan: MyNavi Corporation. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  4. "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.
  5. 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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