Chikkō Line

The line originated with the Aichi Electric Railway, which was granted a railway licence on 8 June 1920 and opened the route on 15 January 1924 between Ōe and Nishi-rokugō (the station that is now Higashi Nagoyakō), electrifying it at 1,500 V DC from the outset. The purpose of the branch was to reach the developing waterfront of Nagoya Port, and from early on it served the industrial works and reclaimed land along the harbour rather than a conventional residential catchment.

The line's stations were reorganised as the port district grew. On 30 January 1932 two stations were renamed, Higashi-rokugō becoming Aiden Chikkō and Nishi-rokugō becoming Higashi Nagoyakō. Aiden Chikkō was itself renamed Meiden Chikkō on 1 December 1938, following the consolidation that brought the Aichi Electric Railway into Nagoya Railroad. On 16 October 1939 passenger services at Meiden Chikkō were discontinued and the line was double-tracked, reflecting heavy freight and works traffic to the port.

On 26 September 1959 the line was cut by Typhoon Vera (the Isewan Typhoon), one of the most destructive storms in modern Japanese history, and when services resumed on 12 October 1959 the route was restored as a single track rather than rebuilt as double. In 1965 the outer sidings serving the No. 7, No. 8 and No. 9 reclaimed blocks were transferred to the newly formed Nagoya Rinkai Railway, a dedicated freight operator. The Chikkō Line itself had long handled substantial freight traffic, but according to the English-language account these freight services ceased in 1984.

For more than a decade the line had an unusual neighbour: between 1991 and 2004 a test track for maglev trains ran alongside it, and that test line was removed after the Linimo maglev line opened to the public. The Chikkō Line still keeps its freight-era character: at Meiden Chikkō, between the line's two stations, there is a connection to the freight-only Tōchiku Line of the Nagoya Rinkai Railway, linking Meitetsu's passenger branch to the industrial rail network of the port.

In its modern role the line carries only a sparse passenger service tailored to factory shifts, and its operation has been repeatedly trimmed and adjusted. A timetable revision on 27 March 2003 cut trains to two cars; Tranpass IC ticketing began on 15 January 2005; trains were lengthened to four cars on 3 October 2009; one-man (driver-only) operation started on 26 March 2011; and further timetable revisions followed in 2013 and 2020. From the timetable revision of 16 March 2024 the line was again reduced to two-car trains, and the 5000 series sets previously used were replaced by 3100, 3150 and 9100 series two-car units, leaving the Chikkō Line as a brief but distinctive survivor of Nagoya's port-railway era.

• 19208 June: the Aichi Electric Railway is granted a railway licence for the line.
• 192415 January: the line opens between Ōe and Nishi-rokugō (now Higashi Nagoyakō), electrified at 1,500 V DC, built by the Aichi Electric Railway to serve Nagoya Port.
• 193230 January: stations are renamed — Higashi-rokugō becomes Aiden Chikkō and Nishi-rokugō becomes Higashi Nagoyakō.
• 19381 December: Aiden Chikkō Station is renamed Meiden Chikkō, after the Aichi Electric Railway is absorbed into Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu).
• 193916 October: passenger service at Meiden Chikkō is discontinued and the line is double-tracked.
• 195926 September: the line is cut by Typhoon Vera (the Isewan Typhoon); when service resumes on 12 October it is restored as a single track rather than rebuilt as double.
• 1965The outer sidings serving the No. 7, No. 8 and No. 9 reclaimed blocks are transferred to the newly formed Nagoya Rinkai Railway, a dedicated freight operator.
• 1984Freight services on the line, long substantial, cease.
• 199025 November: the operating distance to Higashi Nagoyakō Station is shortened by 0.4 km.
• 1991A test track for maglev trains begins running alongside the line; it operates until 2004 and is removed after the Linimo maglev line opens.
• 200327 March: a timetable revision reduces trains to two cars.
• 200515 January: the Tranpass IC ticketing system enters service on the line.
• 20093 October: a timetable revision lengthens trains to four cars.
• 201126 March: one-man (driver-only) operation begins.
• 20207 May: irregular (non-scheduled) extra trains are added.
• 202416 March: a timetable revision reduces trains to two cars again; the previous 5000 series sets are replaced by 3100, 3150 and 9100 series two-car units.