Sagami Line

Sagami Line
Sagami Line
	A E131-500 series EMU in November 2021
Overview
Owner	JR East
Locale	Kanagawa Prefecture
Termini	Chigasaki; Hashimoto;
Stations	18
Service
Type	Commuter rail
Rolling stock	E131-500 series
History
Opened	1921
Technical
Line length	33.3 km (20.7 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC Overhead catenary
Route map

Route diagram

Legend

Tōkaidō Main Line

0.0

Chigasaki

1.3

Kita-Chigasaki

3.4

Kagawa

5.1

0.0

Samukawa

"Nishi-Samukawa branch"

-

1.5

Nishi-Samukawa

-

2.0

Shinomiya

7.2

8.6

10.0

11.6

Sōtetsu Atsugi Line

Odakyū Odawara Line

14.2

Atsugi

15.9

Ebina

Sōtetsu Atsugi Line

Sagami Railway Main Line

18.9

20.6

23.5

24.8

26.9

28.4

31.3

33.3

Yokohama Line

The Sagami Line (相模線, Sagami-sen) 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 Chigasaki.

Services

All services on the line are operated as local trains.

Between March 1991 and 11 March 2022,^[1] some trains operated through services onto the Yokohama Line beyond Hashimoto and made four additional stops, terminating at Hachiōji Station.

Rolling stock

E131-500 series four-car EMUs (from 18 November 2021)^[2]

Former Rolling Stock:

KiHa 4 DMU
KiHa 10 DMU (until 1980)
KiHa 20 DMU (1958–1982)
KiHa 26-400 (under KiHa 55 family)
KiHa 30
KiHa 35 (1986–1991)
KiHa 36
205-500 series four-car EMUs (from 1991—2022)

The Sagami Line formerly operated a series of Diesel Multiple Unit passenger trains before electrification. The 205-500 series four-car EMUs were introduced in 1991 after the line was electrified. New E131-500 series EMUs replaced the older 205 series EMUs starting from Fall 2021.^[3]

Sagami Line E131-500 series EMU, November 2021
Sagami Line 205-500 series EMU, November 2021

Stations

All stations located in Kanagawa Prefecture.
All trains stop at every station.
Stations marked "o", "v", or "^" allow passing; stations marked"｜" do not.

Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Transfers		Location
Station	Japanese	Between stations	Total	Transfers		Location
Chigasaki	茅ヶ崎	-	0.0	JT Tōkaidō Line JS Shōnan-Shinjuku Line	v	Chigasaki
Kita-Chigasaki	北茅ヶ崎	1.3	1.3		o
Kagawa	香川	2.1	3.4		｜
Samukawa	寒川	1.7	5.1		o	Samukawa, Kōza District
Miyayama	宮山	2.1	7.2		｜
Kurami	倉見	1.4	8.6		o
Kadosawabashi	門沢橋	1.4	10.0		｜	Ebina
Shake	社家	1.6	11.6		o
Atsugi	厚木	2.6	14.2	OH Odakyū Odawara Line	｜
Ebina	海老名	1.7	15.9	OH Odakyū Odawara Line Sagami Railway Main Line	o
Iriya	入谷	3.0	18.9		｜	Zama
Sōbudaishita	相武台下	1.7	20.6		o	Minami-ku, Sagamihara
Shimomizo	下溝	2.9	23.5		｜
Harataima	原当麻	1.3	24.8		o
Banda	番田	2.1	26.9		o	Chūō-ku, Sagamihara
Kamimizo	上溝	1.5	28.4		｜
Minami-Hashimoto	南橋本	2.9	31.3		o
Hashimoto	橋本	2.0	33.3	JH Yokohama Line KO Keiō Sagamihara Line	^	Midori-ku, Sagamihara

History

The Chigasaki to Samukawa section was opened by the Sagami Railway (Sōtetsu) in 1921, primarily to haul gravel. The line was extended to Atsugi in 1926, and to Hashimoto in 1931.^[4]^[5]^[6]

The line was nationalized in 1944 during World War II; the private Sagami Railway began operating the then Jinchū Line (神中線), now the Sagami Railway Main Line.

A short branch to Nishi-Samukawa Station from Samukawa Station was closed in 1984, and freight services ceased in 1998.

After privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR) in 1987, the line was electrified in 1991. Before the JNR privatization, there were discussions to transfer the line to the Sagami Railway in order meet the expected demands of passenger traffic in the Tokyo and Yokohama suburbs. Because it had long been left as a non-electrified rural line, the cost to upgrade the line was beyond the ability of then financially constrained JNR; Sagami Railway, on the other hand, was running a profitable operation on its own line. However, the two companies did not agree on a deal, and plans to transfer the line were cancelled.

Upon electrification, through services to the Yokohama Line began, using the new 205-500 series EMUs. The through service operation ended on 11 March 2022.^[1]