Shizuoka–Shimizu Line

The line began as a narrow, freight-first tramway. Licences to lay track were granted in 1906 for the section between Minami-Andō (around present-day Otowachō) and Irienchō, and in 1907 for the extensions toward Takajōmachi (the future Shin-Shizuoka) and to the Shimizu wharf at Ukeshinden. On 18 May 1908 the original Shizuoka Railway company, headed by the entrepreneur Amemiya Keijirō, opened the first stretch from Tsujimura (now Shin-Shimizu) to Shimizu-machi (later the wharf), built to 762 mm gauge, steam-worked, and carrying freight only. Passenger service over that section began on 1 July 1908, and on 9 December 1908 the Takajōmachi–Tsujimura segment opened, completing the through line from Takajōmachi to the wharf, a distance then measured as 7 miles 50 chains.

Ownership changed hands rapidly in the line's early decades. In August 1908 the original Shizuoka Railway was absorbed by Dai-Nippon Kidō, becoming that company's Shizuoka branch; the line was then transferred to Sun'en Denki on 1 May 1919. Under Sun'en Denki the railway was modernised: on 2 August 1920 it was regauged from 762 mm to 1,067 mm and electrified at 600 V DC. The company was renamed Shizuoka Electric Railway on 28 February 1923, and over the following years the route was progressively double-tracked, beginning with the Takajōmachi–Kōen-mae (present Otowachō) section on 1 April 1925 and continuing through 1930.

The present operator was formed during the wartime consolidation of regional transport. On 15 May 1943 Shizuoka Electric Railway merged with the Fujisō Railway, the Chūen Railway and others to create the modern Shizuoka Railway. At that time Shizutetsu's network extended well beyond today's single line: the merger brought in the railways that made up the Sun'en Line, a long light railway along the coast, and the company also ran the Shizuoka City Line, a street-tram network in central Shizuoka. The June and July 1945 air raids on Shizuoka and Shimizu damaged installations along the route, and at the end of that year the wharf-side section beyond Shimizu-Aioichō was suspended.

In the postwar years the line was reorganised and given its lasting identity. In December 1946 the in-town tram portion was separated off as the Shizuoka City Line while the Takajōmachi–Shimizu-Aioichō section continued as the railway proper, and the suspended wharf extension was formally abolished by 1949. In a celebrated episode on 27 March 1950, when a freight train derailed on the parallel Tōkaidō Main Line, Shizutetsu connected its up track to the JNR line and let national-railway trains run over its route while the trunk line was repaired, for which it received a commendation from the Minister of Transport, said to be the first ever given to a private railway operator. On 1 October 1954 the two terminals were renamed Shin-Shizuoka and Shin-Shimizu, the names they carry today.

Through the second half of the twentieth century the line was steadily upgraded into a modern commuter operation. Trolley poles gave way to pantographs in 1955; all-stainless-steel 1000 series trains entered service on 25 April 1973; one-person operation began on 1 September 1975; and centralised traffic control was introduced in December 1979. A new station, Kenritsu-Bijutsukan-mae, opened on 25 March 1986, when the maximum speed was raised from 65 to 70 km/h. Express trains, introduced in 1958 in place of an earlier rapid service, were discontinued on 1 April 1996, leaving only local trains; the line also weathered serious disruption, including the Tanabata flood of July 1974, which cut all services for about a week.

In the twenty-first century the line has continued to modernise while remaining Shizutetsu's core asset. The A3000 series, a new locally significant stainless-steel design, entered service on 24 March 2016 and progressively replaced the 1000 series. Express and commuter-express running, which had been reintroduced in 2011 but then suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic and dropped from the timetable in October 2021, was revived in a timetable revision on 29 March 2025. Today the Shizuoka–Shimizu Line carries dense, frequent daytime service linking the two halves of Shizuoka City and remains the surviving rail line of a company that once operated a far larger network of railways and trams.

• 190621 August: a licence is granted to lay tramway track between Minami-Andō (around present Otowachō) and Irienchō.
• 190711 October: licences are granted for the extensions to Takajōmachi (the future Shin-Shizuoka) and to the Shimizu wharf at Ukeshinden.
• 190818 May: the original Shizuoka Railway (president Amemiya Keijirō) opens Tsujimura (now Shin-Shimizu)–Shimizu-machi at 762 mm gauge, steam-worked and freight-only; passenger service begins 1 July; and on 9 December the Takajōmachi–Tsujimura segment opens, completing the Takajōmachi–wharf line (7 miles 50 chains).
• 1908August: the original Shizuoka Railway is absorbed by Dai-Nippon Kidō, becoming that company's Shizuoka branch.
• 19191 May: the line is transferred to Sun'en Denki.
• 19202 August: the line is regauged from 762 mm to 1,067 mm and electrified at 600 V DC.
• 192328 February: the operator is renamed Shizuoka Electric Railway.
• 19251 April: double-tracking begins, with the Takajōmachi–Kōen-mae (present Otowachō) section; further double-tracking follows through 1930.
• 194315 May: Shizuoka Electric Railway merges with the Fujisō Railway, the Chūen Railway and others to form the modern Shizuoka Railway (Shizutetsu).
• 1945Air raids on Shizuoka (20 June) and Shimizu (6 July) damage installations along the line; on 1 December the wharf-side section beyond Shimizu-Aioichō is suspended.
• 194627 December: the in-town tram portion (Anzai–Takajōmachi) is separated as the Shizuoka City Line, while Takajōmachi–Shimizu-Aioichō continues as the railway line.
• 195027 March: after a freight train derails on the parallel Tōkaidō Main Line, Shizutetsu links its up track to the JNR line and runs national-railway trains over its route; it later receives a Minister of Transport commendation, said to be the first to a private railway.
• 19541 October: Takajōmachi Station is renamed Shin-Shizuoka and Shimizu-Aioichō Station is renamed Shin-Shimizu — the line's present termini.
• 197325 April: all-stainless-steel 1000 series trains enter service.
• 19747 July: the Tanabata flood causes a landslide disaster that suspends the whole line; full service is restored on the 15th.
• 19751 September: one-person (driver-only) operation begins.
• 1979December: centralised traffic control (CTC) is introduced.
• 198625 March: Kenritsu-Bijutsukan-mae Station opens and the maximum speed is raised from 65 to 70 km/h.
• 19961 April: express trains (introduced in 1958) are discontinued, leaving only local trains.
• 201624 March: the A3000 series enters service, progressively replacing the 1000 series.
• 202529 March: a timetable revision revives express and commuter-express running, which had been dropped from the timetable in October 2021.