TheMeitetsu Nagoya Main Line (名鉄名古屋本線,Meitetsu Nagoya Honsen) orNagoya Line is a railway line operated by theprivate railway operatorNagoya Railroad (Meitetsu), connectingToyohashi Station inToyohashi withMeitetsu Gifu Station inGifu.

Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line
A Meitetsu 1000 series "Panorama Super" EMU on alimited express service
Overview
Other name(s)	Nagoya Line
Native name	名鉄名古屋本線
Owner	Meitetsu
Locale	Aichi Gifu
Termini	Toyohashi Meitetsu Gifu
Stations	60
Service
Type	Commuter rail
Daily ridership	221,098[1] (2008)
History
Opened	1 September 1944 (1944-09-01) (as it is today)[2]
Technical
Line length	99.8 km (62.01 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	Overhead catenary 1,500 VDC
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph)

Nagoya Main Line
Subway:Nagoya Municipal Subway Lines areMeitetsu unless otherwise noted
Legend
Tokaido Main Line Tokaido Shinkansen Toyohashi Railroad Atsumi Line Shin-Toyohashi Toyohashi Railroad Azumada Main Line 0.0 Toyohashi Shimin-Byōin-mae Toyohashi depot JR-C:Tōkaidō Shinkansen JR-F: Toyohashi ORS Funamachi Toyokawa Shimoji Toyokawa (3.8) Hirai S.B. Nishi-Kozakai JR-C:Tōkaidō Main Line JR-C:Iida Line Kozakai Branch Lineja Kozakai 5.0 Ina 6.6 Odabuchi Toyokawa-Inari Toyokawa Line 9.6 Kō 10.7 Goyu 12.5 Meiden-Akasaka 15.0 Meiden-Nagasawa 18.7 Motojuku 20.4 Meiden Yamanaka (21.0) Maiki S.B. Maiki depot 23.1 Fujikawa 25.6 Miai 27.6 Otogawa 29.8 Higashi-Okazaki Okazaki City Lineja old Okazakikōen-mae 31.1 Okazakikōen-mae Naka-Okazaki Aikan:Aichi Loop Line Yahagi River 32.5 Yahagibashi 34.8 Utō Gamagōri Gamagōri Line Kira-Yoshida Nishio Line 38.3 Shin-Anjō 40.9 Ushida Chiryū S.B. Hekinan Nishi-Nakagane Sanage Toyota-shi freight bypass Higashi-Chiryū Mikawa-Chiryū 43.1 Chiryū Mikawa Line 44.6 Hitotsugi 46.6 Fujimatsu Toyoake depot 48.1 Toyoake 49.8 Zengo 51.4 Chūkyō-keibajō-mae 52.7 Arimatsu 53.8 Sakyōyama Narumi depot 55.1 Narumi 56.7 Moto-Hoshizaki Nagoya City Tramway: Kasamatsu Extension 58.2 Moto-Kasadera 58.9 Sakura 59.9 Yobitsugi Yamazaki River Subway:Meijō Line Myōon-dōri 61.1 Horita Horita Tokaido Main Line Tokoname,Airport, and Kōwa,Chita New lines 62.2 Jingū-mae Nagoya City Tramway: Atsuta Line Atsuta Nagoya City Tramway Chuo Main Line Kanayamabashi Nagoya City Tramway Atsuta Line 64.4 Kanayama Subway:Meikō Line Subway: Meijō Line Horikawa Nagoya City Tramway Otōbashi Nagoya City Tramway JR-F:Nagoyakō Line Tokaido Shinkansen JR-C: Sannō S.B. 66.0 Sannō canal JR-C: Tōkaidō Shinkansen Kansai Main Line Aonami Line Yanagibashi KintetsuNagoya Line Subway:Higashiyama Line Kintetsu Nagoya 68.0 Meitetsu Nagoya Nagoya(Subway/JR-C) Sakuradōri Line Subway; Higashiyama Line Oshikirimachi 69.9 Sakō JR-C Nagoya depot 70.7 Higashi-Biwajima Shōnai River (71.3) Biwajima Junction Inuyama Line Shin-Unuma 71.6 Nishi-Biwajima JR-C: Tōkaidō Main Line JR-C: Tōkaidō Shinkansen 72.2 Futatsuiri 72.8 Shinkawabashi Shinkawa depot 73.5 Sukaguchi Tsushima Line Bisai Line 74.3 Marunouchi Kiyosu Lineja Kiyosumachi 75.2 Shin-Kiyosu Tokaido Shinkansen 77.5 Ōsato 78.8 Okuda 80.9 Kōnomiya 82.9 Shima-Ujinaga Tokaido Main Line 84.7 Myōkōji Bisai Line Higashi-Ichinomiya Ichinomiya Lineja 86.4 Meitetsu Ichinomiya JR-C:Owari-Ichinomiya Bisai Line/Okoshi Lineja 88.3 Imaise /Tamanoi 89.2 Iwato 91.2 Shin-Kisogawa Kisogawa/Kisogawabashi 92.1 Kuroda Tokaido Main Line 93.9 Kisogawa-zutsumi /Kisogawa-kō Aichi Prefecture Kiso River Gifu Prefecture Higashi-Kasamatsu Shin-Hashima Hashima Line Takehana Line 95.1 Kasamatsu 96.9 Ginan Sakai River Shimokawate Chajo depot 98.3 Chajo 98.7 Kanō JR-C:Tōkaidō Main Line JR-C:Takayama Main Line Gifu Gifu-Ekimae 99.8 Meitetsu Gifu Meitetsu Kakamigahara Line Gifu City Lineja

Since its amalgamation in 1944, this has been the Meitetsu main line. Many branch lines of Meitetsu have through services to/from the Nagoya Line.Toyokawa,Nishio,Tokoname (which has its through services withAirport,Kōwa,Chita), andInuyama lines all have through services bound forMeitetsu Nagoya, making the segment around that station extremely busy. Between BiwajimaJunction andKanayama, 26 trains proceed per hour, even during off-peak periods. All the stations acceptmanaca, asmart card.

The line largely parallels theTōkaidō Main Line in theChūkyō Metropolitan Area (GreaterNagoya). Local traffic on the Nagoya Line used to be much heavier than on the Tōkaidō Main Line, but since the privatization of theJapanese National Railways (JNR), transforming into theCentral Japan Railway Company (JR Central) in this area, competition has become more significant in the Chūkyō area.

Due to historical reasons, the line shares its track betweenHirai Junction and Toyohashi Station with the JRIida Line. The agreement between two companies prohibits Meitetsu to have more than 6 trains in one direction per hour on the 3.8 km of shared tracks. Consequently, local trains are unable to reach Toyohashi, instead, terminate atIna Station.

• Distance: 99.8 km (approx. 62.0 mi.)
• Stations: 60
• Gauge:1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
• Track:
  • Quadruple: Jingū-mae to Kanayama
  • Double: Hirai Signal Box to Jingū-mae, Kanayama to Meitetsu Gifu
  • Single: Toyohashi to Hirai Signal Box (A shared track with JR Iida Line, virtually double-tracked)
• Electric supply: 1,500 V DC
• Block system: Automatic
• Maximum speed at service: 120 km/h (85 km/h between Toyohashi and Hirai Signal Box.)

L: Local (普通,Futsū)

SE: Semi Express (準急,Junkyū)

EX: Express (急行,Kyūkō)

RE: Rapid Express (快速急行,Kaisoku Kyūkō)

LE: Limited Express (特急,Tokkyū)

RL: Rapid Limited Express (快速特急,Kaisoku Tokkyū)

MU: μSKY Limited Express (ミュースカイ,Myū Sukai)

For abbreviations of rapid trains, refer to the above section. For distances and connections, see the route diagram. Trains stop at stations marked "●" and pass stations marked "|".

Some trains stop at stations indicated by "▲". AtSukaguchi, Limited Expresses only fromTsushima Line stop (which is marked "τ"). For distances and transfers, see the route diagram.

¹: Some trains of the marked line directly go through Nagoya Line bound for Meitetsu Nagoya.

²: All trains of Inuyama line directly go through Nagoya Line bound for Meitetsu Nagoya.

²: Some trains of Takehana Line directly go through Nagoya Line bound for Meitetsu Gifu.

Four different companies built sections of the line, which were subsequently amalgamated and linked to create today's line.

• TheNagoya Electric Railway opened the Ōshikirichō to Marunouchi section (Ichinomiya, Tsushima, Kiyosu Line), dual track and electrified at 600 V DC, in 1914. Transferred toNagoya Railway (old) in 1921.
• TheBisai Railway opened the Kōnomiya to Ichinomiya section (Nakamura Line), single track and electrified at 600 V DC, in 1924. Merged with Nagoya Railroad in 1925 (changes name to Kōnomiya Branch Line).
• TheMino Electric Railway opened the Kasamatsu to Gifu section (Kasamatsu Line), single track and electrified at 600 V DC, in 1914. Merged with Nagoya Railroad in 1930, and the company changed its name to Meigi Railway.

The Marunouchi to Kōnomiya section was opened by the Nagoya Railway in 1928, the Ichinomiya to Kasamatsu section was opened by the Meigi Railway in 1935, and by 1935 the line was dual track as far as Kanō. Meanwhile, the Aichi Electric Railway opened the Jingu-mae to Arimatsu section in 1917 (Arimatsu Line), electrified at 600 V DC, and extended the line to Toyohashi in 1927 (becoming the Toyohashi Line). The Narumi to Yahagibashi section was double-tracked in 1924, and by 1935, the line was double-tracked from Horita to the Hirai Signal Box. The voltage on the line was increased to 1,500 V DC in 1925.

In 1935 the Aichi Electric Railway merged with Meigi Railway, and the company changed its name to Nagoya Railroad. The Jingū-mae to Horita section was double-tracked in 1942, and in 1944, the Nagoya to Jingū-mae section opened as dual track, linking the two sections, although through-running was not possible until the voltage on the Nagoya to Gifu section had been increased to 1,500 V DC in 1948. The line was renamed the Nagoya Main Line.

• Marunouchi Station: The Nagoya Electric Railway opened a 1 km line to Kiyosu-Chō, electrified at 600 V DC, in 1914. The company merged with Meitetsu in 1930. Services were deemed non-essential and ceased in 1944, and the line was formally closed in 1948 when the voltage on the main line was increased to 1,500 V DC.
• Ichinomiya Station: The Nagoya Electric Railway opened a 7 km line electrified at 600 V DC from Iwakura on itsInuyama Line in 1913. The voltage on the line was increased to 1,500 V DC in 1948, and the line closed in 1965.
• Gifu Station: Two lines connected here via the Gifu tram system (which itself closed in 2005):

The Mino Electric Railway opened an 18 km 1,067 mm gauge line electrified at 600 V DC to Hon Ibi in 1928. The company merged with Meitetsu in 1930, the line closed in 2001. An 11 km 1,067 mm gauge branch from Kurono (5 km from Hon Ibi) was opened by the Tanigumi Railway to its namesake town in 1926, electrified at 600 V DC. The company merged with Meitetsu in 1944, and the line closed in 2001.

The Nagara Light Railway opened a 5 km 1,067 mm gauge line to Takatomi in 1915, and was acquired by the Mino Electric Railway in 1920, which electrified the line at 600 V DC, merging with Meitetsu in 1930. The line closed in 1960.

• List of railway lines in Japan

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.