Meitetsu Nishio Line

The Meitetsu Nishio Line (名鉄西尾線, Meitetsu Nishio-sen)^[1] is a railway line operated by the private railway operator Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu) in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, connecting Shin Anjō and Kira Yoshida. It originally included a branch from Nishio-guchi to Okazaki-shin on the Tokaido Main Line, which closed in 1962 (see History section below).

Meitetsu Nishio Line
A Meitetsu 3500 series EMU crossing the Yonezu Bridge
Overview
Native name	名鉄西尾線
Owner	Meitetsu
Locale	Anjō Nishio
Termini	Shin Anjō Kira Yoshida
Stations	14
Service
Type	Commuter rail
History
Opened	1911
Technical
Line length	24.7 km (15.35 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC
Operating speed	100 km/h (62 mph)
Route map Legend Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line to 0.0 Shin Anjō (新安城) Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line to 2.6 Kita Anjō (北安城) Tōkaidō Main Line 4.0 Minami Anjō (南安城) 5.7 Hekikai Furui (碧海古井) Tōkaidō Shinkansen 6.7 Horiuchikōen (堀内公園) 7.9 Sakurai (桜井) 9.5 Minami Sakurai (南桜井) 11.6 Yonezu (米津) Kanori River Yahagi River 13.0 Sakuramachi-mae (桜町前) 14.2 Nishioguchi (西尾口) 15.0 Nishio (西尾) 17.4 Fukuchi (福地) 20.5 Kami Yokosuka (上横須賀) 24.7 Kira Yoshida (吉良吉田) Meitetsu Gamagōri Line to Gamagōri (蒲郡)

Stations

No.	Station		Distance (km)	Local	Express	Limited Express	Transfers	Location
	Shin Anjō	新安城	0.0	●	●	●	Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line	Anjō	Aichi Prefecture
	Kita Anjō	北安城	2.6	●	▲	｜
	Minami Anjō	南安城	4.0	●	●	●
	Hekikai Furui	碧海古井	5.7	●	▲	｜
	Horiuchikōen	堀内公園	6.7	●	｜	｜
	Sakurai	桜井	7.9	●	●	●
	Minami Sakurai	南桜井	9.5	●	●	｜
	Yonezu	米津	11.6	●	●	｜		Nishio
	Sakuramachi-mae	桜町前	13.0	●	●	｜
	Nishioguchi	西尾口	14.2	●	｜	｜
	Nishio	西尾	15.0	●	●	●
	Fukuchi	福地	17.4	●	●	●
	Kami Yokosuka	上横須賀	20.5	●	●	●
	Kira Yoshida	吉良吉田	24.7	●	●	●	Meitetsu Gamagōri Line

●：Stop　▲：Partial stop　｜：Pass

History

The Nishio Railway opened the Okazaki-shin to (old) Nishio section in 1911 as a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge line, and extended it to Kira Yoshida between 1915 and 1916. In 1926, the line was acquired by the Aichi Electric Railway, which between 1928 and 1929 converted the line to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge, electrified it at 600 V DC, and connected to the line from Shin Anjō (see below) at Nishio-guchi, abandoning the 762 mm gauge section between there and Kami Yokosuka. That company merged with Meitetsu in 1935.

In the meantime, the Hekikai Electric Railway opened the Shin Anjō to Yonezu section, electrified at 1,500 V DC, in 1926, and extended the line to Nishio in 1928, with a connection to Kami Yokosuka opening in 1930. The company merged with Meitetsu in 1944.

The section from Nishio-guchi to Okazaki-shin was closed between 1959 and 1962, with the voltage on the Nishio to Kira Yoshida section being raised to 1,500 V DC in 1960.

With the start of the revised timetable on 16 March 2019, Nishio Line Express services began stopping at Minami Sakurai Station, and Semi-Express services were discontinued.^[2]

Former connecting lines

• Minami Anjo Station: The Hekikai Electric Railway opened a 1 km 1,067 mm gauge freight-only line electrified at 1,500 V DC to Anjo in 1939. The company merged with Meitetsu in 1944, which commenced passenger services in 1950. The line closed in 1961.
• Nishio Station: The Nishio Railway opened a 5 km 762 mm gauge line to Heisaka Port in 1914. Following the company merging with Aichi Electric Railway Co. in 1926, the line was converted to 1,067 mm gauge and electrified at 600 V DC in 1928. The line closed in 1960 when the Nishio line voltage was increased to 1,500 V DC.

See also

• List of railway lines in Japan