Shibayama Railway Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A Keisei 3600 series EMU in Shibayama Railway livery in March 2007
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Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
System | Functionally part of Keisei Electric Railway network | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Chiba Prefecture, Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini |
Higashi-Narita Shibayama-Chiyoda |
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Stations | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daily ridership | 2,458 (2008) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | October 22, 2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Shibayama Railway Co., Ltd. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | Shibayama Railway, by Keisei Electric Railway crews | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rolling stock | Keisei 3600 series EMU | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line length | 2.2 km | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrification | 1,500 V DC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Shibayama Railway Co., Ltd. (芝山鉄道株式会社 Shibayama Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha?) is a railway company in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It operates Japan's shortest independent railway line, the 2.2 km Shibayama Railway Line between Higashi-Narita Station and Shibayama-Chiyoda Station, largely underneath Narita International Airport.
Narita International Airport Corporation owns a 68.39% majority stake in Shibayama Railway as of July 2009. The remainder is owned by Keisei Electric Railway, Japan Airlines, the prefectural government, and others.
Although the Shibayama Railway is an independent operator, it functionally resembles an extension of the Keisei Electric Railway; 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 past Higashi-Narita; a few local trains run through 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, or at Haneda Airport Station on the Keikyū Airport Line. The 92.8 km Haneda run goes through tracks of 6 different rail lines and requires coordination among 4 operators, namely, Shibayama, Keisei Main, Keisei Oshiage, Toei Asakusa, Keikyū Main, and finally Keikyū Airport Line.