Railwa Railway Operators Railway Operators in Japan 7 Southern Kanto Region Shuichi Takashima and roads and railways were improved motor vehicles can take a short cut under Overview of Region and constructed at a rapid rate when the and over the Bay via the 15.1-km Tokyo economy expanded after WWII. As a Bay Aqua Line combined bridge and Tokyo Bay stretches south from Tokyo. result, new housing spread through much tunnel opened in 1997. However, all rail There are bedroom communities on both of the prefecture and many residents now traffic must take the long way around the sides of the Bay, as well as in the commute from Kanagawa to Tokyo on a Bay through Tokyo. neighbouring prefectures of Kanagawa to daily basis. the southwest and Chiba to the southeast. Across the Bay in Chiba Prefecture, y Kanagawa is far more developed than bedroom communities and coastal Overview of Rail Network Chiba, with a population density of 3488 industrial zones began developing in the per km2 in an area of about 2400 km2. 1950s. At about 5200 km2, the prefecture The configuration of Kanto’s rail network Yokohama, the prefectural capital, quickly is larger than Kanagawa but it has a lower is basically major lines radiating from Operators became the nation’s most important port population density of 1148 per km2. Many Tokyo to suburban satellite cities, and after Japan opened its doors to foreign commuters live in Chiba City, the secondary lines linking different parts of trade in the 19th century. Yokohama is a prefectural capital in the northern part of the radial lines. large city with its own centre of gravity, the prefecture. The southern Boso In Kanagawa Prefecture, the most but it has also developed into a major Peninsula is sparsely populated. Some important of these radial lines run from bedroom community for Tokyo. The city’s trains from the extremity of the peninsula Tokyo to Yokohama fairly close to the Bay. population of about 3.5 million makes it offer direct connections to Tokyo but not This rail corridor is heavily used—just the the largest municipality in the country. many commuters travel that far. JR East tracks alone make up three lines. The bayside area slightly south of today’s The two prefectures face each other across Keihin Electric Express Railway (Keikyu) Yokohama Station was developed first, Tokyo Bay. Ferries take people across and also operates in this corridor with tracks Railway Lines in Southern Kanto Region JR Lines A Tokaido Shinkansen Omiya B Ito Line C Tokaido main line Tachikawa D Yokosuka Line Hachioji Shinjuku Tokyo E Negishi Line Tama Center SShibuyahibuya F Yokohama Line Hashimoto SShinagawahinagawa G Nambu Line H SSagami-onoagami-ono H Sagami Line KawasakiKawasaki Chiba CChuohuo I Tsurumi Line RinkanRinkan J Uchibo Line Ebina Goi YokohamaYokohama K SakuragichoSakuragicho Kururi Line L Sotobo Line Daiyuzan SShinhin SSugitaugita FFujisawaujisawa Gora Ofuna ChigasakiChigasaki Kanazawa-hakkeiKanazawa-hakkei Kisarazu KKatase-atase- KamakuraKamakura Private Lines OdawaraOdawara enoshimaenoshima YYokosukaokosuka 1 Izukyu Corporation SShinhin ZZushiushi UUragaraga Kazusa-nakano KKurihamaurihama 2 Izu-Hakone Railway Kazusa-kameyama 3 Kominato Railway MisakiguchiMisakiguchi Ohara 4 Isumi Railway Mishima 5 AtamiAtami Odakyu Electric Railway 6 Tokyu Corporation AAwa-kamogawawa-kamogawa 7 Keihin Electric Express Railway Ito Shuzenji 8 Sagami Railway 9 Enoshima Electric Railway Shinkansen line 0 Hakone Tozan Railway JR Lines - Shonan Monorail Izukyu-Izukyu- = Yokohama New Transit Other private lines shimodashimoda (Seaside Line) 50 Japan Railway & Transport Review 33 • December 2002 Copyright © 2002 EJRCF. All rights reserved. running parallel to the JR lines. The to Tokyo compared to Kanagawa and the main line. Local trains stop at many northern end of Keikyu’s line begins at southern part of the peninsula has only stations not served by express services on Sengakuji near Shinagawa in south Tokyo local rail services. the Tokaido main line. Although the and passes through Yokohama to majority of passengers on the Keihin terminate on the Miura Peninsula in Tohoku Line are not travelling long southern Kanagawa Prefecture. The Suburban Rail Links to Tokyo distances, most trains offer through Tokyu Corporation (Tokyu), operates the services to Omiya in Saitama Prefecture, Toyoko Line from its Shibuya terminal in JR East north of Tokyo. When running south, they south Tokyo to Yokohama, serving more The 589.5-km Tokaido main line from switch from the Tokaido main line to the inland areas than the other lines. Tokyo Station to Kobe (Hyogo Prefecture) coastal Negishi Line at Yokohama and Some other lines from Tokyo, such as the is the most important rail link in the then link up with the Tokaido main line Odakyu Electric Railway, run through the southern Kanto region. JR East operates again at Ofuna. middle of Kanagawa Prefecture. It begins the 104.6-km section from Tokyo Station at Shinjuku and runs southwest, bisecting to Atami. The JR East section connects Keihin Electric Express Railway the prefecture. Another line, the Den’en with other heavily used lines some (Keikyu) Toshi Line operated by Tokyu, begins at operated by JR East and others by private Keikyu’s main line runs from Shinagawa Shibuya and terminates at Chuo Rinkan railways. Commercial districts and through Yokohama to the Miura in central Kanagawa. suburbs have spread further and further Peninsula in southeast Kanagawa The Tokaido Shinkansen (operated by JR west along these lines and it is not unusual Prefecture. The line has a few short spur Central) also runs through the interior of for commuters to travel more than 50 km lines. The 22.2-km Shinagawa– the prefecture with stations at Shin to Tokyo. Yokohama section runs parallel to (and Yokohama and Odawara. An increasing JR East’s 23.9-km Yokosuka Line between competes with) the other JR East tracks. number of commuters are taking Ofuna and Kurihama is considered a On the Miura Peninsula, it competes with shinkansen trains, expanding Tokyo’s branch of the Tokaido main line. Before JR East’s Yokosuka Line. Keikyu’s northern commuting zone as far as Shizuoka WWII, it was used mainly to transport terminus at Sengakuji is fairly close to Prefecture in the west. supplies for the navy at Yokosuka Port. Tokyo’s inner city and Keikyu began As mentioned above, the radial lines are After the war, it took on a new role, offering through services to the inner city linked by other lines. The postwar carrying workers and students. Even on the Asakusa Line subway tracks economic period was a time of massive before the war, trains from Yokosuka belonging to the Tokyo Metropolitan housing projects, with residential districts offered direct services to Tokyo on the Government (TMG) in 1968. spreading rapidly westwards from central Tokaido main line, but increasing traffic Keikyu was the first electric railway in the Kanagawa Prefecture. New lines were led to the construction of a parallel line, Kanto region and began operations using built and existing ones improved to serve and since 1980 all trains on the Yokosuka electric trams in 1899. Services were slow this burgeoning population. Line have been using the new track. This but incremental improvements to both The Hakone–Izu region—one of Tokyo’s explains why the track between Ofuna and infrastructure and rolling stock kept the most popular tourist destinations—is Tokyo is considered part of the Tokaido line competitive with the parallel Tokaido located at the southwestern tip of main line despite the separate tracks; the main line. Today, the fastest rapid limited Kanagawa Prefecture and the eastern part 70.4-km section between Tokyo Station express takes around 17 minutes from of neighbouring Shizuoka Prefecture; and Kurihama is generally called the Shinagawa to Yokohama, almost exactly trains to these areas are also used for Yokosuka Line. There are also some direct the same as trains on JR East’s Tokaido tourism. Limited expresses offer frequent connections beyond Tokyo Station on the main line. services from Tokyo, and other local Sobu Line to Chiba Prefecture with a few One of Keikyu’s spur lines offers access railways have been constructed to serve services ending at the tip of the Boso to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda the tourist business. Peninsula. Airport) in southeast Tokyo. The Other radial lines stretch from Tokyo into The Tokyo–Yokohama section of the competing Tokyo Monorail opened in Chiba Prefecture, following the coast of Tokaido corridor also accommodates the 1964, and became the most important the Boso Peninsula, and spur lines have Keihin Tohoku Line, another JR East carrier for airport users (for more details, also been built. However, there are far service. Although the line has its own see JRTR 30, pp. 42–53). Although fewer workers and students commuting track, it is also considered part the Tokaido Keikyu’s early Kuko Line offered services Copyright © 2002 EJRCF. All rights reserved. Japan Railway & Transport Review 33 • December 2002 51 Railway Operators Size and Financial Status of non-JR Private Railways in Southern Kanto Number of Capital Operating Revenues Operating Expenses Operating Profits/Losses Ordinary Headquaters Route-km Employees (¥million) (¥million) (¥million) (¥million) Profits/ Losses Railway Non-railway Railway Non-railway Railway Non-railway (¥million) Keihin Electric Express Railway Tokyo 87.0 2,390 31,999 72,112 79,373 57,810 75,311 14,302 4,062 6,845 Tokyu Coporation Tokyo 102.1 3,105 107,543 127,990 164,509 95,628