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Nagoya Rinkai Rapid Transit line3 min read

Aonami Line

西名古屋港線

The Aonami Line (あおなみ線, Aonami-sen), formally the Nishi-Nagoyakō Line (西名古屋港線, "West Nagoya Port Line"), is a 15.2-kilometre third-sector commuter railway in the city of Nagoya, operated by Nagoya Rinkai Rapid Transit (名古屋臨海高速鉄道, Nagoya Rinkai Kōsoku Tetsudō).

It runs from Nagoya Station south through the city's Minato ward to Kinjō-futō Station on the waterfront, serving eleven stations over 1,067 mm narrow-gauge, double track electrified at 1,500 V DC. The passenger line was created in 2004 by reusing an existing freight branch built by Japanese National Railways and extending it into the Nagoya port district; its name combines the company colour ao ("blue"), na for Nagoya and mi for Minato ward, and as two words ao nami can also be read as "blue waves".

NagoyaNakamuraTobishimaMinamiKanieMizuhoOharu2 km
Route of the Aonami Line · Aichi · Boundaries: MLIT / GSI / Japan Post

History

The corridor began life as freight infrastructure. After the national railway's Gifu construction office surveyed the route in October 1947, the Nishi-Nagoyakō Line opened on 1 June 1950 as a freight branch of the Tōkaidō Main Line, running 12.6 km from Sasashima Freight Terminal to Nishi-Nagoyakō and operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR). Steam haulage on the branch was discontinued on 25 April 1971. Nagoya Freight Terminal opened on 1 October 1980, and Sasashima Freight Terminal was closed in the JNR timetable revision of 1 November 1986.

With the division and privatisation of JNR on 1 April 1987, the line passed to the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) as a Class 1 railway operator, with JR Freight as a Class 2 operator running the freight trains. Plans to add passenger service took shape in the 1990s, and on 2 December 1997 the third-sector company Nagoya Rinkai Rapid Transit was established, funded by the city of Nagoya; it obtained a Class 1 railway licence ten days later. The passenger scheme reused roughly 12 km of the existing freight line and added a newly built extension of about 4 km out to Kinjō-futō Station.

The freight alignment was rebuilt for passengers over the following years. The Nagoya–Nagoya Freight Terminal section was electrified on 30 March 1998, the Nagoya Freight Terminal–Nishi-Nagoyakō section was abolished in 2001, and the route was upgraded with new stations between Nagoya and Nakajima while the tracks beyond Nakajima were elevated to remove level crossings. The nickname "Aonami Line" was selected from public submissions on 17 November 2003, test runs began in April 2004, and construction cost in the region of 93 billion yen.

The Aonami Line opened to passengers on 6 October 2004, running 15.2 km from Nagoya to Kinjō-futō as the Nishi-Nagoyakō Line of Nagoya Rinkai Rapid Transit; on the same day JR Central's Class 1 freight operation between Nagoya and Nagoya Freight Terminal was discontinued, although JR Freight continues to work freight over the Nagoya end of the line, so the section between Nagoya and Arako carries both passenger and freight traffic. On 23 October 2008 the first train of the day derailed just after leaving Nagoya, suspending services on the whole line in both directions until 22:30.

Despite serving destinations such as the Nagoya International Exhibition Hall, ridership fell well short of the figures projected at opening. In July 2010 the operating company declared debts of around 46 billion yen and applied for alternative dispute resolution to avoid bankruptcy. The line later found a firmer footing as the principal rail access to new waterfront attractions clustered near its Kinjō-futō terminus.

The SCMaglev and Railway Park, JR Central's railway museum, opened nearby in 2011, and to mark the 2017 opening of Legoland Japan the operator introduced non-stop trains between Nagoya and Kinjō-futō on 10 March 2017, followed by a Legoland-themed wrapped train on 27 March. In 2022 the intermediate station Nagoya Keibajō-mae was renamed Kōhoku, and Nagoya Racecourse, which the line had served, moved away the same year.

Stations on this line

11 stations tracked on the map, listed alphabetically. Select any to read its page.

Timeline
  • 1947October: the JNR Gifu construction office carries out a survey for the planned freight line.
  • 19501 June: the Nishi-Nagoyakō Line opens as a JNR freight branch of the Tōkaidō Main Line, Sasashima Freight Terminal–Nishi-Nagoyakō, 12.6 km.
  • 197125 April: steam locomotive haulage on the branch is discontinued (de-steaming).
  • 19801 October: Nagoya Freight Terminal opens on the line.
  • 19861 November: Sasashima Freight Terminal is abolished in the JNR timetable revision.
  • 19871 April: with the division and privatisation of JNR, JR Central becomes the Class 1 operator and JR Freight the Class 2 operator.
  • 19972 December: Nagoya Rinkai Rapid Transit is established as a third-sector company funded by the city of Nagoya; it obtains a Class 1 railway licence on 12 December.
  • 199830 March: the Nagoya–Nagoya Freight Terminal section (3.9 km) is electrified.
  • 200131 March: the Nagoya Freight Terminal–Nishi-Nagoyakō section (8.7 km) is abolished.
  • 200317 November: the nickname 'Aonami Line' is selected from public submissions.
  • 20046 October: the Aonami Line opens to passengers as the Nishi-Nagoyakō Line of Nagoya Rinkai Rapid Transit, Nagoya–Kinjō-futō, 15.2 km; JR Central's Class 1 freight operation between Nagoya and Nagoya Freight Terminal is discontinued the same day.
  • 200823 October: the first train of the day derails just after departing Nagoya; services on the whole line in both directions are suspended until 22:30.
  • 2010July: the operating company declares debts of around 46 billion yen and applies for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to avoid bankruptcy.
  • 201710 March: non-stop trains between Nagoya and Kinjō-futō begin for the opening of Legoland Japan; a Legoland-themed wrapped train follows on 27 March.
  • 202212 March: the intermediate station Nagoya Keibajō-mae is renamed Kōhoku.

Sources

Last updated 16 October 2026.

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