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Shibayama Railway Line
A Keisei 3600 series EMU in Shibayama Railway livery in March 2007
Overview
OwnerShibayama Railway Co., Ltd.
(Narita International Airport Corporation)
LocaleChiba Prefecture, Japan
Termini
Stations2
Service
SystemFunctionally part of Keisei Electric Railway network
Operator(s)Shibayama Railway, by Keisei Electric Railway crews
Rolling stockKeisei 3500 series EMU
Daily ridership1,419 (2023)[1]
History
OpenedOctober 22, 2002
Technical
Line length2.2 km (1.4 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification1,500 V DC
Operating speed85 km/h (35 km/h)
Route map

Legend
Keisei Higashi-Narita Line
0.0
 KS44 Higashi-Narita
↓Shibayama Railway Line
Keisei Main Line/Keisei Narita Airport Line
Narita Line
KS42 Narita Airport
2.2
 SR01 Shibayama-Chiyoda

The Shibayama Railway Company, Ltd. (芝山鉄道株式会社, Shibayama Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha) is a third-sector railway company in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It operates Japan's shortest independent railway line,[2] the 2.2 km (1.4 mi) Shibayama Railway Line between Higashi-Narita Station and Shibayama-Chiyoda Station, largely underneath Narita International Airport.

Narita International Airport Corporation owns a 68.40% majority stake in Shibayama Railway as of March 2019.[3] The remainder is owned by Keisei Electric Railway, Japan Airlines, the prefectural government, and others.[4]

Stations and operation[edit]

Although the Shibayama Railway is an independent operator, it functionally resembles an extension of the Keisei Electric Railway; the line is operated using equipment and crews leased from Keisei, and the company has no crews directly employed by the company because of this.[5] However, IC cards are not accepted on this route, unlike most of Tokyo. Most Shibayama Railway trains provide local service to Keisei Narita Station past Higashi-Narita; a few local trains run through to Keisei Ueno Station, and express trains operate during rush hours through the Keisei Line and Toei Asakusa Line to terminate at Nishi-Magome Station, or Haneda Airport Station on the Keikyū Airport Line.[6] The 92.8 km (57.7 mi) Haneda run goes through tracks of 6 different rail lines and requires coordination among 4 operators, namely, Shibayama, Keisei Main, Keisei Oshiage, Toei Asakusa, Keikyū Main, and finally Keikyū Airport Line. During the run, the sign on the departure board always list the destination as (Higashi Narita) Shibayama to avoid confusing the customers.[7] The adult fare between Higashi-Narita and Shibayama-Chiyoda is 220 yen.[6]

  • A series 5300 of Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation listing the destination as "(Higashi Narita) Shibayama"
    A series 5300 of Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation listing the destination as "(Higashi Narita) Shibayama"
No. Station Japanese Distance Transfers Location
Between
stations 		Total
KS44 Higashi-Narita 東成田 - 0.0 km (0 mi) Keisei Higashi-Narita Line Narita, Chiba
SR01 Shibayama-Chiyoda 芝山千代田 2.2 km (1.4 mi) 2.2 km (1.4 mi) Shibayama, Chiba

History[edit]

Shibayama Railway was founded on May 5, 1981, and received an operating permit on June 24, 1988 for the 2.0 km line between Higashi-Narita Station and Seibijyō-Mae Station (later renamed to Shibayama-Chiyoda) to use dedicated small train sets between the current Shibayama-Chiyoda Station site and a temporary station adjacent to Higashi-Narita Station.[8] In 1990, the railway applied for a permit to operate through service with the Keisei Railway from Keisei Narita Station; construction of a through link was approved in 1996.[9] The Narita Shinkansen plan came into a permanent halt around this time, and the Keisei Electric Railway has built a new line towards the terminal of Narita International Airport using the abandoned buildings for the plan, making the route from Keisei Narita Station to the old Narita International Airport station a new line named Keisei Higashi-Narita Line.[10] The line began construction in 1998. However, the completion of the railway line was delayed due to a part of residents in the planned route refused to sell their land as they were against the project of Narita International Airport itself. In 2000, the company was forced to extend the line by a further 0.2 km to avoid passing through the private lands and the name of the new station was chosen to be Shibayama-Chiyoda.[11] The line opened for operation on October 22, 2002.[8]

The construction of the railway was strongly demanded by Shibayama residents,[2] and was supported by the Transport Ministry and Narita Airport Authority in order to appease residents of the area immediately east of Narita International Airport, as the airport property cut off Shibayama's access to Narita City and points west.[12]

There was a proposal to extend the line into Chiyoda until 1996. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has recommended studying an extension into central Shibayama Town.[13]

Line[edit]

The company operates a single line.

The Shibayama Railway Line is recognized and advertises itself as the shortest railway line in Japan. However, the Kurama-dera Cable is the shortest cable car line in Japan with the length of 207 meters[14], and Seinō Railway operates the shortest freight-only railway line at the length of 2.0 km.[15]

Rolling stock[edit]

Current[edit]

Keisei 3500 series used by the Shibayama Railway

The company currently uses Keisei 3500 series leased from Keisei Electric Railways since 2013. In 2022, the train's wrapping was changed to use red and green stripes, resembling the former 3600 series used on the line.[16]

Former[edit]

The company formerly used Keisei 3600 series leased from Keisei Electric Railways during its initial time until 2013, which was given back to the company. During it's time as a rolling stock used by the Shibayama Railway, the train color was changed from the Keisei's blue and red color scheme to red and green, the color used in the company's logo.[17]

Location[edit]

Railway line seen from airplane (2019)

References[edit]

  1. ^ 乗降人員表, Shibayama Railway
  2. ^ a b 地域振興, Narita Airport Authority
  3. ^ NAA Annual Report Archived 2010-06-13 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ 国土交通省鉄道局監修『鉄道要覧』令和元年度版、電気車研究会・鉄道図書刊行会
  5. ^ "芝山鉄道線の運転について | 乗りもの質問箱". 乗りものニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  6. ^ a b Timetable
  7. ^ "【日本一短い鉄道】始発駅と終着駅の1区間しかない千葉県の『芝山鉄道』に乗ってみた". ロケットニュース24 (in Japanese). 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  8. ^ a b 会社概要, Shibayama Railway
  9. ^ "京成成田駅乗り入れ 「芝山鉄道」運輸省が認可”. 千葉日報 (千葉日報社). (14 April 1990)
  10. ^ "知る人ぞ知る「第3の成田空港駅」京成東成田駅に行ってみた 賑わう第1・第2駅と別世界". 乗りものニュース (in Japanese). 2019-12-02. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  11. ^ "「日本一短い鉄道」芝山鉄道の開業から20年 誕生の理由と「将来」は". 乗りものニュース (in Japanese). 2022-10-26. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  12. ^ 地域と共生する空港づくり大綱, Narita Airport Authority, 1998.
  13. ^ 首都圏整備計画, MLIT, September 2006
  14. ^ "日本唯一、お寺が運営する鉄道 距離も日本最短 しかし「乗ることを勧められない」ワケ". 乗りものニュース (in Japanese). 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  15. ^ "OpenId transaction in progress". plus.chunichi.co.jp. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  16. ^ "芝山鉄道 | 日本一短い鉄道". 芝山鉄道オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  17. ^ "京成電鉄の車両・列車(2) 3600形、かつて芝山鉄道にリースされた編成も". マイナビニュース (in Japanese). 2015-01-14. Retrieved 2024-06-26.

External links[edit]

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibayama_Railway_Line

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