The is a railway line connecting

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

in Japan, paralleling the edge of

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous a ...

. It is operated by the

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

(JR East). The line forms part of what JR East refers to as the around Tokyo, consisting of the Keiyō Line,

Musashino Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Tsurumi Station in Yokohama with Nishi-Funabashi Station in Chiba Prefecture, forming a 100.6 km unclosed loop around central Tokyo. Passenger operations ...

Nambu Line The Nambu Line ( ja, 南武線,) is a Japanese railway line which connects Tachikawa Station in Tachikawa, Tokyo and Kawasaki Station in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. For most of its length, it parallels the Tama River, the natural border between Tokyo an ...

, and

Yokohama Line The Yokohama Line ( ja, 横浜線, ) is a Japanese railway line of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) connecting Higashi-Kanagawa Station in Yokohama, Kanagawa and Hachiōji Station in Hachiōji, Tokyo. The line forms part of what JR Ea ...

. It provides the main rail access to the

Tokyo Disney Resort The (local nickname ''TDR'') is a theme park and vacation resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just east of Tokyo. The resort is fully owned and operated by The Oriental Land Company under a licence from The Walt Disney Company, who constru ...

and the

Makuhari Messe is a Japanese convention center outside Tokyo, located in the Mihama-ku ward of Chiba City, in the northwest corner of Chiba Prefecture. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is accessible by Tokyo's commuter rail system. ''Makuhari'' is the name of ...

exhibition center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

. The terminus at

Tokyo Station Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is ...

is located underground, some distance to the south of the main station complex approximately halfway to

Yūrakuchō Station is a railway station in the Yūrakuchō district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro. It is Tokyo Metro's fifteenth busiest station in 2016. Lines Yūrakuchō is ...

. This means transferring between other lines at Tokyo Station can take between 15 and 20 minutes. The name "Keiyō" is derived from the second character of the names of the locations linked by the line, and . It should not be confused with the

Keiō Line The is a 37.9-km railway line in western Tokyo, Japan, owned by the private railway operator Keiō Corporation. It connects Shinjuku, Tokyo, with the suburban city of Hachiōji. The Keiō Line is part of a network with interchanges and throug ...

, a privately operated commuter line in western Tokyo.

Services

* Keiyō Line "Local" (各駅停車 ''kakueki-teisha'')trains stop at all stations between Tokyo and Soga except Nishi-Funabashi. *

''Local'' through trains stop at all stations between Tokyo and Nishi-Funabashi before continuing to the Musashino Line. Some trains stop at Nishi-Funabashi, Minami-Funabashi, Shin-Narashino, and Kaihimmakuhari. * Keiyō Line "Rapid" (快速 ''kaisoku'') trains stop at Tokyo, Hatchōbori, Shin-Kiba, Maihama, Shin-Urayasu, Minami-Funabashi, Kaihimmakuhari, and all stops to Soga. * trains stop at Tokyo, Hatchōbori, Shin-Kiba, and Soga.

Station list

* All trains (except limited express services) stop at stations marked "●" and pass those marked "｜". Trains do not travel past those stations marked "∥". * For the ''

Wakashio The is a limited express train service in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It runs from to and on the Bōsō Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture. Station stops ''Wakashio'' services operate over the Keiyo Line and S ...

'' and '' Sazanami'' limited express services, see their respective articles.

New station development plan

A new station between

Shin-Narashino Station is a passenger railway station in the city of Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Shin-Narashino Station is served by the Keiyō Line and is 28.3 kilometers from the starting point of ...

and

Kaihimmakuhari Station is a passenger railway station located in Mihama-ku, Chiba city, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Kaihimmakuhari Station is served by the Keiyō Line and is the turnaround point for many loca ...

is under construction and scheduled to open in

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

of 2023.

Rolling stock

All Keiyō Line and Musashino Line rolling stock is based at the Keiyō Rolling Stock Center near

Keiyō Line

* 209-500 series 10-car EMUs (magenta stripe) (since October 2008) * E233-5000 series 10-car EMUs (magenta stripe) (since 1 July 2010)

Musashino Line through services

*209-500 series 8-car EMUs (orange/brown stripe) (since 4 December 2010) * E231-0 series 8-car EMUs (orange/brown stripe) (since November 2017) *

E231-900 series E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plur ...

8-car EMU (orange/brown stripe) (since 20 July 2020) File:Series209-500-Keiyo-Line.jpg, A Keiyo Line 209-500 series 10-car EMU File:Series-E233-5000 520F.jpg, A Keiyo Line E233-5000 series 10-car EMU File:Series 209-500-M71.jpg, A Musashino Line 209-500 series 8-car EMU File:Series-E231-0-MU4F.jpg, A Musashino Line E231-0 series 8-car EMU File:JR East E231-900 Series Keyo MU1.jpg, A Musashino Line E231-900 series 8-car EMU

Former rolling stock

Keiyō Line

103 series 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

4/6/10-car EMUs (sky blue livery) (from 1986 until November 2005) * 165 series 3-car EMU (x1) ''Shuttle Maihama'' (from 1990 until 1995) *

201 series 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...

10-car EMUs (sky blue livery) (from August 2000 until 20 June 2011) * 205-0 series 10-car EMUs (magenta stripe) (from March 1990 until 2011) *

E331 series The was an electric multiple unit (EMU) train introduced experimentally from 2007 on commuter services on the Keiyo Line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Only one trainset was built, and it differed significantly fro ...

14-car EMU (x1) (magenta stripe) (from March 2007 until 2011)

Musashino Line through services

Inter-running from the Musashino Line to the Keiyō Line commenced on 1 December 1988. *103 series 6-car (later 8-car) EMUs (orange livery) (from 1 December 1988 - 8 December 2005) *201 series 6-car EMUs (orange livery) (from 1 December 1988 - November 1996) *205-0 series 8-car EMUs (orange/brown stripe) (from December 1991 - October 2019) * 205-5000 series 8-car EMUs (orange/brown stripe) (from 2002 - 19 October 2020) File:L25 Tc103-574 640.jpg, A Keiyo Line 103 series EMU File:JRE-EC165-Shuttle-Maihama.jpg, A 165 series ''Shuttle Maihama'' EMU set, March 1990 File:201kei keiyou line.JPG, A Keiyo Line 201 series EMU, July 2010 File:Keiyo-205.jpg, A Keiyo Line 205-0 series EMU, April 2004 File:Keiyo-205_0.jpg, A Keiyo Line 205-0 series EMU, January 2009 File:JREast-E331.jpg, A Keiyo Line E331 series EMU, July 2006 File:103 set E34 Musashino Line Nishi-Kokubunji 20010808.jpg, A Musashino Line 103 series EMU, August 2001 File:Series205-0-M64.jpg, A Musashino Line 205-0 series EMU, December 2016 File:Series 205-5000-M16.jpg, A Musashino Line 205-5000 series EMU, March 2019

Timeline

History

The Keiyo Line was initially planned as a freight-only line. Its first section opened on 10 May 1975 as a 6.5 km link between the Chiba Freight Terminal (now the Mihama New Port Resort between Inagekaigan and Chibaminato Stations) and the freight yard next to

Soga Station is a junction railway station located in Chūō-ku, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is also freight depot for the Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) and the all-freight Keiyō ...

. Passenger service began on 3 March 1986 between and , and was extended eastward to Soga and westward to Shin-Kiba on 1 December 1988. The final section of the Keiyo Line between Tokyo and Shin-Kiba opened on 10 March 1990. The platforms at Tokyo Station were originally built to accommodate the

Narita Shinkansen The was a planned high-speed ''Shinkansen'' ("bullet train") line proposed to connect Narita International Airport with Tokyo Station. The project was abandoned in 1987, although parts of the planned route are used by the Keisei Narita Airport ...

, a planned (but never built) high-speed rail line between central Tokyo and

Narita International Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...

. Planners originally envisioned the Keiyo Line interfacing with the

Rinkai Line The is a railway line in Tokyo, Japan. It is the only line operated by the third-sector company Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit. It connects central Tokyo to the artificial islands of Aomi and Odaiba. The line is served by some trains on t ...

at Shin-Kiba, thus providing a through rail connection between Chiba and the Tokyo Freight Terminal in eastern

Shinagawa is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The Ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English. The Ward is home to ten embassies. , the Ward had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population density of 16,510 persons per km2. The total are ...

, and also completing the outer loop for freight trains around Tokyo formed by the

. This original plan would also allow through service with the Tokaido Main Line, allowing freight trains from central and western Japan to reach Chiba and points east. However, in the 1990s, as the artificial island of

Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially built in this area for defensive purposes in the 1850s. Reclaimed land offshore Shinagawa was dramatically expanded durin ...

began developing as a commercial and tourist area in the middle of the Rinkai Line route, the Rinkai Line was re-purposed for use as a passenger line. While there is a through connection between the Rinkai Line and the Keiyo Line, it is only used by passenger trains in charter service, usually carrying groups to the

Timeline

* 3 March 1986: First stage opened between and . * 1 December 1988: Second stage opened between and Minami-Funabashi, and between and . * 10 March 1990: Third stage opened between & Shin-Kiba; and the new Keiyo Line train, the

205 series 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

, was also introduced to the public. * 16 March 1991: '' Sazanami'' and ''

'' limited express services are rerouted via the Keiyo Line. * 2 July 1993: 255 series EMUs are introduced on ''View Sazanami'' and ''View Wakashio'' limited express services. * 16 October 2004:

E257-500 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated in Japan for limited express services by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and built jointly by Hitachi, Kinki Sharyo, and Tokyu Car Corporation. Variants * E257-0 series: '' ...

EMUs are introduced on ''Sazanami'' and ''Wakashio'' limited express services.

References

External links

Stations of the Keiyō Line
(JR East) {{DEFAULTSORT:Keiyo Line Lines of East Japan Railway Company Railway lines in Chiba Prefecture Railway lines in Tokyo 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1975