Sagami Line


The Sagami Line is a railway line in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company. It approximately parallels the east bank of the Sagami River. The line connects Hashimoto Station in Sagamihara and Chigasaki Station in Chigasaki.

Services

While most services are operated inside the line as local trains, some run through onto the Yokohama Line beyond Hashimoto and make four additional stops, terminating at Hachiōji Station.

Rolling stock

All trains are operated with 205-500 series four-car EMUs which were introduced in 1991 after the electrification.
Former Rolling Stock:
The Sagami Line formerly operated a series of Diesel Multiple Unit passenger trains before electrification
The Chigasaki to Samukawa section was opened by the Sagami Railway in 1921, primarily to haul gravel. The line was extended to Atsugi in 1926, and to Hashimoto in 1931.
The line was nationalized in 1944 during World War II; the private Sagami Railway began operating the then Jinchū Line, now the Sagami Railway Main Line.
After privatization of Japanese National Railways 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.
A short branch to Nishi-Samukawa Station from Samukawa Station was closed in 1984, and freight services ceased in 1998.