The terminus at Tokyo Station is located underground, some distance to the south of the main station complex approximately halfway to Yūrakuchō Station. This means transferring between other lines at Tokyo Station can take between 15 and 20 minutes.
The name "Keiyō" is derived from the second character of the names of the locations linked by the line, Tokyo (東京) and Chiba (千葉). It should not be confused with the Keiō Line, a privately operated commuter line in western Tokyo.
Services
Map of the Keiyō Line and surrounding JR lines
Keiyō Line "Local" (各駅停車 kakueki-teisha)trains stop at all stations between Tokyo and Soga except Nishi-Funabashi.
Musashino Line ''Local'' through trains stop at all stations between Tokyo and Nishi-Funabashi before continuing to the Musashino Line. Some trains originate at Kaihimmakuhari, stopping at Makuhari-Toyosuna, Shin-Narashino, Minami-Funabashi, and Nishi-Funabashi before continuing onto the Musashino Line.
Keiyō Line "Rapid" (快速 kaisoku) trains stop at Tokyo, Hatchōbori, Shin-Kiba, Maihama, Shin-Urayasu, Minami-Funabashi, Kaihimmakuhari, and all stops to Soga.
Former service
Commuter rapid service (通勤快速, tsūkin-kaisoku) trains stopped at Tokyo, Hatchōbori, Shin-Kiba, and Soga, with many operating through to the Sotobo line and Togane line, terminating at Naruto, Katsuura, or Kazusa-Ichinomiya. Commuter rapid trains traveled into Tokyo during the morning rush hour, and away from Tokyo during the evening rush hour. The commuter rapid service was discontinued with effect from the timetable revision implemented on 16 March 2024.[3]
2024 timetable revision
With the JR East timetable revision on 16 March 2024, the Keiyo line now has reduced rapid services across the day, and abolished the commuter rapid services during rush hours. Specifically, rapid trains no longer operate in the morning and evening rush hours, with only 2 rapid services originating in Soga remaining. During these times of the day, only local all-stop trains operate. Subsequently, the Wakashio and Sazanami limited express services are the only express services from the Uchibo and Sotobo lines during rush hours.
The government of Chiba condemned the timetable revision, stating that it has caused inconvenience for commuters to and from central Tokyo who travel long distances from Chiba, as local trains take up to 15 minutes longer than rapid services across the entirety of the line. Some have theorised that this is a strategy by the Tokyo government to centralise the population around the city's core, discouraging long distance commutes.
Station list
All trains (except limited express services) stop at stations marked "●" and pass those marked "｜". Trains do not travel past those stations marked "∥".
For the Wakashio and Sazanami limited express services, see their respective articles.
103 series 4/6/10-car EMUs (sky blue livery) (from 1986 until November 2005)
165 series 3-car EMU (x1) Shuttle Maihama (from 1990 until 1995)
201 series 10-car EMUs (sky blue livery) (from August 2000 until 20 June 2011)[10]
205-0 series 10-car EMUs (magenta stripe) (from March 1990 until 2011)
E331 series 14-car EMU (x1) (magenta stripe) (from March 2007 until 2011)[11]
Musashino Line through services
Inter-running from the Musashino Line to the Keiyō Line commenced on 1 December 1988.[12]
103 series 6-car (later 8-car) EMUs (orange livery) (from 1 December 1988 - 8 December 2005)
201 series 6-car EMUs (orange livery) (from 1 December 1988 - November 1996)
205-0 series 8-car EMUs (orange/brown stripe) (from December 1991 - October 2019)
205-5000 series 8-car EMUs (orange/brown stripe) (from 2002 - 19 October 2020)
A Keiyo Line 103 series EMU
A 165 series Shuttle Maihama EMU set, March 1990
A Keiyo Line 201 series EMU, July 2010
A Keiyo Line 205-0 series EMU, April 2004
A Keiyo Line 205-0 series EMU, January 2009
A Keiyo Line E331 series EMU, July 2006
A Musashino Line 103 series EMU, August 2001
A Musashino Line 205-0 series EMU, December 2016
A Musashino Line 205-5000 series EMU, March 2019
Timeline
103 series
165 series
205 series
201 series
E331 series
209-500 series
E233-5000 series
103 series
201 series
205-0 series
205-5000 series
209-500 series
E231-0 series
E231-900 series
│
1985
│
1990
│
1995
│
2000
│
2005
│
2010
│
2015
│
2020
Rolling stock transitions since 1986
History
The Keiyo Line was initially planned as a freight-only line. Its first section opened on 10 May 1975 as a 6.5 km (4.0 mi) link between the Chiba Freight Terminal (now the Mihama New Port Resort between Inagekaigan and Chibaminato Stations) and the freight yard next to Soga Station.[13] Passenger service began on 3 March 1986 between Minami-Funabashi and Chibaminato, and was extended east to Soga and west to Shin-Kiba on 1 December 1988.[13]
Planners originally envisioned the Keiyo freight line to go to Tokyo Freight Terminal, with connections to Tokaido Main Line, thus completing the outer loop for freight trains around Tokyo formed by the Musashino Line. Rinkai Line reused the partially completed tunnel from Shin-Kiba to Tokyo Freight Terminal, with portion of tracks within the latter serving as a depot. The disused tracks between Tokyo Freight Terminal and Tokaido Line is now planned to be used for the Haneda Access Line.
The final section of the Keiyo Line between Tokyo and Shin-Kiba opened on 10 March 1990.[13] The platforms at Tokyo Station were originally built to accommodate the Narita Shinkansen, a planned (but never built) high-speed rail line between central Tokyo and Narita International Airport.[14]
However, in the 1990s, as the artificial island of Odaiba began developing as a commercial and tourist area in the middle of the Rinkai Line route, the Rinkai Line was re-purposed for use as a passenger line. While there is a through connection between the Rinkai Line and the Keiyo Line, it is only used by passenger trains in charter service, usually carrying groups to the Tokyo Disney Resort.
10 March 1990: Third stage opened between Tokyo & Shin-Kiba;[15] and the new Keiyo Line train, the 205 series, was also introduced to the public.
16 March 1991: Sazanami and Wakashio limited express services are rerouted via the Keiyo Line.[15]
2 July 1993: 255 series EMUs are introduced on View Sazanami and View Wakashio limited express services.[15]
16 October 2004: E257-500 series EMUs are introduced on Sazanami and Wakashio limited express services.[15]
20 August 2016: Station numbering introduced with Keiyo Line stations being assigned station numbers between JE01 (Tokyo) and JE16 (Chibaminato).[16][17]
Effective from the timetable revision scheduled for 16 March 2024, all rapid and commuter rapid services on the Keiyō Line are set to be discontinued during both the morning and evening rush hour, leaving local service as the only service variation during these time periods.[19] However, following requests from local and prefectural governments, two westbound rapid services to Tokyo Station in the morning rush were reinstated by JR East for the upcoming schedule revision.[20]
^Saka, Masayuki (August 2014). 東京メガループ 車両・路線の沿革と現況 [Tokyo Megaloop: History and current situation of trains and line]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 43, no. 364. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. pp. 28–39.
^"京葉線で通勤快速列車の運転終了" [Commuter Rapid service on Keiyo Line ended]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 16 March 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
^京葉線の201系が定期運用を終える [Keiyō Line 201 series withdrawn from regular service]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
^"E331系AK1編成長野へ配給" [E331 series set AK1 moved to Nagano]. RM News (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing Co., Ltd. 27 March 2014. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
^ 首都圏鉄道完全ガイド 主要JR路線編 [Tokyo Area Complete Railway Guide - Major JR Lines]. Japan: Futabasha. 6 December 2013. pp. 87–97. ISBN978-4-575-45414-7.
^ abcIshino, Tetsu, ed. (1998). 停車場変遷大辞典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory - JNR/JR]. Vol. I. Japan: JTB. p. 211. ISBN4-533-02980-9.
^ abcdefKubo, Satoshi (August 2015). 東京駅開業100周年-5 京葉線ターミナル [Tokyo Station 100th Anniversary (5) Keiyo Line Terminal]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 55, no. 652. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. p. 105.
^"⾸都圏エリアへ 「駅ナンバリング」を導⼊します" [Introduce “station numbering” to the Tokyo metropolitan area] (PDF). jreast.co.jp (in Japanese). 6 April 2016. Archived from the original(PDF) on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
^Kusamachi, Yoshikazu (7 April 2016). "JA・JK・JT・AKB…JR東日本、首都圏で駅ナンバリングなど導入へ" [JA, JK, JT, AKB … JR East to introduce station numbering in the Tokyo metropolitan area]. Response Automotive Media (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
^"朝時間帯の2本が各駅停車から快速に変更へ！ 2024年3月ダイヤ改正内容の一部変更" [Partial Changes To Schedule Revisions in March 2024 Include Changing Two Trains to Run Rapid Service]. rail.hobidas.com (in Japanese). 17 January 2024.
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