The Kita-Kogane Branch of the Musashino Line (Minami-Nagareyama–Kita-Kogane, 2.9 km) is a freight branch with no scheduled passenger service. It’s a shortcut connecting the Joban Line and the Musashino Line, rideable only on special trains.
To ride freight branches like this, you need to spot special train announcements and predict the route from the timetable. Cross-referencing the stopping pattern and past similar trains helps confirm whether the train passes through the branch you want. Popular trains sell out quickly, so early booking is essential.
JR East’s Mito branch office announced a limited express called “Koedo Kawagoe no Kaze” running between Hitachi and Kawagoe. Looking up the route, I found it would go from the Joban Line through the Kita-Kogane Branch onto the Musashino Line, then continue to Kawagoe. A special train that passes through the Kita-Kogane Branch, and one you can ride with a regular limited express ticket. Unlike a charter train, the barrier to entry is low.
Itinerary
The train was an E653 series, 7-car formation. The route ran from the Joban Rapid Line through the Kita-Kogane Branch, Musashino Line, Nishi-Urawa Branch, Omiya Branch, Tohoku Freight Line, Kawagoe Freight Line before entering the Kawagoe Line. The train originated at Hitachi, but I boarded at Kashiwa—the shortest segment that would cover the Kita-Kogane Branch. Most passengers were headed to Kawagoe for sightseeing, a very different crowd from the freight line tours. The limited express ticket was purchased separately for the Kashiwa–Kawagoe section.
Kita-Kogane Branch to Kawagoe
Leaving Kashiwa, the train headed south on the Joban Rapid Line. Just past Kita-Kogane, it branched off the rapid line’s up track and entered the Kita-Kogane Branch, heading toward Minami-Nagareyama on the Musashino Line. The branch is a short 2.9 km stretch, and the passage was over in no time.
On the Musashino Line, the train turned onto the Nishi-Urawa Branch at Musashi-Urawa and continued to Bessho Signal Station, where it joined the Omiya Branch. Passing through Yono and Omiya Yard, it entered the Tohoku Freight Line. At Omiya Station, the train made an operational stop at platform 11.
From Omiya, the train entered the Kawagoe Line—but not via the underground platform 21 used by regular Kawagoe Line services. Instead, it took the Kawagoe Freight Line, passing alongside the Railway Museum and joining the Kawagoe Line at Nisshin.
The Kawagoe Freight Line is another section not used by regular passenger trains—this single ride covered two freight lines at once.
Kawagoe
Arrived at Kawagoe at 10:05. Local residents were on the platform welcoming the train—they had been waiting for the special express to arrive. From Kawagoe, I continued on the Kawagoe Line to Komagawa, then the Hachiko Line and Chuo Main Line back to Tokyo.
Coverage Results
Completed the Kita-Kogane Branch (Musashino Line branch, Minami-Nagareyama–Kita-Kogane, 2.9 km). For more on the Musashino Line’s branch lines, see this article.
The whole journey made for a grand detour from Kashiwa to Tokyo: special express via freight branches to Kawagoe, then the Kawagoe Line, Hachiko Line, and Chuo Main Line back.