Meitetsu

Nagoya Railroad Co., Ltd. (名古屋鉄道株式会社), often abbreviated to as Meitetsu (名鉄), is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. tyo: 9048

Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the Panorama Car and the Panorama Car Super, both of which offer views through their wide front windows. While the Panorama Super train is used extensively for the railroad's limited express service, the older and more energy-consuming Panorama Car train has been retired, the last run being on 27 December 2008.

In the Tōkai region around Nagoya, it is a central firm of the Meitetsu Group, which is involved in transport, retail trade, service industry, and real estate, among other industries.

Meiji Mura is the corporate museum of Meitetsu.

As of March 2023, Meitetsu operated 444.2 km of track, 275 stations, and 1,076 train cars, being one of the largest private railway company in Japan.

History
Meitetsu was founded on 25 June 1894 as the 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 is famous for its red trains, including its famous 7000 series "Panorama Car" which was retired in 2009 after a career lasting nearly half a century. 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.

Major stations in Nagoya

 * NH36 : Meitetsu Nagoya Station
 * NH34 : Kanayama Station
 * NH33 : Jingū-mae Station
 * ST01 : Sakaemachi

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
As Meitetsu formed out of multiple mergers, it owned many deficit lines previously owned by other companies. The railway lines were also seeing competition from cars, due to the fact that Aichi prefecture has a 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 Bubble economy 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.