The is a railway line in

Hokkaido is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

operated by

Hokkaido Railway Company The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a s ...

(JR Hokkaido), connecting Numanohata,

Tomakomai is a city and port in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the largest city in the Iburi Subprefecture, and the fourth largest city in Hokkaido. As of 29 February 2012, it had an estimated population of 174,216, with 83,836 house ...

and Shiroishi Station in

Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo is one of the ten wards in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. As of August 31, 2021, the ward has a population of 213,704. History *1871: Shiroishi village was founded. *1873: Kamishiroishi village split off from Shiroishi village. *1902: Shiroishi vil ...

, linking the

Muroran Main Line The is a railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), between Oshamambe Station in Oshamambe and Iwamizawa Station in Iwamizawa, approximately paralleling the coast of Iburi Subprefecture. There also is a branc ...

and

Hakodate Main Line The is a railway line connecting the cities of Hakodate and Asahikawa via Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan. It is one of the trunk lines operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The Sawara Line, a 35 km loop line from Ōnuma to Mo ...

. There also is a branch line to

New Chitose Airport is an international airport located south-southeast of Chitose and Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, Japan, serving the Sapporo metropolitan area. By both traffic and land area, it is the largest airport in Hokkaidō. It is adjacent to Chitose Air Ba ...

Service outline

The line forms part of the trunk route between Sapporo and Southern Hokkaido. As such, '' Hokuto'' limited express trains run between

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

and

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

once every 1 to 2 hours, as well as the ''

Suzuran is a limited express train service operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) between and in Hokkaido, Japan. The current limited express service was introduced in July 1992, but the name was first used from 1956 for an express servi ...

'' limited express between Sapporo and

Muroran is a city and port located in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Iburi Subprefecture. As of February 29, 2012, the city has an estimated population of 93,716, with 47,868 households and a population density of . The ...

. The section between Sapporo and Minami-Chitose is also a part of the trunk route between Sapporo and eastern Hokkaido. The limited express trains '' Ōzora'' and ''

Super Tokachi The is a limited express train service between and via the Hakodate and Nemuro Main Lines in Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). As of November 2013, there are five trains per day running in both directions, wi ...

'' run through. The rapid trains ''Special Rapid Airport'' and ''Rapid Airport'' run approximately once every 12 minutes, functioning as the

airport rail link An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city by mainline or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover, or light rail. Direct links operate straight to the airport terminal, while ...

between

New Chitose Airport Station is a railway station of Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). It is located beneath the Domestic Terminal building of New Chitose Airport in Chitose, Hokkaido, Japan. Lines The station is served by the Chitose Line. Layout Underground statio ...

and Sapporo or

Otaru is a city and port in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces Ishikari Bay and the Sea of Japan, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular to ...

. Since the Chitose Line goes through the most urbanized area in Hokkaido, there are roughly 3 to 4 local train services per hour.

Former services

There were sleeper trains between

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island s ...

and

, such as the ''

Hokutosei The was a limited express sleeping car train service in Japan which operated between Ueno Station in Tokyo and Sapporo Station in the northern island of Hokkaido, taking approximately 16½ hours. It was operated jointly by East Japan R ...

'', '' Cassiopeia'', '' Twilight Express'', and ''

Hamanasu ''Rosa rugosa'' (rugosa rose, beach rose, Japanese rose, Ramanas rose, or letchberry) is a species of rose native to eastern Asia, in northeastern China, Japan, Korea and southeastern Siberia, where it grows on beach coasts, often on sand ...

''.

Station list

:SRA: Special Rapid Airport :RA: Rapid Airport :L: Local :All rapid trains stop at stations signed "+", some at "◌", and all skip stations marked "-". Local trains stop at most stations but some skip stations signed "◌".

Airport Branch Line

Closed station

* H15 : Closed since 4 March 2017, now a signal base.

Rolling stock

721 series The is an AC electric multiple unit (EMU) operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) on Sapporo area suburban services in Hokkaido, Japan since 1988. Design The trains were built jointly by Hitachi, JR Hokkaido (Naebo Factory), Kawas ...

EMUs * 731 series EMUs *

733 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) on suburban services in the Sapporo area of Hokkaido, Japan, since 1 June 2012. Variants * 733-0 series: 3-car sets operated since June 2012 * ...

EMUs *

735 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type built in 2010 and operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) on suburban services in the Sapporo area in Hokkaido, Japan, since May 2012. Design The 735 series is intended as an experim ...

EMUs File:JR Hokkaido 721 series EMU 003.JPG, A 721 series EMU on the Chitose Line, June 2008 File:JR Hokkaido 731.jpg, A 731 series EMU on the Chitose Line, July 2006 File:733 B104 Chitose Line 20140209.jpg, A 733 series EMU on the Chitose Line, February 2014 File:JR HOKKAIDO EC735 A-101 TRAIN.jpg, 735 series EMUs, May 2012

History

The entire line opened on 21 August 1926.

Duplication

The Chitose-Eniwa section was double-tracked in September 1965, and extended to Kitahiroshima in September 1966. The Chitose-Uenae section was double-tracked in 1968, and extended to Numanohata in 1969. The Shiraishi-Kitahiroshima section was double-tracked in 1973, completing the work to double-track the line.

Electrification

Chitose Station and its approaches were elevated in 1980, and the line was electrified in association with the opening of the nearby Chitose airport. The Minami-chitose—Chitose Airport branch opened as an electrified line in 1992.

References

External links

* {{authority control Rail transport in Hokkaido Lines of Hokkaido Railway Company Airport rail links in Japan Railway lines opened in 1926