The is a railway line in

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the n ...

, Japan, operated by the

Keisei Railway The (stylized as K'SEI since 2001) is a major private railway in Chiba Prefecture and Tokyo, Japan. The name ''Keisei'' is the combination of the kanji 京 from and 成 from , which the railway's main line connects. The combination uses di ...

. The line (with direct services to and from the

Keisei Main Line {{Infobox rail line , name = Keisei Main Line , native_name = 京成本線 , native_name_lang = ja , color = 005aaa , logo = {{KSLS, KS, 50 , logo_width = , image = Keisei-Series3000-3042.jpg , image_width = 3 ...

and

Keisei Chiba Line The is a railway line in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway. It branches from the Keisei Main Line {{Infobox rail line , name = Keisei Main Line , native_name = 京成本線 ...

) starts from Chiba-Chūō Station and ends at Chiharadai Station.

Stations

* All trains are local trains that stop at every station.

History

The line was originally planned by Kominato Railway, which obtained the government license for the new line between Hon-Chiba Station in central Chiba and Amaariki Station on the existing Kominato Railway Line in December 1957. Following years of suspension of the project, in December 1975, the license was transferred to , which was jointly established by

Keisei Electric Railway The (stylized as K'SEI since 2001) is a major private railway in Chiba Prefecture and Tokyo, Japan. The name ''Keisei'' is the combination of the kanji 京 from and 成 from , which the railway's main line connects. The combination uses diffe ...

and the Kominato Railway receiving investment from local governments and other sources. By the 1970s, the need for the railway had been increasing as the development of Chiba Ichihara New Town was in progress along the planned route. The plan was changed to make connection with the

at Chiba-Chūō Station. Construction of the line began in August 1977 for the section between Chiba-Chūō Station and Chiharadai Station (10.91 km). Chiba Kyūkō opened the new line between Chiba-Chūō Station and Ōmoridai Station (4.2 km) on April 1, 1992. The line to Chiharadai Station was completed on April 1, 1995. The entire line is single track, but the formation allows for duplication if and when required. Due to its poor financial condition, Chiba Kyūkō was dissolved and the railway was sold to Keisei Electric Railway on October 1, 1998. Keisei named it the "Chihara Line".

References

{{Tokyo transit Chihara Railway lines in Chiba Prefecture Standard gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1992