Tōkaidō Main Line


The Tōkaidō Main Line is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallels the line.
The term "Tōkaidō Main Line" is largely a holdover from pre-Shinkansen days; now various portions of the line have different names which are officially used by JR East, JR Central, and JR West. Today, there are no passenger trains that operate over the entire length of the line, so longer intercity trips require several transfers along the way.
The Tokaido Main Line is owned and operated by three JR companies:

JR East

This section is operated by East Japan Railway Company.
The Tokaido Main Line in the Greater Tokyo Area has local services, and also two rapid services called Rapid Acty and Commuter Rapid. It runs on dedicated tracks parallel to the Yamanote Line between Tokyo and Shinagawa, the Keihin-Tōhoku Line between Tokyo and Yokohama, and the Yokosuka Line between Yokohama and Ōfuna. Some Shōnan–Shinjuku Line trains share the segment south of Yokohama to Ōfuna and Odawara.
The Ueno–Tokyo Line, a JR East project, extended the services of the Utsunomiya Line, the Takasaki Line, and the Joban Line to Tokyo Station, allowing for through services to and from the Tokaido Line from March 2015.
Almost all trains along this section of the line have bi-level "Green Cars" with forward-facing seats, with each set of trains having 2 of them. Green Cars can be used after paying an additional fee.
Legend:
The Tokaido Line between Atami and Maibara is operated by JR Central, and covers the Tōkai region - Shizuoka Prefecture, Aichi Prefecture, and Gifu Prefecture.

Shizuoka Block

Nagoya Block Main Line

Branch lines

Both the Mino-Akasaka and Tarui branch lines separate from the Main Line at Minami-Arao junction, located 3.1 km west of Ōgaki Station.
Mino-Akasaka Branch Line
Tarui Branch Line
Between Ōgaki and Sekigahara, there is a 25 per mil grade. In 1944, a single track bypass was built to avoid this steep slope of the main line and the old westbound track was removed.

JR West

The western part of the Tōkaidō Main Line from Maibara to Kōbe is operated by JR West and forms the main trunk of the company's Urban Network in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area. Although the line is divided into three segments, known as the Biwako Line, JR Kyoto Line, and JR Kobe Line, they are part of a single contiguous network, with many services traversing multiple sections. The Biwako Line includes a segment of the Hokuriku Main Line. Some services on the Kosei, JR Takarazuka and Gakkentoshi lines run through onto the Tōkaidō Main Line.

Biwako Line

The section between Maibara and Kyoto is known as the Biwako Line. The line also includes the section of the Hokuriku Main Line between Maibara and Nagahama, where some Kyoto-bound trains originate.

JR Kyoto Line

The section between Kyoto and Osaka is known as the JR Kyoto Line. Trains from the Biwako and Kosei lines travel through onto the JR Kyoto Line and continue west towards the JR Kobe Line at Osaka.

JR Kobe Line

The westernmost section between Osaka and Kōbe is part of the JR Kobe Line, which continues west to on the Sanyō Main Line. Although Kōbe is the official terminus of the Tōkaidō Main Line, most trains continue to Nishi-Akashi, Himeji and beyond.

Limited express services

In addition to standard local, rapid, and special rapid service trains, the Tōkaidō Main Line also hosts a number of limited express services.

Daytime trains

Overnight trains on the Tōkaidō Line go from Tokyo to western Honshū and Shikoku.

JR East

The Tōkaidō route takes its name from the ancient road connecting the Kansai region with the Kantō region through the Tōkai region. Literally, it was the Tōkai road, or Road through Tōkai. The Tōkaidō Line does not follow the old road exactly, since the latter diverges at Nagoya toward the Mie Prefecture coastline; to follow it by train, the Kansai Main Line and Kusatsu Line would have to be followed from Nagoya to Kusatsu. The largest population centers in Japan are along this route - Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. These centers have grown to occupy an ever more dominant role in the country's government, financial, manufacturing and cultural life.
Historically, one of the first priorities of Japanese railway planners was to build a line from Tokyo to the Kansai region, either following the Tokaido route or the northern Nakasendō route. This decision remained unresolved as regional needs were addressed. The first railway in Japan was the line from Shinbashi to Sakuragicho in Yokohama, which opened in 1872; another segment of today's Tokaido Main Line, between Kyoto and Kobe, opened in 1877.
In 1883, the government decided to use the Nakasendo route, and construction of several segments commenced. Railways were opened between Ogaki and Nagahama and between Nagoya and Kisogawa in line with the Nakasendo plan. However, by 1886, it was clear that the Tokaido route would be more practical, and so the Nakasendo plan was abandoned.
The lines between Kisogawa and Ogaki, Yokohama and Kozu, and Hamamatsu and Obu were completed in 1887, and the first line from Tokyo to Kobe was completed in 1889, when Kozu and Hamamatsu were connected through the present-day Gotemba Line corridor, and the final segments were completed between Kasumigahara and Otsu. At the time, there was one Tokyo-Kobe train in each direction per day, taking over 20 hours each way.
The "Tokaido Line" name was formally adopted in 1895. In October 1895, following the Sino-Japanese War, through service to the Sanyo Railway began. Express service between Tokyo and Kobe began in 1896, sleeper service in 1900, and dining car service in 1901.
In 1906, all privately run main lines were nationalized under the newly created Japan Imperial Railway, which, at the time had a network of just over 7000 km. Automatic couplers were introduced on all freight wagons in 1926. In 1930, the first Tsubame express was introduced, reducing the Tokyo - Kobe travel-time to nine hours - a significant reduction from the twenty hours required in 1889 and fifteen in 1903.
Infrastructure improvements included the completion of double track on this route in 1913, and the opening of the 7.8 km long Tanna Tunnel, which shortened the route by omitting a detour round the mountains between Atami and Numazu. This was the last major change to the alignment of the route.
By the early 1950s the Tōkaidō Line had become the main transportation artery of Japan. Although it was only 3 percent of the railway system by length, it carried 24 percent of JNR's passenger traffic and 23 percent of its freight, and the rate of growth was higher than any other line in the country. By 1956 electrification was completed along the Tokyo-Osaka section and with the introduction of new Kodama trains, travel time was reduced to six and a half hours. The line became so popular that tickets regularly sold out within ten minutes of being put on sale, one month in advance of the travel date.
The capacity constraints on the Tokaido Main Line had been clear prior to World War II, and work started on a new standard gauge "bullet train" line in 1940. Intercity passenger traffic between Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka largely transferred to the Tōkaidō Shinkansen after it was completed in 1964. Since then, the Tokaido Main Line has been used as a commuter and freight line, serving a very small number of long-distance passenger trains.
Following the Hanshin earthquake on January 17, 1995, the line was shut down between Takatsuki and Kobe, with certain segments remaining impassable until April 1.

Former connecting lines

Kanagawa Prefecture