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is a railway company in Chiba Prefecture

Chiba Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It operates Japan's shortest independent railway line, the 2.2 km Shibayama Railway Line between Higashi-Narita Station

Higashi-Narita Station

is a railway station operated by Keisei Electric Railway in Narita, Chiba, Japan. It is 7.4 kilometers from the terminus of the Higashi-Narita Line at Keisei-Narita Station, and is located between the Terminal 2 and Terminal 1 of Narita International Airport....

 and Shibayama-Chiyoda Station

Shibayama-Chiyoda Station

Shibayama-Chiyoda Station is a terminus of the Shibayama Railway Line, located on the border between Shibayama and Narita, Chiba Prefecture, on the eastern boundary of Narita International Airport....

, largely underneath Narita International Airport

Narita International Airport

is an international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is located east of Tokyo Station and east-southeast of Narita Station in the city of Narita, and the adjacent town of Shibayama....

.

Narita International Airport Corporation owns a 68.39% majority stake in Shibayama Railway as of July 2009. The remainder is owned by Keisei, Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines

is an airline headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flag carrier of Japan and its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport , as well as Nagoya's Chūbu Centrair International Airport and Osaka's Kansai International Airport...

, the prefectural government, and others.

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. In 1990, the railway applied for a permit to operate through service with the Keisei Railway from Keisei Narita Station

Keisei Narita Station

is a railway station operated by Keisei Electric Railway's Keisei Main Line located in Narita, Chiba Prefecture Japan. It is 61.2 kilometers from the terminus of the Keisei Main Line at Keisei-Ueno Station, and is within walking distance of JR Narita Station....

; construction of a through link was approved in 1996, and the line opened for operation on October 22, 2002.

The construction of the railway was strongly demanded by Shibayama

Shibayama, Chiba

is a town located in Sanbu District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, southeast of the city of Narita. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 7,989 and a population density of 184 persons per km². The total area was 43.75 km².-Geography:...

 residents, 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

Narita International Airport

is an international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is located east of Tokyo Station and east-southeast of Narita Station in the city of Narita, and the adjacent town of Shibayama....

, as the airport property cut off Shibayamans' access to Narita City

Narita, Chiba

is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is the site of Narita International Airport, the main international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area....

 and points west.

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. There are also proposals to extend the line to Kujūkuri Beach

Kujukuri Beach

is a sandy beach located on the east coast of the Bōsō Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Lying within 60 km of Tokyo and being the second longest beach in Japan, it is a popular swimming and surfing destination for inhabitants of Greater Tokyo....

 on the Pacific

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 coast of Chiba.

Stations and operation

Although the Shibayama Railway is an independent operator, it functionally resembles an extension of the Keisei Electric Railway

Keisei Electric Railway

The is a major private railway in Chiba and Tokyo, Japan. The name Keisei is the combination of the kanji 京 from and 成 from , which the railways main line connects. The combination uses different readings than the ones used in the city names. The railway's main line runs from Tokyo to Narita and...

; 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

Keisei Narita Station

is a railway station operated by Keisei Electric Railway's Keisei Main Line located in Narita, Chiba Prefecture Japan. It is 61.2 kilometers from the terminus of the Keisei Main Line at Keisei-Ueno Station, and is within walking distance of JR Narita Station....

 past Higashi-Narita; a few local trains run through to Keisei Ueno Station

Keisei Ueno Station

is a train station located in Taitō, Tokyo Japan. It is the terminus of the Keisei Main Line and is in brief walking distance from JR Ueno Station .-History:* 10 October 1933 Opened as "Ueno Kōen Station"* 1 May 1953 Changed name 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

Nishi-magome Station

is the southern terminal of the Toei Asakusa Line, a subway line operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation. It is located in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. It is the southernmost station of the Tokyo subway network. Its station number is A-01....

, or at Haneda Airport Station

Haneda Airport Station

is a train station in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, operated by Keikyu. The station is located beneath the Shuto Expressway Wangan Line and Route 357. The West Exit leads to Terminal 1 of Tokyo International Airport, and the East Exit leads to Terminal 2.- Station layout :...

 on the Keikyū Airport Line

Keikyu Airport Line

The is a commuter line operated by Keihin Kyuko Electric Railway. It runs from Keikyū Kamata to in Tokyo, and has Airport Express , Ltd. Express , Rapid Ltd. Express , and Airport Rapid Ltd. Express services.-Station list:...

.

The adult fare between Higashi-Narita and Shibayama-Chiyoda is 190 yen

Japanese yen

The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...

.

Station	Japanese	Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
	東成田	0.0	Keisei Higashi-Narita Line Keisei Higashi-Narita Line The is a branch line of the Keisei Main Line from Keisei Narita Station to Higashi-Narita Station .-Stations:...	Narita, Chiba Narita, Chiba is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is the site of Narita International Airport, the main international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area....
	芝山千代田	2.2		Shibayama, Chiba Shibayama, Chiba is a town located in Sanbu District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, southeast of the city of Narita. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 7,989 and a population density of 184 persons per km². The total area was 43.75 km².-Geography:...

External links

• Company website (in Japanese)