Sōtetsu Main Line Explained

Sōtetsu Main Line
Native Name:相鉄本線
Native Name Lang:ja
Color:041452
Type:Commuter rail
Locale:Kanagawa Prefecture
Stations:18
Daily Ridership:566,657 (FY2010)[1]
Open:12 May 1926
Owner:Sagami Railway (Sotetsu)
Depot:Kashiwadai Station
Linelength:24.6km (15.3miles)
Electrification:1,500 V DC overhead catenary
Speed:100km/h
Map State:collapsed

The is a railway line in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Sagami Railway (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 .

Stations

No.StationJapaneseDistance (km)RapidComm. Exp.Ltd. Exp.
Comm. Ltd. Exp.
TransfersLocation
Between
Stations
Total
横浜0.00.0 Tokaido Main Line
Keihin-Tōhoku Line
Yokohama Line
Negishi Line
Yokosuka Line
Shonan-Shinjuku Line
Tōkyū Tōyoko Line
Keikyū Main Line
Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Line
Minatomirai Line
Nishi-ku, Yokohama
平沼橋0.90.9|! style="background-color: lightcoral; " |↑! style="background-color: orange; " ||
西横浜0.91.8|! style="background-color: lightcoral; " |↑! style="background-color: orange; " ||
天王町0.62.4|! style="background-color: lightcoral; " |↑! style="background-color: orange; " ||Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama
星川0.93.3|||-!||和田町| style="text-align:right" |1.0| style="text-align:right" |4.3! style="background-color: cornflowerblue; " |||||-!||上星川| style="text-align:right" |0.7| style="text-align:right" |5.0! style="text-align; center; background-color: cornflowerblue; " |||||-! colspan="5" |Upbound through services| colspan="5" | Sōtetsu Shin-yokohama Line

Sōtetsu–JR Direct Line from to

Tōkyū Shin-yokohama Line from to

Tōkyū Meguro Line for

Toei Subway for

Tokyo Metro for

for

Tōkyū for

Tokyo Metro for

Tōbu Tōjō Line for |-!||西谷| style="text-align:right" |1.9| style="text-align:right" |6.9! style="text-align; center; background-color: cornflowerblue; " |●! style="text-align; center; background-color: lightcoral; " |●! style="text-align; center; background-color: orange; " |●| Sōtetsu Shin-yokohama Line|Hodogaya-ku|-!||鶴ヶ峰| style="text-align:right" |1.6| style="text-align:right" |8.5! style="text-align; center; background-color: cornflowerblue; " |●! style="text-align; center; background-color: lightcoral; " |●! style="text-align; center; background-color: orange; "|▲|| rowspan="2" |Asahi-ku, Yokohama|-!||二俣川| style="text-align:right" |2.0| style="text-align:right" |10.5! style="background-color: cornflowerblue; " |●! style="background-color: lightcoral; " |●! style="background-color: orange; " |●| Izumino Line|-! colspan="5" |Downbound through service| colspan="5" | Izumino Line for |-!||希望ヶ丘| style="text-align:right" |1.7| style="text-align:right" |12.2! style="background-color: cornflowerblue; " |●! style="background-color: lightcoral; " |●! style="background-color: orange; " ||

Asahi-ku
三ツ境1.413.6||| rowspan="2" |Seya-ku, Yokohama|-!||瀬谷| style="text-align:right" |1.9| style="text-align:right" |15.5! style="background-color: cornflowerblue; " |●! style="background-color: lightcoral; " |●! style="background-color: orange; " ||
大和1.917.4 Odakyu Enoshima LineYamato
相模大塚1.919.3|||-!||さがみ野| style="text-align:right" |1.2| style="text-align:right" |20.5! style="background-color: cornflowerblue; " |●! style="background-color: lightcoral; " |●! style="background-color: orange; " |||| rowspan="3" |Ebina|-!||かしわ台| style="text-align:right" |1.3| style="text-align:right" |21.8! style="background-color: cornflowerblue; " |●! style="background-color: lightcoral; " |●! style="background-color: orange; " ||
海老名2.824.6 Odakyu Odawara Line
Sagami Line

Rolling stock

Current

Sotetsu[2]

JR East

Tokyu

Former

Non-revenue-earning stock

History

The line opened on 12 May 1926 as the steam-operated between Futamata-gawa and (on the present-day Sagami Line).[6] The line was extended from Futamata-gawa to Yokohama in December 1933, and from the former station at (now closed) in November 1941.[6]

The line became the from 1 April 1943.[6] However, when the line was commissioned to Tōkyū 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.[6]

Work to double-track the line commenced in January 1957 between Yokohama and Nishi-Yokohama. The entire line was double-tracked by March 1974.[6]

The first air-conditioned trains (4-car 6000 series EMUs) were introduced on the line on 3 July 1971.[6]

10-car trains started operating on the line from 6 April 1981.[6]

Station ticket barriers were modified to allow use of the Passnet magnetic farecard from 1 October 2000.[6]

There was a short spur line which branched from Sagamino Station to the Naval Air Facility Atsugi 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 2.8km (01.7miles) section around Tsurugamine Station is being transitioned to an underground structure.[7] 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 Sagami Line had been constructed and owned by Sōtetsu, until 1944 when it was acquired by the government during World War II. 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.

March 2023 timetable revision

See main article: Sōtetsu Shin-yokohama Line. The Sōtetsu Shin-yokohama Line connects Nishiya to Hazawa Yokohama-Kokudai, and further to the Tōkyū Shin-yokohama Line. Through service to the Saikyō Line began on 30 November 2019 while services to the Tōkyū Shin-Yokohama Line began on 18 March 2023.[8]

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.[9] 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.[10]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.train-media.net/report/1110/soutetsu.pdf Sagami Railway station ridership in 2010
  2. Web site: https://www.sotetsu.co.jp/fan/gallery/train/ . ja:電車車両図鑑 . Train Picture Album . . https://web.archive.org/web/20230906053241/https://www.sotetsu.co.jp/fan/gallery/train/ . 2023-09-06 . 2023-09-06 . live.
  3. News: 2019-07-16 . https://railf.jp/news/2019/07/16/170000.html . ja:相鉄,11月30日ダイヤ改正で新種別を設定 . Sotetsu sets a new service class in the timetable revision on November 30 . . ja . https://web.archive.org/web/20190716105349/https://railf.jp/news/2019/07/16/170000.html . 2019-07-16 . 2023-09-06 . live . ja:使用車両は,相鉄が12000系,JR東日本がE233系7000番台で,運転本数は終日46往復(92本). The trains used [for Sotetsu-JR direct service] are the Sotetsu 12000 series and JR East E233-7000 series, with 46 round trips (92 trips total) throughout the day..
  4. News: 2023-03-24 . https://trafficnews.jp/post/125003/2 . ja:「東急帝国」さらに拡大? どこ行っても「銀と赤の電車がいる」 直通ネットワークはどれほど膨大なのか . Further expansion of the "Tokyu Empire"? "There are silver and red trains everywhere!" How vast is the direct network? . Traffic News . ja . https://web.archive.org/web/20230324023015/https://trafficnews.jp/post/125003/2 . 2023-03-24 . 2023-09-06 . live . ja:いずれも、東急新横浜線を経由して、相鉄へ乗り入れています。. Both [3000 series and 5080 series] trains are on the Sotetsu Line via the Tokyu Shin-Yokohama Line..
  5. News: 2022-12-14 . https://railf.jp/news/2022/12/14/115500.html . ja:相鉄線内で東急5050系の試運転 . Trial run of Tokyu 5050 series on the Sotetsu line . Japan Railfan Magazine . ja . https://web.archive.org/web/20221214044032/https://railf.jp/news/2022/12/14/115500.html . 2022-12-14 . 2023-09-06 . live.
  6. Book: Terada, Hirokazu . データブック日本の私鉄 . Databook: Japan's Private Railways . Neko Publishing . July 2002 . Japan . 74/217. 4-87366-874-3.
  7. Web site: 23 June 2022 . 相鉄・鶴ケ峰駅付近「地下化」事業認可 都市計画など手続き完了、10月以降に着工へ . Planning for the Grade Separation of Tsurugamine Station Approved, construction to start after October . https://web.archive.org/web/20220623075853/https://news.railway-pressnet.com/archives/41245 . 23 June 2022 . 15 September 2022 . news.railway-pressnet.com . ja.
  8. Web site: 相模鉄道,3月18日にダイヤ改正を実施 . Sagami Railway implements timetable revision on March 18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221217061934/https://railf.jp/news/2022/12/16/202000.html . 17 December 2022 . 17 December 2022 . Japan Railfan Magazine Online . ja.
  9. Web site: 16 July 2019 . JR線との相互直通運転開始により 11月30日(土)新ダイヤでの運行を開始 特急・快速の停車駅変更、通勤特急・通勤急行を導入 . New Timetable to begin on 30 November (Saturday) with the initiation of through services to JR Lines; Changes to stopping patterns of Limited Express and Rapid services; Implementation of Commuter Limited Express and Commuter Express services . Sotetsu.
  10. Web site: 18 March 2023 . 相鉄から急行列車が姿を消す . Sotetsu Express services have been abolished . https://web.archive.org/web/20230318074939/https://railf.jp/news/2023/03/18/164000.html . 18 March 2023 . 19 March 2023 . Japan Railfan Magazine Online . ja.