Sōbu Line (Rapid)

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Sōbu Line (Rapid)
JO
An E235 series EMU at Ichikawa Station
Overview
Locale	Tokyo, Chiba prefectures
Termini	Tokyo Chiba
Stations	10
Service
Type	Commuter rail
Operator(s)	JR East
Daily ridership	693,998 (daily 2015)[1]
History
Opened	1972
Technical
Line length	60.2 km (37.4 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC overhead catenary
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph)
Route map

The Sōbu Line (Rapid) (Japanese: 総武快速線, romanized: Sōbu-kaisoku-sen) is a railway service on the Sōbu Main Line in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Tokyo Station in Chūō, Tokyo with Chiba Station in Chūō-ku, Chiba via the cities of Ichikawa, Funabashi, and Narashino.

Services[edit]

Rapid services on the Sōbu Line are primarily operated between Tokyo and Chiba, although there are many through services onto the Yokosuka Line as well as some through services operated from the Yokosuka Line via Tokyo terminating at Tsudanuma. During weekday morning peak periods Tokyo-bound trains arrive once every 3.2 minutes; this is reduced to 10 Chiba-bound trains per hour during weekday evening peak periods. At other times there are approximately six trains per hour. There are many through services operated onto other lines.

Commuter rapid trains, operated during weekday peak periods in the mornings and evenings, make fewer stops than normal rapid trains. There are two Zushi-bound trains from Narita in the morning and a single Narita-bound train from Tokyo in the evening.

For information on the Narita Express, Shiosai, and other limited express services, see their respective articles.

Sōbu Line (Rapid) trains travel through onto the Yokosuka Line to Ōfuna, Zushi, and Kurihama. Trains also travel through beyond Chiba to as far as:

• Kazusa-Ichinomiya on the Sotobō Line
• Kimitsu on the Uchibō Line
• Narita Airport via Narita on the Narita Line
• Kashima-Jingū on the Kashima Line
• Narutō on the Sōbu Main Line

Past services[edit]

Home Liner Chiba[edit]

Before 16 March 2019, there were five Home Liner Chiba commuter liner services that operated every weekday evening, four of which started from Tokyo and another which started at Shinjuku.

Stations served:

(Shinjuku – Akihabara) / Tokyo – Tsudanuma – Inage – Chiba

Limited Express Ayame[edit]

Commuter Rapid[edit]

Commuter Rapid services were abolished with the timetable revision on 12 March 2022.^[2] Prior to this they ran on weekdays only, stopping at Tōkyō, Shin-Nihombashi, Bakurochō, Kinshichō, Funabashi, and Chiba.

Station list[edit]

• For information on local services between Kinshichō and Chiba, see the Chūō-Sōbu Line article.
• Trains stop at stations marked "●" and pass those marked "｜".

Note: Special Rapid service was discontinued on 4 March 2017.^[3]

Rolling stock[edit]

Rapid service[edit]

• E217 series (from December 1994)
• E235-1000 series (from 21 December 2020)^[4]

Limited express service[edit]

• 255 series (Shiosai)
• E257 series (Shiosai)
• E259 series (Narita Express)

Former rolling stock[edit]

• 113 series (from October 1980 to December 1999)

History[edit]

On 20 August 2016, station numbering was introduced with stations being assigned station numbers between JO19 and JO28.^[5][6] Numbers increase towards in the eastbound direction towards Chiba.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sōbu Line (Rapid).

• Stations of the Sōbu Line (Rapid) (unofficial) (in Japanese)