Shibayama Railway

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

Shibayama Railway Line
A Keisei 3600 series EMU in Shibayama Railway livery in March 2007
Overview
OwnerShibayama Railway Co., Ltd.
LocaleChiba Prefecture, Japan
TerminiHigashi-Narita
Shibayama-Chiyoda
Stations2
Service
SystemFunctionally part of Keisei Electric Railway network
Operator(s)Shibayama Railway, by Keisei Electric Railway crews
Rolling stockKeisei 3600 series EMU
Daily ridership2,458 (2008)[1]
History
OpenedOctober 22, 2002
Technical
Line length2.2 km
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification1,500 V DC
Route map
0.0 KS44 Higashi-Narita
↓Shibayama Railway Line
2.2 SR01 Shibayama-Chiyoda

Narita International Airport Corporation owns a 68.39% majority stake in Shibayama Railway as of July 2009.[3] The remainder is owned by Keisei Electric Railway, Japan Airlines, the prefectural government, and others.

Stations and operation

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 Shibayama-Chiyoda Station is designed to resemble a Keisei station. 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 at Haneda Airport Station on the Keikyū Airport Line.[4] The 92.8 km 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.

The adult fare between Higashi-Narita and Shibayama-Chiyoda is 190 yen.[4]

No. Station Japanese Distance (km) Transfers Location
Between
stations		 Total
KS44 Higashi-Narita 東成田 - 0.0 Keisei Higashi-Narita Line Narita, Chiba
SR01 Shibayama-Chiyoda 芝山千代田 2.2 2.2 Shibayama, Chiba

History

Shibayama Railway was founded on May 5, 1981, and received an operating permit on June 24, 1988 to use dedicated small train sets between the current Shibayama-Chiyoda Station site and a temporary station adjacent to Higashi-Narita Station.[5] 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, and the line opened for operation on October 22, 2002.[5]

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 Shibayamans' access to Narita City and points west.[6]

There are some proposals to extend the line beyond Shibayama-Chiyoda in the future. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has recommended studying an extension into central Shibayama Town.[7]

Location
Railway line seen from airplane (2019)

References
  1. 乗降人員表, Shibayama Railway
  2. 地域振興, Narita Airport Authority
  3. NAA Annual Report Archived 2010-06-13 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Timetable
  5. 会社概要, Shibayama Railway
  6. 地域と共生する空港づくり大綱, Narita Airport Authority, 1998.
  7. 首都圏整備計画, MLIT, September 2006
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