The is a manually driven rubber-tyred

people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...

system in

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

, Japan, operated by . The 12.7-kilometre that runs north from Ōmiya Station in

Saitama, Saitama is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance. Being in the Greater Tokyo Area and lyin ...

, alongside the Tohoku Shinkansen and Joetsu Shinkansen elevated high-speed lines through

Ageo 260px, Ageo Maruyama Park is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 229,517 in 103,709 households and a population density of 5000 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Ag ...

Uchijuku Station is a passenger railway station located in the town of Ina, Saitama, Japan, operated by the Saitama New Urban Transit Company. Lines Uchijuku Station is a terminal station the Saitama New Urban Transit New Shuttle Ina Line and is 12.7 k ...

in Ina in

in the

Greater Tokyo Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the ...

is the only route that is run on the system. The line is double tracked from Ōmiya Station to Maruyama Station and single tracked from Maruyama to

. Saitama New Urban Transit is a

kabushiki gaisha A or ''kabushiki kaisha'', commonly abbreviated K.K. or KK, is a type of defined under the Companies Act of Japan. The term is often translated as "stock company", " joint-stock company" or "stock corporation". The term ''kabushiki gaisha'' ...

whose major shareholders include the

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters ar ...

Tobu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longes ...

, banks, Saitama prefectural government, and the cities and the town served.

Ina Line stations

The stations on the line are as follows. All stations are located in

. The line's depot is located next to Maruyama Station.

Rolling stock

, the following train types are used on the line, all formed as six-car sets. * 1050 series * 2000 series * 2020 series (since 4 November 2015)

1050 series

, two 1050 series sets (52 and 53) were in service, formed as six-car sets as follows. File:Saitama New Urban Transit Type 1050.JPG, 1050 series set 51 in October 2014, repainted in 2008 to commemorate the first anniversary of the opening of the Railway Museum File:Model 1050 of New Shuttle.jpg, 1050 series set 53 in November 2007 File:Saitama New Urban Transit Type 1050 53 20141004.jpg, 1050 series set 53 in October 2014, repainted into the original livery worn when first delivered

2000 series

The 2000 series fleet consists of seven six-car sets (01 to 07) formed as follows. The trains have stainless steel bodies with different colour front ends and bodyside stripes. File:Saitama New Urban Transit Type 2000 F2101.JPG, 2000 series set 01 in October 2014 File:Saitama New Urban Transit Type 2000 F2102.jpg, 2000 series set 02 in November 2015 File:Saitama New Urban Transit Type 2000 F2103.jpg, 2000 series set 03 in November 2015 File:Saitama New Urban Transit Type 2000 F2104.JPG, 2000 series set 04 in October 2014 File:Saitama New Urban Transit Type 2000 F2105.jpg, 2000 series set 05 in November 2015 File:Saitama New Urban Transit 2107 Tetsudo-Hakubutsukan Station 20150627 (cropped).jpg, 2000 series set 07 in June 2015

2020 series

The 2020 series fleet consists of five six-car sets (21 to 25) formed as follows. Built by

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi ...

, the trains have aluminium bodies. Each set has a different accent colour, as shown below. The first 2020 series trainset, numbered 21, entered service on 4 November 2015. Set 22 entered service in February 2016, followed by set 23 in June 2016. A fourth trainset, numbered 24, entered service on 12 February 2019. File:Newshuttle2021wiki.jpg, 2020 series set 21 in January 2016 File:Newshuttle2022wiki.jpg, 2020 series set 22 in January 2016 File:Newshuttle2023.jpg, 2020 series set 23 in December 2016 File:Newshuttle2020yellow-wiki.jpg, 2020 series set 24

Former rolling stock

* 1010 series By 1 April 2015, three 1010 series sets (15, 17, 19) remained in service, formed as six-car sets. The last set (set 7) was withdrawn following its last day in service on 26 June 2016. File:NewShuttle1111.jpg, 1010 series set 11 in March 2007 File:Model 1010 of New Shuttle.jpg, 1010 series set 14 in November 2007

History

The people of Ina town, on the branch point of the Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen high-speed railway lines, opposed the latter being routed through their area, complaining that the town would be divided by the new tracks and beset with

noise pollution Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mai ...

. To placate the residents, new railway lines were planned. The AGT Ina Line was the solution reached for the area north of Ōmiya Station, where the potential demand was not large enough to run

heavy rail Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid accelerat ...

lines economically. (Currently, the line generates an operating profit.) A heavy rail line (the

Saikyo Line Saikyo may refer to: *Saikyō Line, a Japanese railway line in the Tokyo metropolitan area *''Saikyō Maru'', a Japanese ship involved in the Battle of the Yalu River (1894) *Western Capital (disambiguation) Western Capital may refer to: China ...

) was the solution reached for the south of Ōmiya Station. * 1 April 1980: Operating company is incorporated. * 22 December 1983: The section between Ōmiya and Hanuki stations opens. * 2 August 1990: The remaining section between Hanuki and Uchijuku stations opens. * 14 October 2007: Ōnari Station is renamed Tetsudō-Hakubutsukan Station when the

Railway Museum A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives ( steam, diesel, and electric), railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment. They may also operate historic ...

(''Tetsudō-Hakubutsukan'') opens.

References

External links

* {{Tokyo transit People mover systems in Japan Rail transport in Saitama Prefecture Railway lines opened in 1983 1983 establishments in Japan