The is a railway line in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

, Japan, operated by the private railway operator

Sagami Railway The , or , is a private railway company operating three lines in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of holding company Sotetsu Holdings, Inc. Sotetsu Holdings is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange; 6.58% of it is owned ...

(Sotetsu). It connects and .

Services

Services on the Main Line are divided into four categories. Some trains travel along the Izumino Line west of to . *Local (各停) - services stop at all stations. They do not travel from end to end; services are split at Futamatagawa, with trains running between Yokohama and Futamatagawa and between Futamatagawa and either Ebina or Shōnandai. *Rapid (快速) - services stop between Yokohama and Futamatagawa at Hoshikawa, Nishiya and Tsurugamine, and at all stations from Futamatagawa to either Ebina or Shōnandai. *Express (急行) - services run non-stop between Yokohama and Futamatagawa, and stop at all stations west of Futamatagawa to Ebina. *Commuter Express (通勤急行 or 通急) - services stop between Yokohama and Futamatagawa at Nishiya and Tsurugamine, and at all stations from Futamatagawa to either Ebina or Shōnandai. *Commuter Limited Express (通勤特急 or 通特) services stop between Yokohama and Futamatagawa at Nishiya and Tsurugamine, and at Yamato or Izumino from Futamatagawa to either Ebina or Shōnandai. *Limited Express (特急) services stop between Yokohama and Ebina at Nishiya, Futamatagawa and Yamato.

Stations

*Local trains and JR Direct Local trains stop at all stations; for all other train types, trains stop at stations marked ●, pass stations marked , . *Commuter Express and Commuter Limited Express trains stop at station marked ▲ . ** R: Rapid ** E: Express ** L: Limited Express ** JR: Limited Express service via

Saikyō Line The Saikyō Line ( ja, 埼京線, ) is a Japanese railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Ōsaki Station in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and Ōmiya Station in Saitama Prefecture. The line's name is an abbreviation of ...

Rolling stock

* 8000 series * 9000 series * 10000 series * 11000 series * 12000 series * 20000 series * 21000 series * E233-7000 series Future * 3000 series * 3020 series * 5050-4000 series * 5080 series Non-revenue-earning stock * 2000 series * ED10 electric locomotives

History

The line opened on 12 May 1926 as the steam-operated between Futamatagawa and (on the present-day

Sagami Line The is a railway line in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It approximately parallels the east bank of the Sagami River. The line connects Hashimoto Station in Sagamihara and Chigasaki Station in ...

). The line was extended from Futamatagawa to Yokohama in December 1933, and from the former station at (now closed) in November 1941. The line became the from 1 April 1943. Work to electrify the line commenced in June 1942, with the entire line between Yokohama and Ebina electrified by 20 September 1944. Work to double-track the line commenced in January 1957 between Yokohama and Nishi-Yokohama. The entire line was double-tracked by March 1974. The first air-conditioned trains (4-car 6000 series EMUs) were introduced on the line on 3 July 1971. 10-car trains started operating on the line from 6 April 1981. Station ticket barriers were modified to allow use of the

Passnet was a stored-fare system using magnetic cards of the 22 members of the Passnet Association in the Kantō region of Japan. It was available between October 14, 2000 and January 11, 2008 in 1,000, 3,000 and 5,000 yen varieties. There were also 500 ...

magnetic farecard from 1 October 2000. There was a short

spur line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industri ...

which branched from Sagamino Station to the

Naval Air Facility Atsugi is a joint Japan-US naval air base located in the cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy (USN) air base in the Pacific Ocean and once housed the squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5), which ...

air base. While the track remains in place up to the fence of the base, the line is no longer in use. In order to improve safety and efficiency, a section around Tsurugamine Station is being transitioned to an underground structure. The underground track section and new station building is expected to be completed in 2034.

Future plans

The Sotetsu Shin-Yokohama Line is currently under construction, linking Nishiya to Hazawa Yokohama-Kokudai, and further to on the

Tōkyū Tōyoko Line The is a major railway line connecting Tokyo (Shibuya) to Yokohama. The line is owned and operated by the private railway operator Tokyu Corporation. The name of the line, ''Tōyoko'' (東横), is a combination of the first characters of ''Tōky ...

. Through service to the

began on 30 November 2019 while services to the

are scheduled to begin on 18 March 2023. With the opening of this new line, Limited Express and Rapid services will make stops at Nishiya, which facilitates transfer between services to central Yokohama and the Tokyo Metropolis. In addition, two new service types will be implemented. They are the Commuter Limited Express (通勤特急) and Commuter Express (通勤急行) services, which both operate through services from / to the Izumino Line. The former service will replace the current Limited Express on the Izumino Line, and will make additional stops at Nishiya and Tsurugamine. The latter service is a brand new service, making stops at all stations west of Nishiya.

References

{{Tokyo transit Lines of Sagami Railway Railway lines in Kanagawa Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1926 1926 establishments in Japan