Chuo Line, another route to Nagoya

Blue: Tokaido Shinkansen　Orange: Chuo Main Line

Nagoya is the fourth largest city in Japan with approximately 2.34 million people. It is 267 km (166 miles) west of Tokyo, but because of topographical reasons, railways and roads connecting the two cities exceed 320 km (200 miles). Most travellers between the two cities rely on Tokaido Shinkansen, the oldest high-speed rail in the world, as it takes just 1.5 hours and trains run every 4-10 minutes at the daytime.

It is often overlooked that there are two more railways that directly connect Tokyo and Nagoya. Tokaido Main Line, which largely parallels the Tokaido Shinkansen, still serves the cities. Whilst most passengers have already shifted to the Shinkansen, Tokaido Main Line is still important for freight trains. In addition, Chuo Main Line also plays role in these cities, though very few people use it to travel between Tokyo and Nagoya. This article focuses on Chuo Main Line, and whether it is worth to choose this route.

Like Tokaido Main Line, Chuo Main Line starts from Tokyo station. Chuo Line is well known in Tokyo for orange and overcrowded commuter trains. Intercity services, Limited Express Azusa and Kaiji, run along with the commuter trains. Azusa is faster and goes farther, as it connects Tokyo or Shinjuku and Matsumoto.

Most Azusa services are provided by E353 series, which might look a little bizarre but quite new and thus clean. Even amidst the labour shortage, an onboard trolley service with foods and drinks is available on most trains.

From ruins of Kofu Castle

After leaving Takao in the western end of Tokyo Metropolis, the train dives into mountains. Major stations on Chuo Main Line include Otsuki (where Fujikyu Railway, which is highly popular amongst foreign tourists visiting Mt Fuji), Kofu (the capital of Yamanashi Prefecture) and Kami-Suwa (which is close to Lake Suwa).

A little vineyard at Shiojiri station platform

There has been no regular direct service between Tokyo and Nagoya since the 1960s, so at least one transfer is required. In most cases, it is necessary to change trains at Shiojiri station in Nagano Prefecture, which is about 2.5 hours from Shinjuku by Azusa. It is one of a few "border stations" where operational border of JR East and JR Central exists. That is why, the line is sometimes divided into Chuo East Line (Tokyo - Shiojiri, JR East) and Chuo West Line (Shiojiri - Nagoya, JR Central).

Shinonoi Line, which goes on to Matsumoto and Nagano, branches off here. Since not just Azusa but also many regional services on Chuo East Line start from or terminate at Matsumoto, some people misunderstand that Matsumoto is part of Chuo Main Line.

There is another limited express train called Shinano, running between Nagano and Nagoya via Matsumoto and Shiojiri. 383 series is used for Shinano, and the rolling stock was first introduced nearly 30 years ago, so some units look shabby. A brand new train called 385 series is due to be introduced in financial year 2026.

(A typical post towns in Japan)

Stations on the western part of Chuo Main Line are mostly smaller than those in the Greater Tokyo Area. A few of them in Nagano Prefecture, Narai for example, are close to post towns in the 17th to 19th centuries. Old wooden buildings have been preserved in some places and become tourist spots.

After leaving Nakatsugawa, the towns by the line look more like suburb residential areas than countryside. From Kozoji to the west, the line gets increasingly busy with long commuter trains. Shinano arrives at Nagoya station two hours after leaving Shiojiri.

It takes about 5 hours in total from Tokyo to Nagoya via Chuo Main Line, about 3.5 hours longer than Tokaido Shinkansen. Nevertheless, only one transfer is necessary, and both Azusa and Shinano run hourly, so it is not difficult to complete the journey.

However, the total cost of Chuo Main Line route is almost the same as Tokaido Shinkansen, as the Chuo route is longer than Shinkansen not just by duration but also actual distance, and requires two separate limited express tickets. Therefore, it should be noted that the Chuo route is just for those wishing to try a different route or those fed up with a boring Shinkansen journey, not for anyone looking for a cheaper alternative.

Railway Operation Act

There are many laws concerning the railway business in Japan, and Act No. 65 of 1900, commonly known as the Railway Operation Act might be interesting. Even though the law remains in force and has partly been amended in 2025, it is written in classical Japanese, making it hard to read for those unfamiliar with law or literature.

The law is short as it only contains around 50 provisions. It regulates basic rules concerning the operation of train services. For example, fares as well as terms and conditions must be published in advance (Article 3), and train operators may refuse to transport gunpowder and other explosive materials (Article 5). Those who board a train without a valid ticket may be fined up to 20,000 yen (Article 29), and those who asked for a donation, sold or distributed something or made a speech without permission may face a fine of no more than 10,000 yen (Article 35).

However, there are a few questionable provisions that might no longer fit for purpose. Here are three examples chosen by the author.

The "pushers" and the law

Trains in the Greater Tokyo Area are so crowded in the morning that it is common to see station staff pushing passengers onto an overcrowded train. However, Article 26 of the law stipulates that "Any railway staff member who forcibly let passengers onto an overloaded train shall be punished by a fine of up to 20,000 yen". Do the station staff in the Greater Tokyo Area violate the law every morning?

The answer is no. Railway companies and the authorities have interpreted the law that it does not prohibit passengers from voluntarily boarding an overcrowded train, and the staff are regarded as "merely" assisting them. No railway employees have been charged with the violation of Article 26 for decades, indicating that this provision is no longer effectively enforced.

COVID-19 and trains

Article 4 paragraph 1 of the law stipulates that "Any patient with an infectious disease may not board a train except in accordance with rules prescribed by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. According to Article 41 of the law, anyone who violated Article 4 or concealed the disease shall be punished by a fine of up to 20,000 yen, and fares already paid will not be refunded.

Thus, any COVID-19 patient who knowingly boarded a train technically violated the law, but there has been no report of such incidents. To be exact, there were in fact a few people arrested on a train or at a station whilst having infected with COVID, but they were charged with severer offences such as Forcible Obstruction of Business (Article 234 of the Penal Code). For example, Yomiuri Shimbun reported in January 2022 that a 20-year-old man was arrested after threatening other passengers on a Tokaido Line train with COVID, causing a 15-minute delay.

Use of firearms

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According to Article 39 of the law, anyone who discharged a gun shall be punished by a fine of up to 20,000 yen. Needless to say, another law regulates the case and thus the Railway Operation Act is almost never used. Act for Controlling the Possession of Firearms or Swords and Other Such Weapons strictly regulates the use of firearms, and Article 3-13 stipulates that unless certain conditions are met, nobody is allowed to discharge a gun at public spaces including roads, parks, stations, theatres, department stores as well as trains and buses. Article 31 provides anyone who violated Article 3-13 shall be punished by imprisonment of more than three years or even life imprisonment, even if no damage to life or property is caused.

Before 1958, Article 39 of the Railway Operation Act did play an important role, but after the Act for Controlling the Possession of Firearms or Swords and Other Such Weapons was promulgated, the Railway Operational Act might no longer be needed in this context.

The Railway Operation Act is an old law, so it is no wonder why many of its provisions now sound outdated. When it comes to serious offences, other laws are likely to be applied with even harsher penalties. Nevertheless, the Railway Operation Act is still valid today, and thus all railway users must comply with the law.

Closing the blog

I have decided to terminate this blog.

Two years ago, I considered closing the blog due to very low number of visitors. Fortunately, the trend has changed, as the annual "page views" exceeded 31,000, which was 3.2 times higher than back in 2023. While these figures do not mean how many people have actually visited the blog, and I am fully aware that they are still low, they encouraged me to post articles regularly. I have also received quite a few heartwarming messages, mainly via Mastodon, for which I am truly grateful.

However, it has become increasingly difficult to keep the blog running since last year. Google has been refusing to index Blogger pages, presumably due to technical issues. It has been widely reported that Blogger's mobile templates cause redirect errors in which Google effectively omits pages from the search results, and this blog is no exception. Most articles of this blog used to be indexed by Google, but they have disappeared. Despite nearly a year having passed since the problem emerged, there is no sign of improvement. I did my best to solve the issue with my extremely limited knowledge, but the blog still remains invisible on Google. I feel powerless against it, and although other search engines like Bing still covers this blog, I am gradually losing interest in keeping it active.

In addition, I have less time to do my hobbies than before, less time to take railway photos and less time to draft an article. Since I will soon move on to a new workplace, where far more tasks are expected, it will undoubtedly be harder to maintain the blog, or even to maintain interest in the railway itself.

For these reasons, I have concluded that it will no longer be able to maintain this blog. New articles will be uploaded on the second and fourth Saturdays each month until the end of this year. The provisional date for the final article is 27th December 2025, and the blog will remain open until the end of the financial year 2025 (i.e. 31st March 2026).

The Red List of Trains in Japan is not affected by this decision.

I regret having to make this decision, and I sincerely appreciate your understanding.

More Hitachi Trains

Earlier this month, I visited the United Kingdom for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. As soon as I arrived at King's Cross on day 2, I found a new Hitachi train that was not in service yet when I lived in London six years ago. This is Hull Trains Class 802 Paragon, which entered service ten weeks after I left the UK in 2019. This dark blue livery and pink doors with black front end is a combination of colours that would never be seen in Japan.

On the following day, I could see Class 807 Evero, another Hitachi train type used by Avanti West Coast. The first unit entered into service in October 2024, less than a year ago. As the newest high-speed trains on the West Coast Main Line, the Class 802 is mainly used for services between Euston and Birmingham New Street, Blackpool North, Liverpool Lime Street or Manchester Piccadilly, but not as far as Scotland.

Avanti West Coast has painted its rolling stock dark-green, black and white, and partly red. They are another combination of colours that is hardly found on any Japanese train network, so it looked fresh to me.

When I lived in London six years ago, there were only three Hitachi high-speed trains on the National Rail network: Class 395 Javelin (Southeastern), Class 800 or 802 Intercity Express Train (Great Western Railway) and Class 800 Azuma (London North Eastern Railway). Six years on, more train operators introduced various Hitachi A-train units and use them across England as well as part of Wales and Scotland. While most of them were built not in Japan but in Newton Aycliffe, those Hitachi trains are arguably similar to limited express trains in Japan, and thus the Japanese people must now feel more comfortable in the UK than before – including myself.

No blog update on 13th September 2025

This blog is usually updated every other week (the second and fourth Saturdays each month), but there will be no new article on 13th September, as I will be extremely busy with a ten-day business trip. Thank you for your patience and understanding.