The Kashima Line (鹿島線) is a local line run by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It runs from Katori Station in Katori city, Chiba Prefecture, to Kashima Soccer Stadium Station in Kashima city, Ibaraki Prefecture.
History
The Kashima Line was built to serve the development of the Kashima coastal industrial zone. Under the old Railway Construction Act it was planned as a line from Kashima to Sawara. In 1964 the transport minister gave the construction job to the Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation (日本鉄道建設公団). A groundbreaking was held on 16 March 1967, and work on the Katori to Kita-Kashima section started in April 1967. The same body also planned a longer line from Kita-Kashima to Mito, about 58 km along the Kashima coast. In 1980 the construction went on under the new national railway reform law (国鉄再建法), because Japanese Wikipedia says transport demand was expected. But the national railway wanted third-sector operation, so the line was opened as part of the Kashima Rinkai Railway (鹿島臨海鉄道).
On 20 August 1970 the Katori to Kashima-jingū section (14.2 km) opened, with centralised traffic control (CTC) from the start. On 1 October 1970 the express Suisui began running as a local train from Sawara to Kashima-jingū. On 12 November 1970 the Kashima-jingū to Kita-Kashima (now Kashima Soccer Stadium) section (3.2 km) opened as a freight line, and freight began from Katori to Kita-Kashima. The line began with diesel railcars. On 26 October 1974 the Katori to Kita-Kashima section was electrified at 1500 V DC.
On 10 March 1975 the limited express Ayame ran from Tokyo to Kashima-jingū, and the express Kashima ran from Ryōgoku to Kashima-jingū. The express Suisui's through service to the line ended. In 1978, when New Tokyo International Airport (新東京国際空港, now Narita International Airport) opened, the line carried aviation fuel made in the Kashima industrial zone. Use was first expected to last three years. But the pipeline between Chiba Port and the airport was late, so the arrangement was changed, which increased distrust among local residents. On 25 July 1978 passenger service began between Kashima-jingū and Kita-Kashima, with no passenger handling at Kita-Kashima.
On 15 November 1982 the express Kashima was abolished. On 1 December 1983 the Kashima Rinkai Railway's Kashima Rinkō Line passenger service ended, so passenger service between Kashima-jingū and Kita-Kashima also ended. On 14 March 1985, when the Kashima Rinkai Railway's Ōarai-Kashima Line opened, passenger service resumed between Kashima-jingū and Kita-Kashima. On 1 April 1987 East Japan Railway Company (JR East) took over the line when the national railway was split up, and Japan Freight Railway became the second-class operator. On 12 March 1994 Kita-Kashima station was renamed Kashima Soccer Stadium Station, and some trains through to the Ōarai-Kashima Line began carrying passengers on match days. On 22 March 1997 all local trains became non-smoking. On 14 March 2009 the whole line was included in the Tokyo commuter area.
On 11 March 2011 the Tōhoku earthquake (東北地方太平洋沖地震) damaged the elevated track and station buildings, and the whole line was suspended. On 18 March 2011 service resumed between Katori and Nobukata. On 16 April 2011 service resumed between Nobukata and Kashima Soccer Stadium, and through running to the Ōarai-Kashima Line also resumed. On 18 December 2011 ATS-P was introduced between Katori and Kashima Soccer Stadium.
On 14 March 2015 the limited express Ayame was abolished. The morning rapid train for Tokyo, which had started at Sawara on the Narita Line (成田線), began starting at Kashima-jingū, which brought back Tokyo-bound rapid trains last seen in the 2004 timetable. On 14 March 2020 Suica could be used across the whole line. On 13 March 2021 one-man operation with E131 series trains began. Japanese Wikipedia notes that from 1 July 2026, planned, the line will move from the Chiba branch to Chiba business headquarters.
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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.