So we still only have five Japanese route suggestions that feature both passenger and freight services out of 45 current proposals, and I wanted to introduce more, as I mentioned recently in the master list thread. Such suggestions offer something to all players and also create more replayability and diversity in routes. It is not easy to find detailed information on routes that currently have both passenger and freight services running on them, but this is one of those lines with a reasonable amount of information and multimedia on freight operations. Compared to the Chūō West Line I have already suggested with its freight, the Nambu is little over half that distance - which seems to help chances of route production for TSW - while also featuring a more urban-heavy environment and newer commuter EMUs. Enough differences to make this proposal worthwhile in my view. Some stations on the route feature barrier gates that train doors need to align to, for enabling passengers to board - that would be a novelty, and a challenge, for players to master. Nambu Line suburban commuter and freight route The logo of JR East, the operator of the route (image via JR Group, Monaneko/public domain) From left: an EH200 freight locomotive between Nambu and Chūō Lines (photo by fuchu9730); an E233 series EMU leaving Mukaigawara Station on Nambu Line (photo by ykanazawa1999/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Contents: The route General description History Services, technical details Notable locationsRoute maps and media The rolling stock Commuter rolling stock Limited express rolling stock Freight locomotivesSources The route General description The Nambu Line connects Tachikawa Station in western Tokyo's metropolitan area with Kawasaki Station in the Greater Tokyo Area city of Kawasaki, just south of the capital. The distance between the two locations is 45.0 km (28.0 mi), and the line is a part of the Tokyo Mega Loop, an unclosed circular network that also involves Keiyō Line, Musashino Line and Yokohama Line. The overall route generally follows the Tama River - which forms a natural boundary between the Tokyo and Kanagawa prefectures - and also has a branch line. In the city of Kawasaki, the line is the only means of transportation connecting the southern and seaside (southeastern) areas with the city's northern section. It is owned and operated by JR East, while JR Freight operates freight services. In 2015, the Nambu Line transported 840,241 passengers daily. History The Nambu Line was launched starting in 1927, following the establishment of the Nambu Railway company by Kishiro Akimoto, a member of a council of a village in the locality south-west of Tokyo, in the late 1910s. The company received the licence for the line in the early 1920, and extended its plans for the route to Tachikawa. These initial plans involved both passenger transportation and gravel freight. The first section to be unveiled in 1927 was Kawasaki-Noborito, with the Bubaigawara-Tachikawa section completing the main line two years later. The branch line between Shitte and Hama-Kawasaki launched in 1930. All lines were electrified from the start, with only freight operating in non-electrified operation. The line received its current name with wartime nationalisation, after it became a Japanese Government Railways Nambu Line in 1944. Like with some other lines, there were calls for privatising the Nambu after the war, but it only happened with the general privatisation of the country's rail in 1987. Sections of the route were double-tracked in portions, with the process culminating in the 1960s and also seeing addition of reinforced tracks for carrying heavier freight. Some of the sections were also elevated across decades. Passenger numbers initially increased sharply, with the growth becoming comparatively flat since the 1990s. Services, technical details The main line route between Kawasaki and Tachikawa is 35.5 km (22.1 mi)-long, with the Shitte - Hama-Kawasaki branch distance at 4.1 km (2.5 mi). Freight runs on the 33.8 km (21.0 mi) Shitte-Tachikawa, 4.1 km (2.5 mi) Shitte - Hama-Kawasaki and 1.5 km (0.9 mi) Shitte - Shin-Tsurumi Signal Station sections. There are 29 stations on the route, with 26 on the main line and 3 on the branch line. Passenger services on the line involve local, rapid and limited express operations, with the local stopping at all stations on the main line and the rapid at 17. Weekday services are operated 2-4 minutes apart during morning and evening rush hours, with 8 trains per hour during the day (6 local and 2 rapid). Weekend and holiday days have intervals of about 5-7 minutes in the morning and evening, with 9 trains (6 local and 3 rapid) running. Freight operations see 2 round trips a day on the relevant sections, with container and tanker carriages transported. The line runs on the 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge, and has double-tracking between Tachikawa-Kawasaki. It is equipped with 1,500 Volt DC electrified overhead catenary, ATS-P safety system and has a speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph). Trains use Kamakura Vehicle Centre Nakahara Branch as their depot. Notable locations Notable locations along the route include: Reachable from Musashi-Kosugi Station: Todoroki Ryokuchi Park, where facilities include an athletics stadium, gym, a baseball field, a pool, a tennis court, and a museum Reachable from Musashi-Nakahara Station: Todoroki Athletics Stadium and Kawasaki City Museum Reachable from Kuji Station: Higashitakane Forest Park Reachable from Inadazutsumi Station: Inada Park, which faces the riverbed of the Tama River and has a youth baseball field, a cherry blossom garden and a children's pool Reachable from Fuchūhommachi Station: Tokyo Racecourse, which hosts horse races and has viewer capacity of up to 223,000; Ōkunitama Shrine, established in 111 CE according to its legend; Kyōdo-no-Mori open-air folk museum Reachable from Yaho Station: 903 CE-established Yabo Tenmangū shrine Route maps and media Cab view of a journey between Tachikawa and Kawasaki in August 2021 From left: the route in the context of the Tokyo metropolitan area, and in a wider geographical context (via rome2rio.com) Stations on the route and stopping pattern based on services (by nabechansky/CC BY-SA 3.0) From left: the line connects western Tokyo's metropolitan area with the city of Kawasaki in the Greater Tokyo Area (via japan-guide.com); the line (near bottom-left) as part of the Tokyo Mega Loop (by RailRider); JR East's official route PDF featuring lines including the Nambu (via jreast.co.jp) From left: an E233 series train of a local service departing from Musashi Mizonokuchi Station and bound for Kawasaki (photo by 007 Tanuki/CC BY-SA 2.1 jp); platforms 1 and 2 of Musashi-Kosugi Station (photo by Mister0124 /CC BY-SA 4.0); platforms 7 and 8 of Tachikawa Station (photo by Mister0124/CC BY-SA 4.0) From left: an E233 series train on the line (photo by 8107F_TRTA); pedestrian crossings under train tracks on the line (photo by thetokyofiles); an EH200 freight locomotive set 23 and an E233 commuter EMU passing one another (photo by doubleU_6456) From left: a formerly used 205 series subvariant on a curved section of the line in Shimo-Sakunobe (photo by ISAKA Yoji/CC BY-SA 2.1 jp); destination displays of an E233 EMU of the line (photo by hyuga_209_233); station displays at Musashi-Mizonokuchi Station (photo by 1dei4sakaba) The rolling stock Passenger EMUs on the main line are the E233-8000 and E233-8500 series trains, with the 205 series used on the branch line and E257-5500 series on limited express services. On the freight side, the locomotives used on the line are the EH200, EF210 and EF66 series. Commuter rolling stock E233-8000 and E233-8500 series A look at details of the E233 series EMUs of the line, including the interior The E233 series are manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Tokyu Car Corporation, J-TREC and JR East since 2006, with around 3,300 vehicles produced. Built at Niitsu, they replaced a range of older commuter trains including the 205, 207-900, 209, 211 and E331 series. Produced in stainless steel and with four pairs of doors per side on each car, they are formed in sets of 4, 5, 6, 8 or 10 cars. The Nambu Line has been using six-car E233 series since 2014 (for E233-8000 subvariant) and 2017 (for E233-8500). On the line these EMUs replaced the 205 and 209 series trains, with over 200 vehicles of the 8000 subvariant and six vehicles of the 8500 subvariant used on the line in recent years. The EMUs feature longitudinal seating for passengers and wheelchair spaces in cars 1 and 6. They are also equipped with LED interior lighting. The trains have one single-arm pantograph on car 4 and two single-arm pantographs on car 2. They can reach a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph), have the IGBT-VVVF traction system and ATS-P, ATS-SN, ATC and Digital ATC safety systems, as well as regenerative brakes. 205 series A 205-1200 series EMU set 50 at Kawasaki Station (photo by TC411-507/CC BY-SA 3.0) The 205 series have been used on the branch line since 2002, after they were modified from 1000 subvariants used for other lines. They are used in two-car formations and one-man (conductorless) services. They originated from the 205 series that were produced starting in 1985 to replace 103 series and 201 series trains, with a total of 1,461 produced between 1985-1994. Formed in sets ranging from two to 11 cars, most of the vehicles are able to reach a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph), with some limited at 120 km/h (75 mph). Limited express rolling stock E257-5500 series An E257-5500 series formation OM54 at the Musashi-Nakahara Station The E257-5500 series is a result of a recent refurbishment of the E257-2500 series EMUs, which has resulted in installation of destination displays and new interior decorations on the train, as well as slight changes to their luggage racks and a change of the colour of livery elements from blue to green. The variant originates from the E257 series, which first entered service in 2001 and has spawned a total of six variants. Nearly 250 vehicles have been built since production started at Hitachi, Kinki Sharyō and Tokyu Car Corporation factories. These trains serve on around 10 different lines in Japan. Capable of reaching a top speed of 130 km/h (80 mph), they are equipped with IGBT-VVVF traction system and ATS-P and ATS-SN safety systems. Freight locomotives Scenes of EH200, EF210 and EF66 locomotives on Nambu Branch Line. A video with cab controls of the EH200 can be seen here EH200 The EH200 is a design built since 2001 by Toshiba to replace the EF64, with dozens in service in the recent years. Based out of Takasaki depot, they are seen hauling consists on a number of lines, including the Chūō. The twin-unit locomotive has the 'Bo'Bo'+'Bo'Bo' wheel arrangement, IGBT traction system and ATS-SF safety system. The power output of 4,520 kW (6,060 hp) allows it to reach a top speed of 110 km/h (70 mph). EF210 An EH200 locomotive on Tōkaidō Main Line (photo by weichen_kh/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) The EF210 is built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Toshiba in Kobe since 1996 mainly to replace EF66 locomotives. The Nambu Line uses the EF210-100 subvariant, which has been produced since 2000 and is equipped with single-arm pantographs and IGBT traction system. Built in 'Bo-Bo-Bo' wheel arrangement, they weigh 100.8 tons. With their power output of 3,390 kW (4,550 hp) and tractive effort of 199 kN (45,000 lbf), they can reach a top speed of 110 km/h (70 mph). EF66 An EF66 in Shin Kawasaki (photo by Aleix Cortés/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Nambu Line also sees a locomotive from the earlier era operating on it, in the form of the EF66-100 subvariant of the EF66, a machine produced starting in the pre-privatisation Japanese National Railways period. This Bo'Bo'Bo' arrangement locomotive was produced starting in the second half of the 1960s. The 100 subvariant was built starting in 1989 due to demand, with manufacturers Kawasaki Sharyo, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kisha Seizo and Toshiba changing its exterior styling but keeping most of the systems of the earlier versions. There have been 89 locomotives of all subvariants produced, with less than 40 still remaining in service in the mid-2010s. They weigh 100 tonnes, power output of 3.9 MW (5,200 hp), tractive effort of 192 kN and a top speed of 110 km/h (70 mph). Former rolling stock Former passenger rolling stock comprises the 209 series, 205 series, 201 series, 103 series, 101 series, 73 series, 72 series, 40 series, 50 series, 33 series, 31 series, 30 series, 167 series and Odakyu Type 1600 EMUs. Former freight locomotives are the EF15, EF13, EF11, EF10, EF51, EF60, EF64, EF65, ED16, ED18, ED19, Nambu Railway Type 1000, Oume Electric Railway No. 1 and No. 2 and Okutama Electric Railway Type 1020. There were also C11 and C12 steam and DD13 and DE10 diesel locomotives used on the line. Sources https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Nambu_Line https://www.wikiwand.com/ja/南武線 https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3251.html https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Musashi-Kosugi_Station https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Todoroki_Ryokuchi https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Musashi-Nakahara_Station https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Kuji_Station_(Kanagawa) https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Inadazutsumi_Station https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Inada_Park https://www.city.kawasaki.jp/shisetsu/category/30-19-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Fuchū-Hommachi_Station https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Tokyo_Racecourse https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ōkunitama_Shrine https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Kyodo_no_mori https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Yaho_Station https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Yaho_Tenman-gū https://www.wikiwand.com/en/E233-8000_series https://www.wikiwand.com/ja/JR東日本E233系電車 https://www.wikiwand.com/ja/国鉄205系電車#/南武支線向け（1000番台） https://www.wikiwand.com/ja/JR貨物EF210形電気機関車 https://www.wikiwand.com/en/EF66 https://www.wikiwand.com/ja/国鉄EF66形電気機関車#
I wanted to add this video of sights of EF66 and EH210 locos pulling freight between Shitte Station and Shin-Tsurumi depot: It shows how close to residential homes the line runs, which is something that distinguishes routes like these from most.
