Line name: Chou-Sobu Line(中央・総武緩行線) Line length: 60.2 km (37.4 miles) Total stations: 39 The Chūō-Sōbu Line(Japanese: 中央・総武緩行線, Japanese pronunciation: [Chūō-Sōbu-kankō-sen]) is a railway line that runs through Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan. File:Chuo–Sbu Line train - Chiyodaku A Chūō–Sōbu Line train crosses a bridge in Chiyoda, Tokyo, 2021 Chūō-Sōbu Line is part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) network, but it operates on separate tracks along the right-of-way of the Chūō Main Line (Chūō Line (Rapid)) and Sōbu Main Line (Sōbu Line (Rapid)), providing service between Mitaka Station in the cities of Mitaka and Musashino and Chiba Station in Chiba. The term Kankō (緩行, lit. "slow run") distinguishes local trains on the Chūō-Sōbu line from rapid service trains running on the Chūō Main Line between Mitaka and Ochanomizu and on the Sōbu Main Line between Kinshichō and Chiba. The main east-west passenger line through metropolitan Tōkyō is a four-track line consisting of local and rapid (express) double-track lines. East of the Sumida river it consists of the Sōbu Main Line (総武本線, Sōbu-honsen) (local) and the Sōbu Rapid Line (rapid) (総武快速線, Sōbu-kaisoku-sen). West of Ochanomizu station, the line consists of the Chūō-Sōbu Line (中央・総武緩行線, Chūō-Sōbu-kankō-sen, lit. the Chūō-Sōbu slow line) (local) and the Chūō Main Line (中央本線, Chūō-honsen) (rapid). Between Ochanomizu, where the Chūō Main Line turns south to Tōkyō station and Kinshichō Station just east of the Sumida river, where the Sōbu Rapid Line goes underground and turns south to Tōkyō station there is only the single double-track Chūō-Sōbu Line, which runs through three intermediate stations, including Akihabara. Chūō, by the way, means “central” in Japanese, and may refer to the “special ward” (essentially a city in its own right) located around Tōkyō station and to its immediate east and south. However, the rail line’s name more likely refers to the entire line, of which the metropolitan portion is only a small part. The Chūō line actually extends 369 km (229 miles) to Nagoya, about two-thirds of the way to Osaka in western Japan. This line runs through the middle of the country, away from either coast, and hence is “central” in that regard. The Sōbu Line is not short either, extending 120 km (75 miles) from Tōkyō Station to Chōshi station on the coast north-east of Tōkyō in Chiba prefecture. Between them the lines bring hundreds of thousands of commuters into the city every day, on trains up to fifteen cars in length running on headways as short as a few minutes at peak times. Other railway lines access the city via these tracks as well, with run-through trains. Among these are the Narita Express trains; Narita airport is located in Chiba prefecture, on a branch known as the Narita line. Other run-through services include the Bōsō View Express (255 Series cars) from the Sotobō and Uchibō Lines to the east, and the E217 series cars of the Yokosuka Line (south of Tōkyō), some of which run as far as Narita. Finally, the colorful E257 trains from the east which run as far as Shinjuku on the west side of Tōkyō. Freight traffic east of Tōkyō appears to be entirely gone from the line now. To the west some freight remains on the Chūō Main Line outside of the metropolitan area. Formerly there were a couple of classification yards off the line, one to the east on the Etchūjima Cargo Line and one just west of Suidōbashi Station, and the Sōbu Freight Branch (also known as the “Shinkin Freight Line”), which runs north to near Kanamachi Station on the Jōban line. Those two lines appear to remain in use for JR East welded rail trains and nothing else. Urban Chūō and Chūō-Sōbu Lines The urban portion from Ochanomizu west to Yotsuya, on the way to Shinjuku, is particularly interesting. Not only is it extremely busy, but it runs along portions of the former outer moat of the historic Edo castle complex, now mostly urbanized, except for the central portion that contains the Tōkyō Imperial Palace, home of the Emperor. The old moat is now used for recreational and drainage purposes, This is a particularly scenic line for an urban area, and a portion is backed by the linear Sotobori park, a long stretch of Japanese cherry trees (Sakura), which draw large crowds during the spring blossom-viewing season. I’ve mapped out the tracks and signals along this portion in detail, as I plan to model it, or at least a portion of it, eventually. The following diagrams show these details, moving west. Signals along this line are an interesting mix of three, four and five-lamp signal heads. Akihabara station (below) is just east of Ochanomizu station, and a couple of stations west of the Sumida River. The Chūō-Sōbu Line runs on a high viaduct here, before crossing the Kanda river and entering Ochanomizu station. Video of the line: An E231 series EMU References: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2372.html http://www.sumidacrossing.org/Prototype/TokyoLines/ChuoSobuLine/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chūō–Sōbu_Line
You might like this suggestion of mine - its for the Sobu line but does include the eastern half of the Chuo-Sobu local https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/narita-kumihama-the-narita-sobu-and-yokosuka-lines.52556/
Being able to see the iconic Tokyo urban scenery opening in front of the train at 25:55 and 27:35 in the cab ride video above would be amazing in TSW2.
A bit of fun interaction between a driver and kids on the line: And shots of arrivals and departures at Nishi-Funabashi Station:
