Kashima Line

The line was built to serve the development of the Kashima Coastal Industrial Zone on the southern coast of Ibaraki Prefecture, a national development project, and to link that area with the Tokyo metropolitan region. A line from Kashima in Ibaraki to Sawara in Chiba had been listed in appendix item 39-2 of the amended Railway Construction Act, and in 1964 the Minister of Transport designated the Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation to build it. Construction work then proceeded under that public corporation. Because it was laid out to a high standard, almost the whole route was carried on elevated structures and bridges; once past the junction with the Narita Line there is not a single level crossing anywhere on the Kashima Line.

The line is notable for its long bridges across the waterways of the low-lying Suigō district. It crosses the Tone River and the Hitachitone River — the latter forming the boundary between Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures — and then Lake Kitaura, part of Lake Kasumigaura. The Kitaura bridge is 1,236 metres long, a length second only to the Tōkaidō Shinkansen's bridge over the Fuji River. Together the elevated sections and bridges make up about 55 per cent of the whole line, which runs through soft ground in a district dominated by water. In strong winds, speed restrictions or suspensions are sometimes imposed between Katori and Jūnikyō and between Nobukata and Kashimajīngū.

Construction had begun in the late 1960s — a groundbreaking ceremony was held in March 1967 — and the first section, from Katori to Kashimajīngū (14.2 km), opened on 20 August 1970 as the Japanese National Railways (JNR) Kashima Line, equipped from the outset with centralised traffic control. On 12 November 1970 the further section from Kashimajīngū to Kita-Kashima (3.2 km) opened as a freight line, beginning freight operations over the Katori–Kita-Kashima stretch. The line was operated by diesel railcars at first and was electrified at 1,500 V DC in 1974. In March 1975 the limited express Ayame began running between Tokyo and Kashimajīngū, and the express Kashima between Ryōgoku and Kashimajīngū.

After the New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita Airport) opened in 1978, the line was used to carry aviation fuel produced in the Kashima Coastal Industrial Zone: tank-car trains ran from the Kashima area via the Kashima Rinkō Line, the Kashima Line and the Narita Line to a terminal at Tsuchiya near Narita. This provisional fuel transport had been expected to last about three years, but it continued until 1983 because the completion of the pipeline linking the port with the airport was delayed, a delay that deepened local distrust. Passenger service over the Kashimajīngū–Kita-Kashima section was opened on 25 July 1978 together with passenger operation on the Kashima Rinkō Line, abolished on 1 December 1983, and then reopened on 14 March 1985 when the Ōarai-Kashima Line opened.

On 1 April 1987, with the privatisation of JNR, the Kashima Line passed to JR East, while Japan Freight Railway (JR Freight) became a Class II operator over it. On 12 March 1994 Kita-Kashima Station was renamed Kashima Soccer Stadium Station, serving as a temporary station for spectators at the adjacent stadium, home of the Kashima Antlers. The whole line was incorporated into JR East's Tokyo suburban fare area in March 2009, and IC cards such as Suica became usable at all of its stations from 14 March 2020.

The line has long been essentially a local service used mainly by residents along the route. The limited express Ayame, which had run since 1975, declined in the face of competing expressway buses after the Higashi-Kantō Expressway and the Kashima highway-bus service appeared, falling from a peak of five daily round trips to a single round trip, and it was discontinued in the timetable revision of 14 March 2015. The line was knocked out completely by the earthquake of 11 March 2011, with damage to viaducts and station buildings, and service was restored in stages, reaching Kashima Soccer Stadium again by 16 April 2011. Since 13 March 2021 one-man operation has been worked by E131 series trains, and JR Freight trains still run the length of the line, handing over to the Kashima Rinkō Line for the industrial zone.

• 196716 March: groundbreaking ceremony for the line.
• 197020 August: the Katori–Kashimajīngū section (14.2 km) opens as the JNR Kashima Line, with centralised traffic control (CTC) from the start.
• 197012 November: the Kashimajīngū–Kita-Kashima section (3.2 km) opens as a freight line; freight operations begin over Katori–Kita-Kashima.
• 197426 October: the Katori–Kita-Kashima section is electrified at 1,500 V DC.
• 197510 March: the limited express Ayame begins between Tokyo and Kashimajīngū, and the express Kashima between Ryōgoku and Kashimajīngū.
• 197825 July: passenger service begins over Kashimajīngū–Kita-Kashima together with passenger operation on the Kashima Rinkai Railway Kashima Rinkō Line (no passenger handling at Kita-Kashima).
• 19831 December: the Kashimajīngū–Kita-Kashima passenger service, begun in 1978, is abolished (jet-fuel freight had ended that August once the pipeline came into service).
• 198514 March: passenger service over Kashimajīngū–Kita-Kashima reopens with the opening of the Ōarai-Kashima Line.
• 19871 April: with the privatisation of JNR, the line passes to JR East; JR Freight becomes a Class II operator.
• 199412 March: Kita-Kashima Station is renamed Kashima Soccer Stadium Station, serving as a temporary station for stadium spectators.
• 20022 June: a 2002 FIFA World Cup match (Argentina–Nigeria) is played at Kashima Stadium; JR East runs special rapid trains between Chiba and Kashima Soccer Stadium.
• 200914 March: the whole line is incorporated into JR East's Tokyo suburban (kinkō) fare area.
• 201111 March: the line is knocked out completely by the Tōhoku earthquake, with damage to viaducts and stations; service is restored in stages, reaching Kashima Soccer Stadium again by 16 April.
• 201514 March: the limited express Ayame is discontinued.
• 202014 March: IC cards such as Suica become usable at all stations on the line.
• 202113 March: one-man operation begins using E131 series trains.