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 ...

, 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 diffe ...

. 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 at Keisei Tsudanuma Station is a junction passenger railway station in the city of N ...

) starts from

Chiba-Chūō Station is a railway station operated by the Keisei Electric Railway located in Chūō-ku, Chiba Japan. It is from the terminus of the Keisei Chiba Line at Keisei-Tsudanuma Station and is a terminal station for the Keisei Chihara Line. History Chiba ...

and ends at

Chiharadai Station is a passenger railway station in the city of Ichihara, Chiba, Japan, operated by the Keisei Electric Railway. Lines Chiharadai Station is a terminus of the Keisei Chihara Line, and is located 10.9 km from the opposing terminus of the li ...

Stations

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

History

The line was originally planned by

Kominato Railway The is a railway line in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator . It extends from the west coast of central Bōsō Peninsula (where it connects with the Uchibō Line at ) to in the town of Ōtaki, Chiba, Ōtaki (wh ...

, which obtained the government license for the new line between Hon-Chiba Station in central Chiba and

Amaariki Station is a railway station on the Kominato Line in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the Kominato Railway. Lines Amaariki Station is served by the 39.1 km Kominato Line, and lies 5.4 km from the western terminus of the line a ...

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