Editing Musashino Line (section)

==History==
The Musashino Line was initially envisioned as a "Tokyo Outer Loop Line" in a 1927 railway appropriations bill, but was not built for several decades due to [[World War II]] and its aftermath.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}} Construction finally began in November 1965.<ref name="dj364"/>

In 1967, a train carrying [[jet fuel]] to [[Tachikawa Airfield|Tachikawa Air Base]] in western Tokyo exploded while passing through [[Shinjuku Station]]{{Citation needed|date=September 2013}}. This disaster led to the banning of freight trains on railway lines in central Tokyo and sped the development of the Musashino Line as an alternative route{{Citation needed|date=September 2013}}. Because most of the line passed through sparsely populated areas, it was initially envisioned as a freight-only line. However, opposition from local residents, at the same time as the violent landowner battles plaguing [[Narita International Airport]], led the railway authorities to agree to passenger service as well.

The first section of the line between {{STN|Fuchū-Hommachi|x}} and {{STN|Shin-Matsudo|x}} opened on 1 April 1973.<ref name="JRfutabasha2013"/> Train services were operated using 6-car [[101 series|101-1000 series]] EMUs, which were modified specially for the line to comply with government regulations concerning fire resistance of trains operating through long tunnels, as the line included the {{Convert|4380|m|abbr=on}} {{Nihongo|Higashi-Murayama Tunnel|東村山トンネル}} between Shin-Kodaira and Shin-Akitsu stations, and the {{Convert|2563|m|abbr=on}} {{Nihongo|Kodaira Tunnel|小平トンネル}} between Shin-Kodaira and Nishi-Kokubunji stations.<ref name="dj364"/> Services operated at 15-minute intervals in the morning peak, and at 40-minute intervals during the daytime off-peak.<ref name="dj364"/>

The southern freight-only line from Fuchū-Hommachi to Tsurumi opened on 1 March 1976.<ref name="JRfutabasha2013"/> The eastern section of the line from Shin-Matsudo to {{STN|Nishi-Funabashi|x}} opened on 2 October 1978.<ref name="JRfutabasha2013"/>

Inter-running to and from the Keiyo Line commenced on 1 December 1988.<ref name="JRfutabasha2013"/>

From the start of the 1 December 1996 timetable revision, all of the Musashino Line 103 series sets were lengthened from six to eight cars.<ref name="dj364"/>

On 20 August 2016, [[station numbering]] was introduced with stations on the Musashino line being assigned station numbers between JM10 and JM35.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 April 2016 |title=⾸都圏エリアへ 「駅ナンバリング」を導⼊します |trans-title=Introduce “station numbering” to the Tokyo metropolitan area |url=https://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2016/20160402.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207004741/https://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2016/20160402.pdf |archive-date=7 December 2022 |access-date=7 January 2023 |website=jreast.co.jp |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kusamachi |first=Yoshikazu |date=7 April 2016 |title=JA・JK・JT・AKB…JR東日本、首都圏で駅ナンバリングなど導入へ |trans-title=JA, JK, JT, AKB … JR East to introduce station numbering in the Tokyo metropolitan area |url=https://response.jp/article/2016/04/07/273025.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806133507/https://response.jp/article/2016/04/07/273025.html |archive-date=6 August 2022 |access-date=7 January 2023 |website=Response Automotive Media |language=ja}}</ref> Numbers increase in the counter-clockwise direction towards Fuchu-Hommachi.