The is a railway line in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, 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 Sōtetsu Holdings, Inc. Sōtetsu Holdings is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange; 6.58% of it is own ...

(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 Futamata-gawa, with trains running between Yokohama and Futamata-gawa and between Futamata-gawa and either Ebina or Shōnandai. *Rapid (快速) - services stop between Yokohama and Futamata-gawa at Hoshikawa, Nishiya and Tsurugamine, and at all stations from Futamata-gawa to either Ebina or Shōnandai. *Commuter Express (通勤急行 or 通急) - services stop between Yokohama and Futamata-gawa at Nishiya and Tsurugamine, and at all stations from Futamata-gawa to either Ebina or Shōnandai. *Commuter Limited Express (通勤特急 or 通特) services between Shōnandai and Shin-yokohama and continue through running on either the Tokyu

Toyoko Line Toyoko is a village in the Zam Department of Ganzourgou Province in central Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana ...

Meguro Line The is a railway line operated by Japanese private railway company Tokyu Corporation. As a railway line, the name is for the section between and in southwest Tokyo, but nearly all trains run to on a quad-tracked section of the Tōyoko Line ...

and their subsequent through services. *Limited Express (特急) services stop between Yokohama and Ebina at Nishiya, Futamata-gawa and Yamato.

Stations

* All stations are located in

. * Local trains stop at all stations; For all other train types, trains stop at stations marked ●, and pass stations marked , and ↑. * Commuter Limited Express services stop at stations marked ▲.

Rolling stock

Current

Sotetsu * 8000 series (10 car sets, since December 1990) * 9000 series (10 car sets, since January 1993) * 10000 series (8/10 car sets, since February 2002) * 11000 series (10 car sets, since June 2009) * 12000 series (10 car sets, since 20 April 2019) * 20000/21000 series (10/8 car sets, respectively, since 11 February 2018) JR East * E233-7000 series (10 car sets, since 30 November 2019) Tokyu *

Tokyu 3000 series The is a Japanese commuter electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by Tokyu Corporation in the Tokyo area of Japan. Introduced into service on 16 April 1999 on the Tokyu Toyoko Line as a sole eight-car set, a total of 78 vehicles, wh ...

(8 car sets, since 18 March 2023) * Tokyu 5050-4000 series (10 car sets, since 18 March 2023) *

Tokyu 5080 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Tokyu Corporation since 2002 on many of its commuter lines in the Tokyo area of Japan. Design First introduced in 2002, the design is based on the JR ...

(8 car sets, since 18 March 2023) *

Tokyu 3020 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter train type built by J-TREC and used by the Japanese private railway operator Tokyu Corporation in the Tokyo area since March 2018. The 2020 series is used primarily on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Lin ...

(8 car sets, since 26 September 2023) File:Sagami-Railway_Series8000_white.jpg, 8000 series, revised livery File:Sagami-Railway-9000-9702F.jpg, 9000 series, Yokohama Navy Blue livery File:Sagami-Railway-10000-10703F.jpg, 10000 series File:Sotetsu_11000-11002.JPG, 11000 series File:Sotetsu_12001F.jpg, 12000 series File:Sagami-Railway-Series20000.jpg, 20000 series File:JR_East_E233-7000_Series_Hae_106_Ltd_Exp.jpg, JR East E233-7000 series File:Tokyu-Series3000-3813.jpg, Tokyu 3000 series File:Tokyu-Series3020-3821.jpg, Tokyu 3020 series File:Tokyu_5050-4000_series_Tōbu_Tōjō_Main_Line_20171027.jpg, Tokyu 5050-4000 series File:Tokyu-railway-5182F-20230402-132903.jpg, Tokyu 5080 series

Former

* 5000 series (from 1955 until 2009) * 6000 series (from 1961 until 2005) *

7000 series 7000 series may refer to: Japanese trains * Chichibu Railway 7000 series electric multiple unit (EMU) * Echizen Railway 7000 series EMU * Hankyu 7000 series EMU * Hokushin Kyuko Electric Railway 7000 series EMU operating for the Kobe Munici ...

(from 1975 until 2020) File:Series_5000_of_Sagami_Railway.jpg, 5000 series File:Sotetsu-6502.jpg, 6000 series File:Sotetsu-new7000-2.jpg, New 7000 series

Non-revenue-earning stock

* 2000 series * ED10 electric locomotives

History

The line opened on 12 May 1926 as the steam-operated between Futamata-gawa 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 (Kanagawa), Hashimoto Station in Sagami ...

). The line was extended from Futamata-gawa to Yokohama in December 1933, and from the former station at (now closed) in November 1941. The line became the from 1 April 1943. However, when the line was commissioned to

Tōkyū The , a contraction of and formerly until 2 September 2019, is a Japanese ''keiretsu'' or conglomerate headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. While a multinational corporation, its main operation is , a wholly-owned subsidiary operating railways i ...

due to the financial difficulties of the Sagami Railway, it was renamed as the "Tōkyū Atsugi Line" (東急厚木線) until the end of the commission in 1947. 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 magnetic farecard from 1 October 2000. There was a short

spur line A branch line is 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. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

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, Kanagawa, Yamato and Ayase, Kanagawa, Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy (USN) air base in the Pacific Ocean, and once housed ...

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. On a side note, what is known today as the

had been constructed and owned by Sōtetsu, until 1944 when it was acquired by the government during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, the government and Sōtetsu never reached any agreement to return the line to Sōtetsu, and today it is run by

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and 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 are in ...

March 2023 timetable revision

The

Sōtetsu Shin-yokohama Line The Sōtetsu Shin-Yokohama Line is a commuter line operated by Sotetsu between Nishiya Station on the Sōtetsu Main Line to Shin-Yokohama Station. Sōtetsu has put its company names as a formal part of the line names, which is a first for the ...

connects Nishiya to Hazawa Yokohama-Kokudai, and further to the

Tōkyū Shin-yokohama Line The , a contraction of and formerly until 2 September 2019, is a Japanese ''keiretsu'' or conglomerate headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. While a multinational corporation, its main operation is , a wholly-owned subsidiary operating railways i ...

. Through service to the

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

began on 30 November 2019 while services to the

Tōkyū Shin-Yokohama Line The , a contraction of and formerly until 2 September 2019, is a Japanese ''keiretsu'' or conglomerate headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. While a multinational corporation, its main operation is , a wholly-owned subsidiary operating railways i ...

began on 18 March 2023. With the opening of this new line, Limited Express and Rapid services make a stop 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 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 Main Line Main Line Railway lines in Kanagawa Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1926 1926 establishments in Japan