The is a railway line in

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

, Japan, 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). It connects

Shinonoi Station is a train station in the city of Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, operated jointly by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), with the third-sector railway operating company Shinano Railway. Lines Shinanoi Station is one of the intermediate te ...

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

with

Shiojiri Station is a train station in the city of Shiojiri, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, operated jointly by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), with a freight terminal operated by the Japan Freight Railway Company. It is the operational border between JR East a ...

in Shiojiri. The line is a corridor between the

Shinetsu Main Line The Shinetsu Main Line ( ja, 信越本線, ) is a railway line, consisting of three geographically separated sections, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It was originally one continuous line connecting and via . S ...

and the

Chūō Main Line The , commonly called the Chūō Line, is one of the major trunk railway lines in Japan. It connects Tokyo and Nagoya, although it is the slowest direct railway connection between the two cities; the coastal Tōkaidō Main Line is slightly faste ...

. All the limited express trains on the Shinonoi Line come from the Chūō Main Line: ''

Azusa Azusa may refer to: Relating to California From a Native American language, likely Tongva language, Tongva ''Asuksagna:'' *Azusa, California, a city in the United States *Azusa Pacific University, a Christian-based institution in Azusa, California ...

'' from

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 '' Shinano'' from

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

Stations

All stations are located in

. :●: All trains stop, ▲: Some trains stop, ｜: non-stop, Rapid ''Misuzu'' stops at all stations

Passing loops and switchbacks

Hirase loop

A passing loop is located in

Azumino is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 97,761 in 39744 households. and a population density of 290 persons per km2. Its total area is . Etymology of Azumino Azumino is a combination of two wo ...

, known as . It has two tracks. * Coordinates:

Haneo switchback

A switchback is located in

, known as * Coordinates:

Kuwanohara switchback

A switchback is located in

, known as * Coordinates: File:Koukan5.svg, Hirase loop (A: to Matsumoto, B: to Tazawa) File:Railway Switchback 1.svg, Haneo switchback (A: to Kamuriki (uphill), B: to Obasute) File:Railway Switchback 1.svg, Kuwanohara switchback (A: to Obasute (uphill), B: to Inariyama)

Rolling stock

Limited express

E353 series The is a DC tilting electric multiple unit (EMU) train operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan on limited express services on the Chuo Main Line since December 2017. A pre-series train, consisting of one nine-car set ...

EMU (''Azusa'', ''Kaiji'') * 383 series EMU (''Wide View Shinano'')

Local

E127 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated on local services by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan since 1995, and also by the third-sector railway operator Echigo Tokimeki Railway since March 2015 as the ET127 ser ...

EMU *

211 series The is a suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced in 1985 by the Japanese National Railways (JNR). It is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). It was formerly operate ...

EMU *

313 series The is a DC suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) in Japan since 1999. The design was introduced from spring 1999 to replace older 113 and 115 series EMUs. Variants 313-0 ...

EMU

Former rolling stock

* 115 series EMU * 123 series EMU * 381 series EMU (''Shinano'') *

E257 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: ''Azu ...

EMU (''Azusa'', ''Kaiji'') *

E351 series The was a Tilting train, tilting electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on Chuo Main Line ''Azusa (train), Super Azusa'' limited express services in Japan from 1993 to 2018. First introduced in ...

EMU (''Super Azusa'')

History

The Shinonoi to Nishijo section opened in 1900, and was extended via Matsumoto to Shiojiri in 1902. The Shiojiri to Matsumoto section was double-tracked between 1961 and 1965, with the Tazawa to Akashina section double-tracked in 1966. The Akashina to Nishijo section was also double-tracked, but the original line was decommissioned in 1988. The Shiojiri to Matsumoto section was electrified in 1964/5, and extended to Shinonoi in 1973, CTC signalling being commissioned on the entire line the previous year.

Former connecting lines

* Matsumoto Station: The Chikuma Electric Railway opened a 5 km line, electrified at 600 V DC, to Asama Onsen in 1924. In 1958 the voltage was raised to 750 V DC, but the line closed in 1964.

References

{{East Japan Railway Company Lines Railway lines in Nagano Prefecture Lines of East Japan Railway Company 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railways with Zig Zags