The is a railway line in Japan operated by
Hokkaido Railway Company
The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a sm ...
(JR Hokkaido), which connects in
Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...
and in
Tōbetu,
Ishikari District. Its name is made up of two characters from and , the latter of which was the terminus of the line until it was relocated to Shin-Totsukawa in 1972.
On 19 November 2016, JR Hokkaido's president announced plans to further rationalise the network by up to 1,237 km, or ~50% of the current network,. The non-electrified section of the Line was permanently closed on 17 April 2020.
Stations
All trains, include through trains from other lines, are local trains. Sometimes, trains may skip ROYCE' Town station (marked "◌").
Closed section
Rolling stock
As of April 2020, the following
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
(EMU) rolling stock is used on the Sasshō Line.
*
721 series EMUs (since 1 June 2012)
*
731 series
The is an AC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) on Sapporo area suburban services in Hokkaido, Japan since 1996.
Formation
, 21 three-car sets are in service, numbered G-101 to G121, and ...
EMUs (since 1 June 2012)
*
733 series
The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) on suburban services in the Sapporo area of Hokkaido, Japan, since 1 June 2012.
Variants
* 733-0 series: 3-car sets operated since June 2012
* ...
EMUs (since 1 June 2012)
*
735 series EMUs (since 1 June 2012)
Former rolling stock
Prior to the 27 October 2012 timetable revision, and closures on 17 April 2020, the following
diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
(DMU) and EMU rolling stock was used on the Sasshō Line.
*
KiHa 40 series
The is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type introduced by Japanese National Railways (JNR) in 1977 and operated by all Japan Railways Group companies on suburban and rural services in Japan. Since 2017, the train type has seen use by other ...
DMUs
*
KiHa 141 series
The is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) on the Sassho Line in Japan since 1990. The cars were rebuilt from former 50 series locomotive-hauled coaches.
Variants
A total of 44 cars were ...
DMUs
*
KiHa 201 series
The is a tilting diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) on Sapporo area suburban services in Hokkaido, Japan since 1997. The KiHa 201 trains are designed to work in multiple with 731 series e ...
DMUs
*
711 series 711 may refer to:
* 711 (number), a natural number
* AD 711, a year of the 8th century AD
* 711 BC, a year of the 8th century BC
* 7-1-1, the telephone number of the Telecommunications Relay Service in the United States and Canada
* 7-Eleven, a cha ...
EMUs
File:JR Hokkaido KI HA 40 401.JPG, KiHa 40 series DMU
File:JR Hokkaido 141 series DMU 101.JPG, KiHa 141 series DMU, January 2010
File:JR Hokkaido 201 series DMU 013.JPG, KiHa 201 series DMU, January 2010
JNR 711 series EMU 005.JPG, 711 series EMU, January 2009
History
The first part of the line to open was the northern (and now closed) section between Ishikari-Numata (on the
Rumoi Main Line
The is a Japanese railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) which connects Fukagawa Station in Fukagawa and Rumoi Station in Rumoi. Until the section of the Hidaka Main Line from to was closed on 1 April ...
) to Nakatoppu (present-day ). This opened on 10 October 1931, and was initially named the .
This line was extended southward from Nakatoppu to Urausu on 10 October 1934, and the Soen to Ishikari-Tobetsu section, initially named , opened on 20 November 1934.
The section between Urausu and Ishikari-Tobetsu opened on 3 October 1935, linking the north and south lines, which were unified as the "Sasshō Line".
Nakatoppu Station was renamed Shin-Totsukawa in 1953.
The section between Shin-Totsukawa and Ishikari-Numata was closed on 1 April 1972.
With the
privatization
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
of
JNR
The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987.
Network Railways
As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...
on 1 April 1987, ownership of line was transferred to JR Hokkaido.
Duplication
The section between Hachiken and Ainosato-Kyoikudai was double-tracked between 1995 and 2000.
Electrification
The line was electrified over the 28.9 km section from
Sōen Station
is a railway station in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The station is numbered S02.
Lines
Sōen Station is served by the Hakodate Main Line and also the Sasshō Line (Gakuentoshi Lin ...
to
Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku Station
is a railway station on the Sasshō Line in Tōbetsu, Hokkaidō, Japan, operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The station is numbered G14 and serves the Tōbetsu Campus of the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido (HSUH). Si ...
in 2012, with engineering work completed by March 2012. New
733 series
The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) on suburban services in the Sapporo area of Hokkaido, Japan, since 1 June 2012.
Variants
* 733-0 series: 3-car sets operated since June 2012
* ...
EMUs were introduced from June 2012,
with all trains operated using EMUs from the start of the revised timetable on 27 October 2012.
Part Closure in 2020
JR Hokkaido had been planning to permanently close the section between Hokkaido-Iryodaigaku and Shin-Totsukawa on 7 May 2020, but the company moved closure forward to 17 April due to the
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
outbreak.
Former connecting lines
* Shinkotoni Station: An 11 km horse-drawn gauge line operated from Sapporo north west to Kawabata, opening in 1911 and crossing the Sassho Line near Shinkotoni. Petrol locomotives were introduced in 1922. The line was replaced by buses in 1943.
* Tobetsu Station: A 31 km 762 mm gauge line was opened to Obukuro in sections between 1949 and 1952.
Typhoon Marie (1954)
Typhoon Marie, as known as the Tōya Maru Typhoon ( 洞爺丸台風) in Japan, was a typhoon that hit Japan in September 1954. Marie did a great deal of damage to Hokkaido, and the ''Tōya Maru'' ( 洞爺丸) train ferry sank due to the high wav ...
caused significant damage to the line, and repair was considered impractical. The line was formally closed in 1958. An 11 km 762 mm gauge line operated to Ebetsu, on the
Hakodate Main Line
The is a railway line connecting the cities of Hakodate and Asahikawa via Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan. It is one of the trunk lines operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The Sawara Line, a 35 km loop line from Ōnuma to Mo ...
, although at each terminus, the 762 mm gauge stations were on the opposite banks of the Tobetsugawa and Ishikarigawa rivers (respectively) to the JR stations.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sassho Line
Lines of Hokkaido Railway Company
Rail transport in Hokkaido
1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
Railway lines opened in 1931