Saikyō Line - WikiHQ

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 in Saitama Prefecture. The line's name is a portmanteau of the two areas the line connects: Saitama () and Tōkyō ().

At the northern end of the line, some trains continue beyond Ōmiya as far as on the Kawagoe Line; at the southern end of the line, many Saikyō Line trains continue onward beyond Ōsaki to either on the Rinkai Line (operated by Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit) or on the Sotetsu Main Line (via the Sōtetsu Shin-Yokohama Line). Moreover, despite the line's name, some trains only go between Kanagawa and Shinjuku, without continuing to Saitama. Beside the link that connects the Saikyō and Rinkai lines is the JR East Tokyo General Rolling Stock Centre that stores the rolling stock for the Yamanote Line and other types of rolling stock; and the Hinkaku Line which links Saikyo Line to the Tokaido Freight Line and Sotetsu-JR Link Line.

Basic data

Operator: East Japan Railway Company (JR East) (Services and tracks)
Ōsaki – Ikebukuro – Akabane – Musashi-Urawa – Ōmiya:
Ōsaki – Ikebukuro: (Yamanote Line freight line)
Ikebukuro – Akabane: (Akabane Line)
Akabane – Musashi-Urawa – Ōmiya: (Tōhoku Main Line branch)
Double-tracking: Entire line
Railway signalling:
Ōsaki – Ikebukuro: Automatic Block System, ATS-P
Ikebukuro – Ōmiya: ATACS, Formerly ATC-6
Maximum speed:
Akabane – Ōmiya:
Itabashi – Akabane:
All other sections:

thumb|Saikyo Line stations

Route

The line runs parallel to the Yamanote Line between Ōsaki and Ikebukuro, where it is formally called the Yamanote Freight Line (), and as an alternate route to the Tōhoku Main Line between Akabane and Ōmiya, where it is unofficially called the Tōhoku Honsen Secondary Line (). The portion between Ikebukuro and Akabane is officially known as the Akabane Line (). For most purposes, JR refers to all of these as part of the "Saikyō Line" when being used for Saikyō Line services.

Service

There are three types of trains on the Saikyō Line: , , and . Between Akabane and Musashi-Urawa, Rapid trains stop only at Toda-Kōen, while Commuter Rapid trains, which run during rush hours, stop only at Musashi-Urawa between Akabane and Ōmiya. Between Akabane and Ikebukuro, as well as on the Kawagoe and Rinkai lines, all trains stop at all stations. Between Ikebukuro and Osaki on the Yamanote Freight Line, all trains run limited-stop in both directions, with the Yamanote Line providing all-stations service. Some local trains also terminate at Shinjuku.

Station list

Local trains stop at all stations.
Rapid and commuter rapid trains stop at stations marked "●" and pass those marked "|".

{| class="wikitable"

!rowspan="2"|Line name

!rowspan="2"|No.

!rowspan="2"|Station

!colspan="3"|Distance (km)

!style="background:#9cf;" rowspan="2"|Rapid

!style="background:#fcc;" rowspan="2"|Comm. Rapid

!rowspan="2"|Transfers

!colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Location

!Between stations

!colspan="2"|Total

! colspan="11" |Through service to:

via
via , , and

|rowspan="6" style="text-align:center; width:1em;"|Yamanote Line

|

|style="text-align:center;"| -

|style="text-align:right; width:2.5em;"|from 2.0

|style="text-align:right; width:2.5em;"|from Ōsaki 0.0

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|●

|Shinagawa

|rowspan="13" |Tokyo

|

|style="text-align:right;"|3.6

|style="text-align:right;"|5.6

|style="text-align:right;"|3.6

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|●

|rowspan="3"|Shibuya

|

|style="text-align:right;"|1.6

|style="text-align:right;"|7.2

|style="text-align:right;"|5.2

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|●

|rowspan="2"|

|rowspan="2"|

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:right;"|3.4

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:right;"|10.6

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:right;"|8.6

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|●

|rowspan="2"|

|Shinjuku

|rowspan="2"|

|rowspan="2"|

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:right;"|4.8

|style="text-align:right;"|15.4

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:right;"|13.4

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|●

|rowspan="2"|

|rowspan="2"|Toshima

|rowspan="4" style="text-align:center; width:1em;"|Akabane Line

|style="text-align:right;"|from Ikebukuro 0.0

|align="center"|

|

|style="text-align:right;"|1.8

|style="text-align:right;"|15.2

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|●

|Kita, Itabashi, Toshima

|align="center"|

|

|style="text-align:right;"|1.7

|style="text-align:right;"|3.5

|style="text-align:right;"|16.9

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|●

|rowspan="5"|Kita

|rowspan="2" align="center"|

|rowspan="2"|

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:right;"|2.0

|style="text-align:right;"|5.5

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:right;"|18.9

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|●

|rowspan="2"|

|rowspan="12" style="text-align:center; width:1em;"|Tohoku Main Line (branch)

|style="text-align:right;"|from Akabane 0.0

|align="center"|

|

|style="text-align:right;"|1.5

|style="text-align:right;"|20.4

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"||

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"||

|align="center"|

|

|style="text-align:right;"|1.6

|style="text-align:right;"|3.1

|style="text-align:right;"|22.0

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"||

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"||

|align="center"|

|

|style="text-align:right;"|2.4

|style="text-align:right;"|5.5

|style="text-align:right;"|24.4

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"||

|rowspan="3"|Toda

|rowspan="9" |Saitama

|align="center"|

|

|style="text-align:right;"|1.3

|style="text-align:right;"|6.8

|style="text-align:right;"|25.7

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"||

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"||

|align="center"|

|

|style="text-align:right;"|1.4

|style="text-align:right;"|8.2

|style="text-align:right;"|27.1

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"||

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"||

| align="center"|

|

|style="text-align:right;"|2.4

|style="text-align:right;"|10.6

|style="text-align:right;"|29.5

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|●

| (JM26)

|rowspan="2"|Minami-ku, Saitama

|align="center"|

|

|style="text-align:right;"|1.2

|style="text-align:right;"|11.8

|style="text-align:right;"|30.7

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"||

|align="center"|

|

|style="text-align:right;"|1.7

|style="text-align:right;"|13.5

|style="text-align:right;"|32.4

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"||

|rowspan="3"|Chūō-ku, Saitama

|align="center"|

|

|style="text-align:right;"|1.6

|style="text-align:right;"|15.1

|style="text-align:right;"|34.0

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"||

|align="center"|

|

|style="text-align:right;"|1.1

|style="text-align:right;"|16.2

|style="text-align:right;"|35.1

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"||

|align="center"|

|

|style="text-align:right;"|1.8

|style="text-align:right;"|18.0

|style="text-align:right;"|36.9

|style="text-align:center; background:#9cf;"|●

|style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|●

|Ōmiya-ku, Saitama

! colspan="11" |Through service to via Kawagoe Line

Rolling stock

JR East 205 series 10-car EMUs (July 1989October 2016)
JR East E233-7000 series 10-car EMUs (since June 2013)
TWR 70-000 series 10-car EMUs (since 1996)
TWR 71-000 series 10-car EMUs (since 1 October 2025)
Sotetsu 12000 series 10-car EMUs (since 30 November 2019)

File:Saikyo-Line-Series205-28.jpg|A 205 series EMU

File:E233 kei 7000bandai 101F saikyo line.JPG|An E233-7000 series EMU

File:TWR_70-000_series_2015-06-26.jpg|A TWR 70-000 series EMU

File:Sagami_Railway_12000_series_Izumino_Line_Ryokuentoshi_Station_20190420.jpg|A Sotetsu 12000 series EMU

</gallery>

Per 30 November 2019 schedule change, services on the Saikyo Line, Kawagoe Line, Rinkai Line, and Sōtetsu Main Line are operated by a fleet of 38 10-car E233-7000 series electric multiple unit (EMU) trains owned by JR East and based at Kawagoe Depot, 10-car TWR 70-000 series EMU trains owned by Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit and based at Yashio Depot; and 5 sets of Sotetsu 12000 series owned by Sagami Railway and based at Kashiwadai Vehicle Center. The first E233-7000 series trains were delivered in March 2013, entering revenue service from 1 June 2013, gradually displacing the 205 series sets used since 1 July 1989. With the opening of the Sotetsu-JR Link Line, Sotetsu 12000 series trains begin traveling through to Saikyo Line (via Shonan-Shinjuku Line).

Before the establishment of the Saikyo Line, rolling stock used on the Akabane Line included:

72 series 8-car EMUs (1953–1967)
101 series 8-car EMUs (1967–1978)
103 series 8/10-car EMUs (1978–1985)

File:L25 akabane Tc103-273 750.jpg|An Akabane Line 103 series train in 1979

</gallery>

History

The Akabane Line opened on 1 March 1885 as a segment of the Nippon Railway Shinagawa Line. The company was nationalized in 1906. Electric services on the line began in 1909. From 1972 to 1985, the line was the known as the Akabane Line after being a branch of Yamanote Line.

Before the Saikyo Line, there were several attempts to improve commuter rail service between Saitama and Tokyo. One of the earliest, the , was founded in 1928 but went bankrupt shortly thereafter due to rising land values in the area. Later, in 1968, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Transportation proposed to run the new Toei Mita Line to central Ōmiya.

thumb|Saikyo Line and Tohoku ShinkansenDevelopment of the Saikyo Line began as a Japanese National Railways effort to quell unrest in Saitama regarding the expansion of the Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen. During the mid-1970s, local protesters staged sit-ins, demonstrations, and administrative actions to impede the building of the new high-speed lines north of Tokyo. JNR reached a settlement with the activists under which it would build a commuter line to serve these local communities, while being allowed to continue extending the Shinkansen.

The new line, tentatively called the , was built between Ōmiya and Akabane. Through service to Ikebukuro via the existing Akabane Line began on 30 September 1985. The Akabane Line name disappeared from daily use from this time. The Saikyo Line was initially troubled by inadequate train control systems which could not keep pace with its frequency of service; however, these issues were worked out during the first month of service.

When the Tōhoku Main Line portion of the Saikyō Line was being built, the stations from Kita-Akabane to Kita-Yono were designated with numbers from 1 to 10; Kita-Akabane Station was known as "New Commuter Line Station No. 1". However, even after names were assigned, passengers complained that each station looked just like the next due to their identical construction. As a result, JNR, in an unusual move, painted each with a unique accent color in various locations to make each more unique.

On 3 March 1986, the Saikyo Line began through service to Shinjuku via the Yamanote Freight Line, which had seen less use by freight services since the opening of the Musashino Line in 1973. This problem was directly addressed by introducing women-only passenger cars during rush hours, and indirectly addressed by reducing overcrowding problems as a whole.

On 20 August 2016, station numbering was introduced with stations being assigned station numbers between JA08 and JA26. Numbers increase towards in the northbound direction towards Omiya.

Beginning 30 November 2019, some Saikyo Line trains travel through to via the Shonan-Shinjuku Line and the Sotetsu JR-Link Line. In the westbound direction (Omiya to Shinjuku, Osaki, and Ebina), Saikyo Line trains enter the Hinkaku Line after Osaki, stopping at Nishi-Oi and Musashi-Kosugi. After Musashi-Kosugi, trains enter the Tokaido Freight Line track. Near , the train enters the Sotetsu-JR Link Line.

References

External links

Stations of the Saikyō Line (JR East)

Basic data

Route

Service

Station list

Rolling stock

History

References

Further reading

External links