Seibu Shinjuku Line

Seibu Shinjuku Line

Seibu Shinjuku Line 10000 series EMU on a Koedo limited express service, July 2007
Overview
Native name 西武新宿線
Type Commuter rail
Locale Kanto region
Termini Seibu Shinjuku
Hon-Kawagoe
Stations 29
Daily ridership 945,302 (FY2010)[1]
Operation
Opened 1894
Owner Seibu Railway
Depot(s) Minami-Iriso
Technical
Line length 47.5 km (29.5 mi)
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification 1,500 V DC, overhead catenary
Route map
Legend
Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line Shinjuku
0.0 Seibu-Shinjuku
Chūō Line to Takao, Shiojiri
Shin-Ōkubo
2.0 Takadanobaba
Saikyo, Shōnan-Shinjuku lines
Yamanote Line to Ikebukuro
 3.2 Shimo-Ochiai
3.9 NakaiToei Ōedo Line
 5.2 Araiyakushimae
 6.1 Numabukuro
 7.1 Nogata
 8.0 Toritsukasei
 8.5 Saginomiya
 9.8 Shimo-Igusa
 10.7 Iogi
 11.7 Kami-Igusa
Kami-Shakujii Depot
 12.8 Kami-Shakujii
 14.1 Musashiseki
 15.3 Higashi-Fushimi
 16.3 Seibu-Yagisawa
 17.6 Tanashi
 19.9 Hanakoganei
 22.6 Kodaira
Seibu Haijima Line
Haijimafrom Seibu-Shinjuku
 24.6 Kumegawa
Kokubunjifrom Shin-Tokorozawa
Seibu Kokubunji Line
 26.0 Higashi-Murayama
Seibu Seibuen Line
Seibuen
Seibu Ikebukuro Line to Hannō, Seibu Chichibu
28.9 Tokorozawa
Ikebukuro Line to Ikebukuro
 30.5 Kōkū-kōen
 31.7 Shin-Tokorozawa
 33.7 Minami-Iriso Junction
Minami-Iriso Depot
 35.6 Iriso
 38.6 Sayamashi
 41.3 Shin-Sayama
 43.9 Minami-Ōtsuka
Seibu Ahina Line Ahina Freight Terminal
 46.6 Wakita Junction
 Kawagoe Line left to Ōmiya
 Tobu Tojo Line left to Ikebukuro
 47.5 Hon-Kawagoe

The Seibu Shinjuku Line (西武新宿線 Seibu-Shinjuku-sen) is a Japanese railway line owned by the private railway operator Seibu Railway, connecting Seibu Shinjuku Station in Shinjuku, Tokyo with Hon-Kawagoe Station in Kawagoe, Saitama.

The Shinjuku Line is one of two main lines of the Seibu Railway system along with the Ikebukuro Line. The two main lines cross at Tokorozawa Station in Tokorozawa, Saitama. The line serves the western suburbs of Tokyo, connecting them to Shinjuku and other areas of downtown Tokyo.

Description

A Seibu Railway train driver at Kami-Shakujii Station, May 2015

The line is mostly double-track, except for 1.1 km of single track between Wakita Junction and Hon-Kawagoe Station. While the section from Seibu-Shinjuku to Takadanobaba is elevated, the line runs at ground level through a suburban area until Saginomiya.

Trains

Five types of train service are operated on the line: Local, Semi Express, Express, Commuter Express, and Koedo limited express, as shown below. Limited Express trains use Seibu 10000 series EMUs, and a supplementary limited express ticket is required.

There are regular through operations to the Haijima Line and the Kokubunji Line. There are also occasional through services to Seibu-Kyūjō-mae Station in order to bring fans to the Seibu Dome for Saitama Seibu Lions baseball games. The Seibu Shinjuku Line is one of the few major commuter rail lines in Tokyo that does not have through service to the Tokyo Metro or Toei Subway network.

Stations

O: stop
|: pass
     L: Local (各停 Kakutei) stop at all stations, not shown
     SE: Semi Express (準急 Junkyū)
     E: Express (急行 Kyūkō)
     CE: Commuter Express (通勤急行 Tsūkin Kyūkō)
     LE: Koedo Limited Express (特急 "小江戸")[2]
No. Station Japanese Distance
(km)		 SE E CE LE Transfers Location
SS01 Seibu-Shinjuku 西武新宿 0.0 O O O O Yamanote Line (Shinjuku Station) Shinjuku Tokyo
SS02 Takadanobaba 高田馬場 2.0 O O O O Yamanote Line
Tokyo Metro Tōzai Line (T-03)
SS03 Shimo-Ochiai 下落合 3.2 | | | |  
SS04 Nakai 中井 3.9 | | | |
SS05 Araiyakushimae 新井薬師前 5.2 | | | | Nakano
SS06 Numabukuro 沼袋 6.1 | | | |
SS07 Nogata 野方 7.1 | | | |
SS08 Toritsukasei 都立家政 8.0 | | | |
SS09 Saginomiya 鷺ノ宮 8.5 O O O |
SS10 Shimo-Igusa 下井草 9.8 | | | | Suginami
SS11 Iogi 井荻 10.7 | | | |
SS12 Kami-Igusa 上井草 11.7 | | | |
SS13 Kami-Shakujii 上石神井 12.8 O O O | Nerima
SS14 Musashiseki 武蔵関 14.1 O | | |
SS15 Higashi-Fushimi 東伏見 15.3 O | | | Nishitōkyō
SS16 Seibu-Yagisawa 西武柳沢 16.3 O | | |
SS17 Tanashi 田無 17.6 O O O |
SS18 Hanakoganei 花小金井 19.9 O O | | Kodaira
SS19 Kodaira 小平 22.6 O O | | Seibu Haijima Line
SS20 Kumegawa 久米川 24.6 O O | |   Higashimurayama
SS21 Higashi-Murayama 東村山 26.0 O O O O Seibu Kokubunji Line
Seibu Seibuen Line
SS22 Tokorozawa 所沢 28.9 O O O O Seibu Ikebukuro Line Tokorozawa Saitama
SS23 Kōkū-kōen 航空公園 30.5 O O | |  
SS24 Shin-Tokorozawa 新所沢 31.7 O O O |
SS25 Iriso 入曽 35.6 O O | | Sayama
SS26 Sayamashi 狭山市 38.6 O O O O
SS27 Shin-Sayama 新狭山 41.3 O O | |
SS28 Minami-Ōtsuka 南大塚 43.9 O O | | Seibu Ahina Line (Freight, dormant since 1963) Kawagoe
SS29 Hon-Kawagoe 本川越 47.5 O O O O Tobu Tojo Line (Kawagoeshi Station)

Rolling stock

A fleet of eight 10-car Seibu 40000 series EMUs is scheduled to be introduced from spring 2017, operating on the Seibu Ikebukuro, Seibu Shinjuku, and Seibu Haijima Lines.[3]

History

The oldest section of the Shinjuku Line is between Higashi-Murayama Station and Hon-Kawagoe Station. This section was built by the Kawagoe Railway (川越鉄道 Kawagoe Tetsudō) to serve as a freight feeder for the Kōbu Railway (甲武鉄道 Kōbu Tetsudō) between Shinjuku and Tachikawa (now known as the Chūō Main Line). The initial Kawagoe Railway route opened between Kokubunji and Kumegawa in 1894; this portion is now known as the Seibu Kokubunji Line. Its northward extension to Kawagoe, the first part of what is now the Seibu Shinjuku Line, opened in 1895. Following several mergers and name changes between 1920 and 1922, the Kawagoe Railway became part of the Seibu Railway.

In 1927, Seibu Railway built its new dual track, electrified at 1,500 V DC, Murayama Line between Takadanobaba Station on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo and Higashi-Murayama Station to compete with Musashino Railway (武蔵野鉄道 Musashino Tetsudō) (present-day Seibu Ikebukuro Line) and the Japanese National Railways Chūō Main Line, the route being in the middle of the two. The rest of the line was electrified at the same time.

The Higashi-Murayama to Tokorozawa section was double-tracked between 1950 and 1958, with the Tokorozawa to Irimagawa section double-tracked between 1967 and 1975. The rest of the line (except for the section between the Wakita Junction and Hon-Kawagoe Station) was double-tracked between 1980 and 1991.

Lumine Est building, originally designed to house the Tokyo terminal for the Seibu Shinjuku Line

In 1952, a dual-track extension from Takadanobaba to Seibu-Shinjuku Station was completed. At this time the line was renamed the Shinjuku Line, integrating the Murayama Line and the northern section of the Kawagoe Line. The new Seibu-Shinjuku terminal was built as a temporary station, as Seibu planned to extend the line to the second floor of what is now known as Lumine Est on the east side of Shinjuku Station. This plan was later scrapped due to insufficient space to handle trains longer than six cars. Seibu-Shinjuku Station was expanded to include a high-rise hotel in 1977.[4]

During the 1960s, Seibu unsuccessfully negotiated with the Teito Rapid Transit Authority to offer through service between the Shinjuku Line and Tozai Line. Seibu's approach was rejected in favor of through operation with the Chuo Main Line.[4]

In the 1980s, Seibu drew up a plan to build an underground line for express trains between Seibu-Shinjuku and Kami-Shakujii, including a new underground station between Seibu-Shinjuku and the Metro Promenade. This plan was indefinitely postponed in 1995 due to costs and a decline in passenger ridership versus previous projections.[4] Seibu was also a bidder to acquire the former JR freight terminal site in 1989, where they planned to build a new underground terminal; Takashimaya won the bid and constructed the Takashimaya Times Square complex on the site.

From the start of the revised timetable on 30 June 2012, the limited-stop Rapid Express (快速急行 kaisoku-kyūkō) services were abolished.[5]

Station numbering was introduced on all Seibu Railway lines during fiscal 2012, with Seibu Shinjuku Line stations numbered prefixed with the letters "SS".[6]

See also

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

  1. ↑ Seibu ridership in 2010 Train Media (sourced from Seibu) Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  2. ↑ "西武新宿線停車駅あんない". Seibu Railway. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  3. ↑ 進化した”スマイルトレイン” 西武鉄道、新型車両「40000系」デビューへ [New Seibu 40000 series "advanced Smile train" rolling stock to debut] (in Japanese). Japan: Tetsudo Shimbun. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "西武新宿駅はなぜ遠いのか　幻の東口乗り入れ計画". The Nikkei. 23 November 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  5. ↑ 西武鉄道6月30日ダイヤ改正　新宿線系快速急行・拝島快速は廃止 [Seibu 30 June Timetable Revision: Shinjuku Line Rapid Express and Haijima Rapid to be Abolished]. Tetsudo Hobidas (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  6. ↑ 西武線全駅で駅ナンバリングを導入します [Station numbering to be introduced at all Seibu stations] (PDF). News Release (in Japanese). Japan: Seibu Railway. 23 February 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
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