, publicly trading as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan.
Meitetsu, headquartered in Nagoya, is a core company of the Meitetsu Group which is involved in transport, retail, hotels, leisure/tourism and real estate, among other industries.
Meitetsu is famous for its red trains, with almost all trains being either fully red or feature red in combination with white, black or unpainted stainless steel. Apart from special liveries, the only current train type to not feature red is the 2000 series "μ-Sky" trains used on Airport Line Limited Express services which feature a blue and white livery. The 300 series used on the through service to the Nagoya Municipal Subway Kamiiida Line has unpainted stainless steel with a thick pink stripe (the line colour of the Kamiiida Line) below a thin red stripe.
As of March 2025, Meitetsu, as one of the largest private railway companies in Japan, operated 20 railway lines, of track, 276 stations, and 1,080 train cars.
History Meitetsu was founded on June 25, 1894, as the Aichi Basha Tetsudo, meaning Aichi Horsecar Company.
Over time, Meitetsu has acquired many small railway and interurban companies in the Nagoya area, many of whom were constructed and operated before and during World War II. For example, Meitetsu acquired its Kōwa Line on the Chita Peninsula from its merger with Chita Railroad on February 1, 1943, and it acquired its Mikawa Line from its merger with Mikawa Railroad.
Meitetsu's red trains include its famous 7000 series "Panorama Car" (which was retired in 2009 after a career lasting nearly half a century) and the Panorama Car Super, both of which offered panoramic views through their wide front windows. The most recent cars, however, are not solid red but rather brushed steel as in the case of the 4000 series and 5000 series, or white as in the case of the 1700 series and 2000 series.
While the company used to engage in the freight business and still possesses some freight locomotives, it no longer carries freight on a regular basis.
Lines
Direction Name Japanese Terminals Length (km) Main 名古屋本線 Toyohashi - Meitetsu Gifu 99.8 Eastern Aichi (Mikawa) 豊川線Kō - Toyokawa-inari7.2 西尾線Shin Anjō - Kira Yoshida24.7 蒲郡線Kira Yoshida - Gamagōri17.6 三河線Sanage - Hekinan39.8 豊田線Umetsubo - Akaike15.2 Chita Peninsula 常滑線Jingū-mae - Tokoname29.3 空港線Tokoname - Central Japan Int'l Airport4.2 築港線Ōe - Higashi Nagoyakō1.5 河和線Ōtagawa - Kōwa28.8 知多新線Fuki - Utsumi13.9 Western Aichi (Owari) 瀬戸線 Sakaemachi - Owari Seto 20.6 津島線 Sukaguchi - Tsushima 11.8 尾西線 Yatomi - Tamanoi 30.9 Northern Aichi and Gifu Through operation to/from the 犬山線 Biwajima Junction - Shin Unuma 26.8 各務原線 Meitetsu Gifu - Shin Unuma 17.6 広見線 Inuyama - Mitake 22.3 Through operation to/from the 小牧線 Kami Iida - Inuyama 20.4 竹鼻線 Kasamatsu - Egira 10.3 羽島線 Egira - Shin Hashima 1.3
Major stations
Major stations in Nagoya NH36 : Meitetsu Nagoya Station NH34 : Kanayama Station NH33 : Jingū-mae Station ST01 :
Nagoya Line (east side) and Toyokawa Line NH01 : Toyohashi Station (Toyohashi) NH13 : Higashi Okazaki Station (Okazaki) NH17 : Shin Anjō Station (Anjō) NH19 : Chiryū Station (Chiryū) NH23 : Zengo Station (Toyoake) TK04 : Toyokawa-inari Station (Toyokawa)
Tokoname Line, Chikkō Line, and Airport Line TA09 : Ōtagawa Station (Tokai) TA12 : Asakura Station (Chita) TA22 : Tokoname Station (Tokoname) TA24 : Central Japan International Airport Station
Kōwa Line and Chita New Line KC08 : Agui Station (Agui) KC12 : Chita Handa Station (Handa) KC16 : Chita Taketoyo Station (Taketoyo) KC19 : Kōwa Station (Mihama) KC24 : Utsumi Station (Minami Chita)
Mikawa Line, Toyota Line, Nishio Line, and Gamagōri Line MY07 : Toyotashi Station (Toyota) TT06 : Nisshin Station (Nisshin) MU02 : Kariya Station (Kariya) MU06 : Mikawa Takahama Station (Takahama) MU10 : Hekinan-chūō Station (Hekinan) GN10 : Nishio Station (Nishio) GN13 : Kira Yoshida Station GN22 : Gamagōri Station (Gamagōri)
Nagoya Line (west side), Takehana Line, and Hashima Line NH42 : Sukaguchi Station (Kiyosu) NH47 : Kōnomiya Station (Inazawa) NH50 : Meitetsu Ichinomiya Station (Ichinomiya) NH56 : Kasamatsu Station (Kasamatsu) NH60 : Meitetsu Gifu Station (Gifu) TH07 : Hashima-shiyakusho-mae Station (Hashima)
Tsushima Line and Bisai Line TB01 : Jimokuji Station (Ama) TB07 : Tsushima Station (Tsushima) TB09 : Saya Station (Aisai) TB11 : Yatomi Station (Yatomi) BS06 : Morikami Station BS23 : Okuchō Station
Inuyama Line, Kakamigahara Line, and Hiromi Line IY03 : Kami Otai Station IY04 : Nishiharu Station (Kitanagoya) IY07 : Iwakura Station (Iwakura) IY10 : Kōnan Station (Kōnan) IY15 : Inuyama Station (Inuyama) IY17 : Shin Unuma Station KG06 : Mikakino Station KG08 : Kakamigahara-Shiyakusho-mae Station (Kakamigahara) HM06 : Shin Kani Station (Kani) HM10 : Mitake Station (Mitake)
Komaki Line KM06 : Komaki Station (Komaki) KM13 : Kami Iida Station
Seto Line ST06 : Ōzone Station ST15 : Owari Asahi Station (Owariasahi) ST20 : Owari Seto Station (Seto)
Rolling stock
Nippon Sharyo has produced nearly every car that Meitetsu operates or has operated, a notable exception being its Class EL120, an electric locomotive, which was produced by Toshiba, but very few units were produced for Meitetsu. The Class EL120 is one of the few locomotives that Meitetsu possesses.
The following are the train types that Meitetsu operates today, as well as selected types that Meitetsu has retired.
Limited express 1200 and 1230 series "Panorama Super" 1800/1850 series 2000 series "μ-Sky" 2200/2300 series
Commuter
100/200 series 300 series 3100/3500/3700 series 3150 series 3300 series 4000 series 5000 series (2008) 6000/6500/6800 series 9100/9500 series
Withdrawn train types
1380 series 1600 series "Panorama Super" 1700 series 7000 series "Panorama Car" 5000 series (1955) 5300/5700 series
Electric locomotives Meitetsu DeKi 300 Meitetsu DeKi 400 Meitetsu DeKi 600 Meitetsu Class EL120
Rationalization
Meitetsu inherited many deficit lines as a result of multiple mergers. The railway lines were also seeing competition from cars due to Aichi prefecture's notable automobile industry in cities such as Toyota. Meitetsu has abolished over 15 lines over the past 70 years, while also closing sections with low ridership. Additionally, with the collapse of the asset price bubble in the 1990s, and the privatization of JNR, formation of Central Japan Railway Company, the company also cut the number of companies in its corporate group from 250 to 139.
References
External links
Nagoya Railroad (English Official Site) Nagoya Railroad (Japanese Official Site) Museum Meiji Village