List of through trains in Japan

Japan operates a variety of through-services (直通運転, chokutsu-unten) or nori-ire (乗り入れ) or through trains which are direct seamless connections between rail operators, using leased trackage rights and junctions, to cut cross metropolitan area commutes without having to change trains, wait, figure out connections, or cross platforms/stations. Most of these junctions have been constructed well after the lines have been operating. Some far-flung spur lines have been shortened (abandoned stations and track due to low patronage); through service is a frequently used method to integrate the surviving short stub lines into multiple rail operator's systems, enhancing convenience and ridership. Through-service proliferation is increasingly common phenomenon as the railway networks, urban density (and Japan's demographics) have matured and new line construction is minimal.

Toei Asakusa Line Airport Limited Express headed for Haneda Airport, on the Keikyu Main Line owned by private operator Keikyu. The line was the first subway line that offered through services in Tokyo.

There are several dozen unique through service runs in Japan, the actual track usage details are complex (but as a seamless service offers an abstraction layer for the end user), the Japanese Wikipedia page has a complete list. Standardization is required for cross railway services, in terms of rolling stock dimensions, rail gauge, overhead power, not to mention coordinated scheduling between a mixture of separate companies and/or government agencies.[1]

Through services in Japan are commonly of two types: unidirectional or bidirectional (unidirectional trains return empty on non-circular tracks). The first usage of through services was on the Tobu Kameido Line in 1904, but was suspended in 1910. Japan's first modern (postwar) through services began in 1960, from the Toei Asakusa Line to Keisei Oshiage Line.

There are also through services that have been discontinued (not listed here).

List of existing services (passenger)

edit
 
The Tokyo subway system and through-services map. Hibiya Line's through-service to Tōkyū Tōyoko Line had been abolished because Fukutoshin Line's through-service to Tōkyū Tōyoko Line had been started. But the north terminus of Hibiya Line's through-service had been extended to Minami-Kurihashi Station on the Tōbu Nikkō Line.

Greater Tokyo Area private railways

edit
Asakusa Line route
 
Misakiguchi
 
 
Uraga
 
 
 
Horinouchi
 
 
Zushi·Hayama
 
 
 
Kanazawa-hakkei
 
 
Haneda Airport Domestic Terminal
 
 
Keikyū Kamata
 
 
Nishi-magome
 
 
 
Sengakuji
 
Oshiage
 
 
Keisei Ueno
 
 
 
Aoto
 
Keisei-Takasago
 
 
 
 
Chiba New Town Chūō
 
 
Keisei Narita
 
 
 
 
 
 
Narita Airport Terminal 2·3
 
 
 
Narita Airport Terminal 1
 
Higashi-Narita
 
Shibayama-Chiyoda

Keihanshin private railways

edit

Kyushu (Fukuoka)

edit

Through services between JR companies

edit

Services between JR railway lines and third-sector lines

edit

Services between third-sector railways

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Japan's Amazing Trains". NHK WORLD. Retrieved 2024-07-10.