The Chūō Line Rapid (中央線快速) is the name for the rapid train service on the Chūō Main Line (中央本線) run by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It runs from Tokyo station in Chiyoda ward to Takao station in Hachiōji. Some route maps show it extended to Ōtsuki station in Yamanashi.
History
The current Chūō Line Rapid began as a city line. The Kōbu Railway (甲武鉄道) built it to enter central Tokyo. After the reconstruction that followed the Great Kantō Earthquake, the line was made four-track and opened as a line for both trains and freight. The Kōbu Railway opened Shinjuku to Tachikawa on 11 April 1889, and Tachikawa to Hachiōji on 11 August 1889. Ushigome to Shinjuku opened on 9 October 1894. Iidamachi to Ushigome opened on 3 April 1895. A government railway opened from Hachiōji to Uenohara on 1 August 1901. It reached Torisawa on 1 June 1902 and Ōtsuki on 1 October 1902. Electric services ran from Iidamachi to Nakano from 21 August 1904. Ochanomizu to Iidamachi opened, electrified, on 31 December 1904. The Kōbu Railway was nationalised on 1 October 1906, and Ochanomizu to Shinonoi became the Chūō East Line (中央東線). In 1911 the name Chūō Main Line (中央本線) was given to the line from Shōheibashi to Nagoya.
Ochanomizu to Nakano was built as four tracks and completed in 1932. In the same project, the Sōbu Main Line (総武本線) section from Ryōgoku to Ochanomizu was built as an elevated railway. From 1 July 1932, trains ran into the Sōbu Main Line after Ochanomizu station was improved. Electrification continued. Nakano to Kichijōji was electrified on 25 January 1919. Kichijōji to Kokubunji was electrified on 20 November 1922. From 1 July 1925, trains ran every three minutes at rush hour between Tokyo and Nakano. Shinjuku to Nakano was made four-track on 11 May 1928. Kokubunji to Kunitachi was electrified on 10 March 1929, and Kunitachi to Tachikawa on 15 June 1929. Tachikawa to Asakawa (now Takao station) was electrified on 20 December 1930, and Asakawa to Kōfu on 1 April 1931. On 15 September 1933, express trains began running between Ochanomizu and Nakano at rush hours only.
In 1943 Manseibashi station closed. The branch from Kokubunji to Tokyo Racecourse-mae stopped running on 1 October 1944. It restarted on 24 April 1947. On 14 June 1946 a train accident happened on the bridge over the old Kanda river between Higashi-Nakano and Ōkubo. A wooden door broke, commuters were thrown onto the river bank, and some died. From 5 May 1947, women and children-only cars were set on express trains. Second-class cars were attached again from September 1949. In 1957 the plan to add tracks between Tokyo and Ochanomizu, and between Nakano and Mitaka, was decided, but it was hard to carry out. In 1960 the Teito Rapid Transit Authority proposed through running with its Tōzai Line (東西線) instead of adding tracks from Tokyo to Ochanomizu. In 1961 the express trains were renamed rapid trains. This was because the Alps express, started in 1960, charged an extra fare. Nakano to Ogikubo was elevated on 20 September 1964. It was made four-track on 28 April 1966. On 3 July 1967 the commuter area was extended from Nakano to Takao, and special rapid trains began running in the daytime. Ogikubo to Mitaka was elevated on 29 October 1967 and made four-track on 8 April 1969. After that, the plan moved very slowly. The Mitaka to Tachikawa quadrupling is now effectively frozen.
In April 1972 special rapid trains received air-conditioned 101 series cars. In early 1973 new air-conditioned 103 series cars entered service. On 1 April 1973 Nishi-Kokubunji station opened, and the Kokubunji to Tokyo Racecourse-mae branch was closed. Silver seats were fitted on 1 September 1973, which ended the women and children-only cars. A prototype 201 series train entered service on 20 August 1979. Mass production 201 series began on 20 August 1981. The 103 series left rapid service on 3 March 1983. On 14 March 1985 the 101 series was retired. All rapid trains became 201 series, and all cars were air-conditioned. From 1 November 1986, commuter rapid trains began, and local trains returned to Shinjuku at rush hours. In 1988 the special rapid was renamed Chūō Tokkyū (中央特快). Kokubunji station got two platform faces and four tracks, completed on 1 December 1988.
On 10 March 1990 some rapid trains began running direct to Kawaguchiko station on the Fujikyuko Line. On 25 March 1990 ATS-P was installed between Tokyo and Nakano. On 16 March 1991, commuter Liner trains named Ohayō Liner and Home Liner began running between Takao, Ōme and Tokyo. On 1 December 1991 ATS-P came to Kichijōji to Tachikawa. On 10 April 1993, Ōme Tokkyū trains began stopping at Kokubunji, and a Commuter Tokkyū service started. On 1 December 1993 the local trains from Shinjuku ended, and the 115 series left Shinjuku entirely. On 2 July 1995 Tokyo station's platforms 1 and 2 moved to a new platform on the third floor above ground. On 16 March 1996 the Hachikō Line was electrified, and through trains ran from Haijima to Komagawa via Ōme. On 14 December 1996 ATOS began to be used. On 4 December 1999 a Narita Express service began running to Takao, one round trip. On 1 December 2001 the Ohayō Liner and Home Liner were renamed Chūō Liner and Ōme Liner. On 28 September 2003 a signal fault during elevated-track work between Mitaka and Kokubunji closed the section for more than eight hours. On 5 September 2005 women-only cars were set again. On 26 December 2006 the E233 series began service. On 1 July 2007 the down line from Mitaka to Kokubunji was elevated. On 15 March 2008 the 183 and 189 series ended their Liner service. On 10 April 2008 a fire at a substation west of Kokubunji station stopped services for about seven hours, between Tokyo and Takao. The Keiō Line (京王線), which runs alongside, was also disrupted. On 11 January 2009 the down line from Nishi-Kokubunji to Tachikawa was elevated.
On 14 October 2010 the 201 series ended regular service, and its farewell run ended on 17 October 2010. On 16 March 2013 the timetable was changed. Daytime Special Rapid trains were increased, and the maximum speed between Mitaka and Hachiōji rose from 95 km/h to 100 km/h. On 4 March 2017 the down Chūō Tokkyū was unified to start at Tokyo and stop at Nakano. On 16 March 2019 all regular limited express trains became E353 series. The name Super Azusa was dropped, and the service was called Azusa. The Chūō Liner and Ōme Liner ended.
On 14 March 2020 the early-morning and late-night local trains from Tokyo ended, and the Chūō Rapid became fully separate from the Chūō-Sōbu Local service. On 20 January 2021, during the COVID-19 state of emergency, some trains were cancelled, and last trains were brought earlier at several stations. On 12 March 2022 the Hachikō Line one-man operation began, so the through trains from Haijima to Komagawa ended. Chūō Rapid trains no longer run into Saitama Prefecture. On 16 March 2024 more rapid trains and Chūō Tokkyū to Ōtsuki were added in the daytime. On 13 October 2024 a 12-car train with two double-deck green cars began running. A trial period, when green cars were open at ordinary fares, ran until 14 March 2025. On 15 March 2025 green car service began. The Holiday Express Okutama train from Tokyo replaced the one from Shinjuku. The weekday Hachiōji and Ōme limited expresses were cancelled. On 10 April 2026 the line's first platform screen doors were installed, at Musashi-Sakai station. On 1 July 2026 the branch system became business headquarters. The area from Tokyo to Kanda went to the Tokyo Business HQ. Ochanomizu to Nishi-Ogikubo went to the Shinjuku Business HQ. Kichijōji to Tachikawa went to the Tachikawa Business HQ, with station work at Nishi-Kokubunji under the Musashino HQ. Hino to Takao went to the Hachiōji Business HQ.
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Written by an AI from the line's history on Japanese Wikipedia, nothing else, and checked by a program for dates and numbers that are not in those facts. It can still be wrong. Adapted from Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0; this text is shared under the same licence.