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Shibayama Railway

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Shibayama Railway Line
A Keisei 3500 series EMU in Higashi Narita Station in 2023
Overview
OwnerShibayama Railway Co., Ltd. (Narita International Airport Corporation)
LocaleChiba Prefecture, Japan
Termini
Stations2
Service
OperatorKeisei Electric Railway (under contract)
Rolling stockKeisei 3500 series EMU
Daily ridership1,419 (2023)[1]
History
OpenedOctober 22, 2002; 23 years ago (October 22, 2002)
Technical
Line length2.2 km (1.4 mi)
Number of tracks1
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 1,500 V DC
Operating speed85 km/h (53 mph)
Route map

Legend
km
Keisei Main Line
Keisei Narita Airport Line
JR East Narita Line
7.4
 KS40 Keisei Narita
↑ Keisei Higashi-Narita Line
KS41 Narita Airport Terminal 2·3
0
 KS44 Higashi-Narita
 ↓ Shibayama Railway
KS42 Narita Airport Terminal 1
2.2
 SR01 Shibayama-Chiyoda
This diagram:

The Shibayama Railway Company, Ltd.[a] is a third-sector railway company in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It operates the 2.2-kilometre (1.4 mi) Shibayama Railway Line between Higashi-Narita Station and Shibayama-Chiyoda Station, the shortest railway line in Japan. The company was founded on May 1, 1981. Construction of the line began in 1998, and the line opened on October 27, 2002.

As of March 2019, Narita International Airport Corporation held a majority stake in Shibayama Railway. Although the Shibayama Railway is an independent railway company, its line operates as an extension of the Keisei Higashi-Narita Line. A single trainset operates the service, running between Shibayama-Chiyoda Station and Keisei Narita Station via Higashi-Narita Station, with trains operating at approximately 40-minute intervals. Train operations are contracted to Keisei Electric Railway.

History

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The Shibayama Railway Company was founded on May 1, 1981. The company received an operating permit on June 24, 1988, to operate a 2.0-kilometre (1.2 mi) line between Shibayama-Chiyoda Station[b] and Higashi-Narita Station.[c][2] Smaller trains were initially planned for operation on the line. In 1990, following requests from local residents who wanted the possibility of through services to Tokyo, the company applied for permission to operate standard-sized trains. The application was approved two days later.[3][4] That year, the company also applied for permission to provide through service to Keisei Narita Station via Higashi-Narita Station, which was approved in 1996.[3]

The railway was developed as Narita International Airport embarked on an expansion project, in part to appease residents of Shibayama who had opposed the airport's original construction and complained that it had disrupted existing transportation routes and cut off parts of Shibayama from Narita City and other areas to the west.[5][6] The airport's original construction had been highly controversial and sparked the prolonged Sanrizuka Struggle. Narita International Airport Corporation provided substantial funding for construction of the railway as part of efforts to address these longstanding concerns.

On March 19, 1991, Keisei opened a new line providing direct rail access to Narita Airport using infrastructure originally constructed for the canceled Narita Shinkansen project. The former Narita Airport Station was renamed Higashi-Narita Station, and the route between Keisei Narita Station and Higashi-Narita became the Keisei Higashi-Narita Line.[7][8]

Construction of the Shibayama Railway Line began in 1998.[9] Construction was heavily delayed by difficulties acquiring land, and the planned route was extended by 0.2 km (220 yards) in 2000. The southern terminus, which had been provisionally named Seibijyō-Mae, was also named Shibayama-Chiyoda Station that year.[5] The line opened on October 27, 2002.[4]

The line opened with only one station, Shibayama-Chiyoda Station, on the southeastern edge of the airport complex. The station is in an area dominated by warehouses and airport-related offices and facilities and is several kilometers from central Shibayama, limiting its usefulness as a station for the town itself. A proposal to extend the line toward central Shibayama was made by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.[10]

Stations and operation

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Although the Shibayama Railway is an independent operator, its line functions as an extension of the Keisei Higashi-Narita Line, with all trains providing through service to lines operated by Keisei Electric Railway.[11] Keisei also provides the leased rolling stock and train crews used on the line.[12]

Unlike most Keisei-operated lines, IC cards are not accepted on the line, and fares must be paid using paper tickets.[13]

For most of the day, a single trainset operates the service, shuttling between Shibayama-Chiyoda Station and Keisei Narita Station via Higashi-Narita Station and providing through service on the Higashi-Narita Line, with trains operating at approximately 40-minute intervals. During the morning and evening rush hours, some trains provide through service to or from stations in Tokyo.[14]

Narita International Airport Corporation owns a 68.4% majority stake in Shibayama Railway as of March 2019. The remaining shares are held by Keisei Electric Railway, Japan Airlines, the Chiba prefectural government, and others.[15]

No. Station Distance in km (mi) Transfers Location
↑ Through-running to/from Keisei Narita via Icon for the Keisei Higashi-Narita Line. Higashi-Narita Line ↑
KS44 Higashi-Narita
東成田		 0 (0) Icon for the Keisei Higashi-Narita Line. Higashi-Narita Line (through service) Narita, Chiba
SR01 Shibayama-Chiyoda
芝山千代田		 2.2 (1.4) Shibayama, Chiba

Line

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The company operates a single line, the Shibayama Railway Line. The 2.2 km (1.4 mi) line connects Higashi-Narita and Shibayama-Chiyoda.[16]

The Shibayama Railway company advertises the line as the shortest railway line in Japan and gives out certificates for using the line.[16] However, the Kurama-dera Cable is the shortest funicular line in Japan with a length of 207 meters (226 yards),[17] and Seinō Railway operates the shortest freight-only railway line with an operational length of 1.3 km (0.8 mi).[18][19]

Rolling stock

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The Shibayama Railway leases its rolling stock from the Keisei Electric Railway company.[20] The company has leased a Keisei 3500 series trainset 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 until 2013. During the time 3600 series was used by the Shibayama Railway, the train color was changed from Keisei's blue and red color scheme to red and green, the scheme used in the company's logo. This change was reverted when it was returned to Keisei.[21][22]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Japanese: 芝山鉄道株式会社, Hepburn: Shibayama Tetsudō kabushiki-gaisha
  2. ↑ At that time it was given the provisional name Seibijyō-Mae Station.
  3. ↑ At that time it was given the provisional name Shibatetsu Narita Airport Station.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "駅情報". 芝山鉄道 | 日本一短い鉄道 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  2. ↑ "芝山鉄道に免許". 千葉日報 (千葉日報社). June 25, 1988.
  3. 1 2 "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). April 14, 1990.
  4. 1 2 会社概要 Archived January 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Shibayama Railway
  5. 1 2 "「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). October 26, 2022. Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  6. ↑ "地域と共生する空港づくり大綱 4．地域づくり | 成田国際空港株式会社". www.naa.jp. Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  7. ↑ "都心と空直結 成田空港地下駅が開業". The Asahi Shimbun. March 19, 1991.
  8. ↑ "待望の成田高速鉄道が開業 空港と直結、都心へ1時間 新アクセス門出祝う". Chiba Nippo. March 20, 1991.
  9. ↑ "鉄道ピクトリアル" 第48巻第4号、電気車研究会、April 1998, p. 110.
  10. ↑ 首都圏整備計画, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, September 2006
  11. ↑ Cite error: The named reference :02 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ↑ "鉄道で行く千葉 第3回 芝山鉄道" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 9, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  13. ↑ "「日本一短い鉄道」どんな路線？所要時間わずか3分 成田空港の知られざるミニ鉄道". 乗りものニュース (in Japanese). June 25, 2023. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Timetable". Archived from the original on March 2, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  15. ↑ 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
  16. 1 2 "乗ったら終点、駅ふたつしかない鉄道なぜ誕生？ 東西2社、共通点は「トンネル」". 乗りものニュース (in Japanese). December 7, 2017. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  17. ↑ "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). September 18, 2018. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  18. ↑ "【公式】 西濃鉄道株式会社". seinorailway.web.fc2.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  19. ↑ "西濃鉄道が一部廃止で「日本最短」事業者に 石灰石運ぶ岐阜の貨物線を運営 | 鉄道ニュース【鉄道プレスネット】" (in Japanese). November 4, 2022. Archived from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  20. ↑ 所属車両を変更します - 芝山鉄道ホームページお知らせ March 28, 2013
  21. ↑ "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). January 14, 2015. Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  22. ↑ "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). Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
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