The Sōtetsu Main Line (相鉄本線, Sōtetsu Honsen) is a railway line in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Sagami Railway (Sotetsu). It connects Yokohama and Ebina.
Services
Services on the Main Line are divided into four categories. Some trains travel along the Izumino Line west of Futamata-gawa to Shōnandai.
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 TokyuToyoko Line or Meguro Line and their subsequent through services.
Limited Express (特急) services stop between Yokohama and Ebina at Nishiya, Futamata-gawa and Yamato.
The line opened on 12 May 1926 as the steam-operated Jinchu Railway (神中鉄道, Jinchū Tetsudō) between Futamata-gawa and Atsugi (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 Sagami-Kokubu (相模国分) (now closed) in November 1941.[6]
The line became the Sagami Railway Jinchu Line (相模鉄道神中線) 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]
In order to improve safety and efficiency, a 2.8 km (1.7 mi) 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.[7]
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.
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]
^電車車両図鑑 [Train Picture Album]. Sotetsu. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
^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]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). 16 July 2019. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2023. 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.]
^ ab「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 (in Japanese). 24 March 2023. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023. 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.]
^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 (in Japanese). 14 December 2022. Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
^ abcdefghTerada, Hirokazu (July 2002). データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways]. Japan: Neko Publishing. p. 74/217. ISBN4-87366-874-3.
^ ab"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]. news.railway-pressnet.com (in Japanese). 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
^"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]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 17 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
^"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] (PDF). Sotetsu. 16 July 2019.
^"相鉄から急行列車が姿を消す" [Sotetsu Express services have been abolished]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). 18 March 2023. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
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