The is a railway line that links

Odawara Station is a junction and interchange railway station located in the city of Odawara, Kanagawa, Japan, operated jointly by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tōkai). It is a gateway station to the Hakone ar ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

and

Hamamatsuchō Station is a railway station in Hamamatsuchō, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and also by Tokyo Monorail. Lines Hamamatsuchō Station is served by two JR East lines: the circular Yamanote Line and Keihin-Tōho ...

in central Tōkyō, Japan.

Summary

The Tōkaidō Freight Line was first opened on 20 December 1914 between Shiodome Freight Terminal and Shinagawa Station, using the alignment of the first railway line ever to be built in Japan, the Tokyo-Yokohama Railway, originally opened in 1872. The Tōkaidō Freight Line runs parallel to the immediate west of the

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

and Tōkaidō passenger lines from

to Higashi-Totsuka Station, where it veers west via Yokohama Hazawa freight station and long tunnels bypassing

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

. Near

Tsurumi Station is a railway station in Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Tsurumi Station is an interchange between the Keihin-Tōhoku Line and the Tsurumi Line (of which it is a terminus ...

, the bypass rejoins the main passenger route for a short distance, and has connections to the freight-only to

Sakuragichō Station is an interchange passenger railway station located in Naka-ku, Yokohama, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the Yokohama Municipal Subway. Lines Sakuragichō Station is served by the Negishi Line from to in Kanagawa ...

, the Hinkaku Line and

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 ...

. The freight line then curves east, briefly sharing tracks with the Nambu Branch Line between and stations, then veers north past Kawasaki freight station, under the entrance to

Haneda Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

northward to the Tokyo Freight Terminal. The line north from here, currently dormant, continues to

alongside a branch of the

Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the Sanyo Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opened in 1964, ...

used to move empty

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

to and from a nearby depot. Beyond Hamamatsuchō Station the Tōkaidō Freight Line also continued to Shibaura Station (located on a branch line), the

Shiodome Freight Terminal was a freight terminal of the Japanese National Railways (JNR) in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The freight terminal was built on the site of the original which served as the first railway terminal of Tokyo between 1872 and 1914. History Shimbashi Stat ...

(the site of the original

Shimbashi Station is a major interchange railway station in Tokyo's Minato, Tokyo, Minato Ward, located centrally and a 10-minute walk from the Ginza shopping district, directly south of Tokyo station. Station layout JR East The JR East station consists of thre ...

) and eventually to Tokyo Market Station (located at the

Tsukiji fish market is a major tourist attraction for both domestic and overseas visitors in Tokyo. The area contains retail markets, restaurants, and associated restaurant supply stores. Before 2018, it was the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the wor ...

). The Tokyo Market Station closed in 1984, followed by Shibaura Station in 1985 and Shiodome Freight Terminal in 1986. The latter dormant section was closed in the 1990s to enable construction of the

Toei Ōedo Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). It commenced full operations on December 12, 2000; using the Japanese calendar this reads "12/12/12" as the year 2000 equals Heisei 12. T ...

subway near Hamamatsuchō Station. Until 1980, the Tōkaidō Freight Line included the Hinkaku Line until it was converted for passenger use as part of the

Yokosuka Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The Yokosuka Line connects Tokyo Station with in Yokosuka, Kanagawa. Officially, the name Yokosuka Line is assigned to the 23.9 km segment between an ...

Takashima Line

The freight-only Takashima Line is a branch of the Tōkaidō Freight Line between

and

, giving access for freight trains to and from the

Negishi Line The Negishi Line ( ja, 根岸線, ) is a Japanese railway line which connects Yokohama and Ōfuna stations. It is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Freight trains also operate on this line, and it is essential for the southern ...

. It branches off from Tsurumi Station and ends at Sakuragichō Station in Yokohama, with a branch between Tsurumi and Sakuragichō leading off to Shinkō Station located at Pier 4 of the Port of Kawasaki. File:Takashimasen.JPG, Takashima Line tracks, June 2010

Future developments

Sōtetsu connections

The following lines are under construction by

Sagami Railway The , or , is a private railway company operating three lines in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of holding company Sotetsu Holdings, Inc. Sotetsu Holdings is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange; 6.58% of it is owned ...

(Sōtetsu) and the

Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

: * a 2.7 km new underground line, called the , connecting Nishiya Station on the

Sagami Railway Main Line Sagami may refer to: * Sagami, an 11th-century ''waka'' poet *Sagami Province, an old province in Japan *Sagami River, a river in Kanagawa and Yamanashi *Sagami Bay, a bay south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshū *Sagami Line The is a railwa ...

with the Tōkaidō Freight Line. The line, initially expected to be completed by 2015, now pushed back to 2019, will enable direct passenger services from Sōtetsu lines to the

Saikyō Line The Saikyō Line ( ja, 埼京線, ) is a Japanese railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Ōsaki Station in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and Ōmiya Station in Saitama Prefecture. The line's name is an abbreviation o ...

which runs across central Tokyo via the

. The line eventually opened on 30 November 2019.

Haneda Airport connection

Since 2000 there have been proposals to use part of the line for passenger access to

, which is located just south of the Tokyo Freight Terminal. JR East announced in 2013, after the award of the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, that it was considering using the disused part of the freight line as a passenger connection between the

Yamanote Line The Yamanote Line ( ja, 山手線, Yamanote-sen) is a loop service in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban c ...

corridor (near

Tamachi Station is a railway station in the Tamachi neighborhood of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is served by the circular Yamanote Line and the Keihin-Tōhoku Line. All trains stop at this station. Mita Stat ...

) and Haneda by building a new tunnel between Tokyo Freight Terminal and the airport. In 2014, JR indicated that the line may be connected to the Ueno-Tokyo Line to allow through access to the Tohoku Main Line, and/or to 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 ...

for through service to the

Saikyo Line Saikyo may refer to: *Saikyō Line, a Japanese railway line in the Tokyo metropolitan area *''Saikyō Maru'', a Japanese ship involved in the Battle of the Yalu River (1894) *Western Capital (disambiguation) Western Capital may refer to: China ...

and/or

Keiyo Line :''Keiyo may also refer to Keiyo, a district in Kenya, ''Keiyo Line'' a railway line in Japan or Elgeyo escarpment'' The Elgeyo (also known as Keiyo) are an ethnic group who are part of the larger Kalenjin ethnic group of Nilotic origin. They ...

. Although both JR and the Tokyo government have indicated that improved Haneda access is a high priority, JR has indicated that the connection and necessary line upgrades will take around ten years to complete and are unlikely to be completely ready for the 2020 Olympics.

Route data

Distances: *Tōkaidō Freight Branch Line (

- Tokyo Freight Terminal -

Hama-Kawasaki Station is a junction passenger railway station in Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) with a freight depot operated by the Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) Lines Hama-Kawas ...

): 20.6 km * Nambu Branch Line (

- Hatchonawate Station): 3.0 km *Tōkaidō Freight Branch Line (

Hatchōnawate Station is an interchange passenger railway station located in Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the private railway operator Keikyū. Lines The station is served by the Ke ...

): 2.3 km *Tōkaidō Freight Branch Line (Tsurumi Station - Yokohama Hazawa Freight Terminal - Higashi-Totsuka Station): 16.0 km *Tōkaidō Line (Higashi-Totsuka Station -

): 47.2 km *Double track except for short links near the Nambu Line Branch

History

* 20 December 1914: The line opens between Shiodome Freight Terminal and Shinagawa Station, reusing the 1872 alignment of the Tokyo-Yokohama Railway. * 1 May 1918: The section between Kawasaki and Hama-Kawasaki (4.35 km) opens.

opens. * 21 June 1964: The line is electrified between Hama-Kawasaki and Shiohama Misao. * 1966:

JNR The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

announces the construction of a dedicated freight line between Totsuka and Tsurumi, bypassing

Yokohama Station is a major interchange railway station in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. It is the busiest station in Kanagawa Prefecture and the fifth-busiest in the world as of 2013, serving 760 million passengers a year. Lines Yokohama Station is served by the ...

. It generated howls of protest from residents. * 1 October 1973: Tokyo Freight Terminal opens. * 1 March 1976: The line between Tsurumi and Hama-Kawasaki (5.3 km) opens. * 1 October 1979: The line between Tsurumi and Totsuka via Yokohama Hazawa (20.2 km) opens. * 1 October 1980: The Hinkaku Line is also used for passengers, as the Tōkaidō Line and

are separated, Higashi-Totsuka Station opens. * 10 March 1990: Shiohama Misao Freight Terminal is renamed Kawasaki Freight Terminal. * 1 October 1996: The line between Shinagawa and Hamamatsuchō (3.7 km) is closed. * 30 January 1998: The line from Tokyo Freight Terminal to

is closed for construction of the

subway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tōkaidō Freight Line Tōkaidō Main Line 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1918