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Meitetsu

Japanese railway company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Meitetsu
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Nagoya Railroad Co., Ltd. (名古屋鉄道株式会社, Nagoya Tetsudō Kabushiki Gaisha),[3] publicly trading as Meitetsu (名鉄), is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. TYO: 9048

Quick Facts Native name, Company type ...

Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the Panorama Car and the Panorama Car Super, both of which offer views through their wide front windows. While the Panorama Super train is used extensively for the railroad's limited express service, the older and more energy-consuming Panorama Car train has been retired, the last run being on 27 December 2008.

In the Tōkai region around Nagoya, it is a central firm of the Meitetsu Group, which is involved in transport, retail trade, service industry, and real estate, among other industries.

As of March 2023, Meitetsu operated 444.2 kilometres (276.0 mi) of track, 275 stations, and 1,076 train cars, being one of the largest private railway companies in Japan.[4]

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History

Meitetsu was founded on June 25, 1894, as the Aichi Horsecar Company.[5]

Over time, Meitetsu has acquired many small railway and interurban companies in the Nagoya area, many of whom were constructed and operated before and during World War II. For example, Meitetsu acquired its Kōwa Line on the Chita Peninsula from its merger with Chita Railroad on February 1, 1943, and it acquired its Mikawa Line from its merger with Mikawa Railroad.[6][7]

Meitetsu is famous for its red trains, including its famous 7000 series "Panorama Car" which was retired in 2009 after a career lasting nearly half a century.[8] The most recent cars, however, are not solid red but rather brushed steel as in the case of the 4000 series and 5000 series, or white as in the case of the 1700 series and 2000 series.[9]

While the company used to engage in the freight business and still possesses some freight locomotives, it no longer carries freight on a regular basis.[10]

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Lines

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Line map
More information Direction, Name ...
  1. Through operation to/from the Nagoya Municipal Subway Tsurumai Line
  2. Through operation to/from the Nagoya Municipal Subway Kamiiida Line
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Major stations

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The Meitetsu limited express network

Major stations in Nagoya

Nagoya Line (east side) and Toyokawa Line

Tokoname Line, Chikkō Line, and Airport Line

Kōwa Line and Chita New Line

Mikawa Line, Toyota Line, Nishio Line, and Gamagōri Line

Nagoya Line (west side), Takehana Line, and Hashima Line

Tsushima Line and Bisai Line

Inuyama Line, Kakamigahara Line, and Hiromi Line

Komaki Line

Seto Line

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Rolling stock

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Meitetsu 1000 series "Panorama Super" (left) and 2000 series "Airport Limited Express [μSky]" (right)

Nippon Sharyo has produced nearly every car that Meitetsu operates or has operated, a notable exception being its Class EL120, an electric locomotive, which was produced by Toshiba, but very few units were produced for Meitetsu. The Class EL120 is one of the few locomotives that Meitetsu possesses.

The following are the train types that Meitetsu operates today, as well as selected types that Meitetsu has retired.

Limited express

Commuter

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Meitetsu 5000 series commuter train

Withdrawn train types

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Meitetsu 7000 series "Panorama Car" train

Electric locomotives

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Rationalization

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Tamatsu-ura Station, one of the stations that were closed due to low passengers

Meitetsu inherited many deficit lines as a result of multiple mergers. The railway lines were also seeing competition from cars due to Aichi prefecture's notable automobile industry in cities such as Toyota. Meitetsu has abolished over 15 lines over the past 70 years, while also closing sections with low ridership.[11] Additionally, with the collapse of the asset price bubble in the 1990s, and the privatization of JNR, formation of Central Japan Railway Company, the company also cut the number of companies in its corporate group from 250 to 139.[12]

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References

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