JR East to Move Up Last Train Departure Times for Hachioji, Chiba, Other Lines in Spring 2021

JR East announced on October 21st that it would be moving up last train departure times for many lines in the Tokyo metro area starting next spring. The company plans to bring forward last train departure times on 17 lines in the greater Tokyo area by up to about 40 minutes. This is because late-night passengers have continued to decline amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The new schedule will mean that there will be almost no trains in operation after 1AM.

Schedule changes are to be applied to trains traveling away from central Tokyo to the suburbs. JR also plans to increase the service frequency before the last train on eight lines to prevent congestion.

The biggest schedule change is planned for the Takasaki and Ome lines, which will have their last trains brought forward by 37 minutes.

Some of the biggest changes include the following:

• The last train stopping at Hachioji will be moved up by about 30-minutes.
  • Current: Last train starting at Shinjuku (12:30AM) and stopping at Hachioji (1:15AM)
  • New: Will depart Shinjuku at about midnight and will arrive at Hachioji around 12:45AM.
• Many routes in the direction of Chiba will have the last train moved up by between 20 and 30-minutes.
  • Joban Line, for example:
    • Current: Last train departing Ueno (12:51AM) and arriving at Matsudo (1:10AM)
    • New: Last train will depart Ueno around 12:30AM and will arrive at Matsudo at around 12:52AM
  •  Chuo-Sobu Line, for example:
    • Current: Last train departing Akihabara (12:31AM) and arriving at Chiba Station (1:21AM)
    • New: Last train will depart Akihabara (12:08AM) and will arrive at Chiba Station (12:58AM)
  • Keiyo Line, for example:
    • Current: Last train departing Tokyo Station (12:35AM) and arriving at Soga (1:23AM)
    • New: Last train departing Tokyo Station (12:05AM) and will arrive at Soga (12:53AM)
  • Yamanote, for example:
    • Current: Last train departing Shibuya Station (12:52AM) and arriving at Ikebukuro (1:09AM)
    • New: Last train departing Shibuya Station (12:33AM) and will arrive at Ikebukuro (12:50AM)

Schedule changes will currently only be applied to trains traveling away from central Tokyo to the suburbs, with plans to increase the service frequency before the last train on eight lines to prevent congestion.

Based on figures from September, around 20,000 passengers are expected to be affected by the schedule changes to last trains on weekdays.

Sources: JR East press release (PDF in Japanese), JapanToday

Lead photo: Shinjuku Station by Scott Kouchi