Other name(s) Gakuentoshi Line Opened 1931 Owner Hokkaido Railway Company | Native name 札沼線 Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Locale Hokkaido | |
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Line length 28.9 km (18.0 mi) (electrified section)
76.5 km (47.5 mi) (total) Number of tracks 2 (Sōen – Ainosato-Kyōikudai) Terminis Sōen Station, Shin-Totsukawa Station | ||
The Sasshō Line (札沼線, Sasshō-sen) is a railway line in Japan operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), which connects Sōen in Sapporo and Shin-Totsukawa in Shintotsukawa, Hokkaido. Its name is made up of two characters from Sapporo (札幌) and Ishikari-Numata (石狩沼田), the latter of which was the terminus of the line until it was truncated at Shin-Totsukawa in 1972.
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On 19 November 2016, JR Hokkaido's president announced plans to further rationalise the network by up to 1,237 km, or ~50% of the current network, including closure of the non-electrified section of the Sassho Line.
Rolling stock
As of the revised timetable introduced on 27 October 2012, the following electric multiple unit (EMU) rolling stock is used on the Sasshō Line.
Former rolling stock
Prior to the 27 October 2012 timetable revision, the following diesel multiple unit (DMU) rolling stock was used on the Sasshō Line.
History
The first part of the line to open was the northern (and now closed) section between Ishikari-Numata (on the Rumoi Main Line) to Nakatoppu (present-day Shin-Totsukawa). This opened on 10 October 1931, and was initially named the Sasshō North Line (札沼北線, Sasshō-hoku-sen). This line was extended southward from Nakatoppu to Urausu on 10 October 1934, and the Soen to Ishikari-Tobetsu section, initially named Sasshō South Line (札沼南線, Sasshō-nan-sen), opened on 20 November 1934. The section between Urausu and Ishikari-Tobetsu opened on 3 October 1935, linking the north and south lines, which were unified as the "Sasshō Line".
Nakatoppu Station was renamed Shin-Totsukawa in 1953.
The section between Shin-Totsukawa and Ishikari-Numata was closed on 1 April 1972.
With the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, ownership of line was transferred to JR Hokkaido.
Duplication
The section between Hachiken and Ainosato-Kyoikudai was double-tracked between 1995 and 2000.
Electrification
The line was electrified over the 28.9 km section from Sōen Station to Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku Station in 2012, with engineering work completed by March 2012. New 733 series EMUs were introduced from June 2012, with all trains operated using EMUs from the start of the revised timetable on 27 October 2012.