The is a railway line that links Odawara Station in

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 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 ...

and Tōkaidō passenger lines from Odawara Station to

Higashi-Totsuka Station is a passenger railway station located in Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Higashi-Totsuka Station is served by the Shōnan-Shinjuku Line and the Yokosuka Line. It ...

, 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 ...

. Near Tsurumi Station, 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 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 ...

and Musashino Line. The freight line then curves east, briefly sharing tracks with the

Nambu Branch 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 and ...

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 primar ...

northward to the

Tokyo Freight Terminal is a railway freight terminal operated by Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) located in the Yashio district of Shinagawa, Tokyo, east of Omori and north of Haneda Airport. It is the largest rail freight terminal in Japan and principally ...

. The line north from here, currently dormant, continues to Hamamatsuchō Station 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 196 ...

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 ...

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 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 three surface platf ...

) 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 and ...

Takashima Line

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

, giving access for freight trains to and from the Negishi Line. 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 A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

. 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 is a junction passenger railway station located in Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Sagami Railway (Sotetsu). Lines Nishiya Station is served by the Sōtetsu Main Line, and is located ...

on the Sagami Railway Main Line 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 of ...

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, 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 ...

corridor (near Tamachi Station) 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 for through service to the Saikyo Line and/or Keiyo Line. 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 ( Hamamatsuchō Station -

- Hama-Kawasaki Station): 20.6 km *

( Hama-Kawasaki Station - Hatchonawate Station): 3.0 km *Tōkaidō Freight Branch Line ( Hatchōnawate Station - Tsurumi Station): 2.3 km *Tōkaidō Freight Branch Line (Tsurumi Station - Yokohama Hazawa Freight Terminal -

): 16.0 km *Tōkaidō Line (Higashi-Totsuka Station - Odawara 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. Hama-Kawasaki Station opens. * 21 June 1964: The line is electrified between Hama-Kawasaki and Shiohama Misao. * 1966: JNR announces the construction of a dedicated freight line between Totsuka and Tsurumi, bypassing Yokohama Station. 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

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

to Hamamatsuchō Station 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