Sōtetsu–JR Link Line

The Sōtetsu–JR Link Line is a section of the Eastern Kanagawa Rail Link project, built by the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT). It connects the Sōtetsu Main Line to the JR East Saikyō Line, via the tracks of the Sōtetsu Shin-Yokohama Line and the Tōkaidō Freight Line. This service is publicly referred to as a Sotetsu Link Line by JR East,^[1][2][3] and as a JR Link Line by the Sagami Railway (Sotetsu).^[4][5]

Sōtetsu–JR Link Line
JSJA
Sotetsu 12000 series and E233-7000 series in 2019
Overview
Native name	相鉄・JR直通線
Status	Operational
Owner	Sagami Railway JR East
Locale	Tokyo, Kanagawa prefectures
Termini	Shinjuku Station Ebina Station
Stations	18
Service
Depot(s)	Kashiwadai (Sotetsu) Kawagoe (JR East)
History
Opened	30 November 2019
Technical
Line length	57 km (35 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC overhead catenary
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph)
Route map Sōtetsu–JR Link Line Legend JR Kawagoe Line to Komagawa Kawagoe JR Kawagoe Line JR Takasaki Line JR Utsunomiya Line Ōmiya JR Tōhoku Main Line Akabane JR Akabane Line JR Yamanote Freight Line Ikebukuro JR Yamanote Freight Line Shinjuku Shibuya Ebisu Ōsaki JR Yamanote Freight Line Rinkai Line JR Yokosuka Line JR Tōkaidō Main Line Nishi-Ōi Musashi-Kosugi to Shin-yokohama (since March 2023) JR Shōnan–Shinjuku Line, Yokosuka Line Hazawa yokohama-kokudai Sōtetsu Shin- Yokohama Line Sōtetsu Main Line to Yokohama Nishiya Sōtetsu Main Line Futamata-gawa Sōtetsu Izumino Line to Shōnandai Ebina Key to symbols service boundary existing rail network stations omitted for brevity since 30 November 2019 This diagram: view talk edit

Services

JR through service trains enter the Tōkaido Freight Line once leaving Hazawa Yokohama-Kokudai Station, via the Tokyo-side of Yokohama-Hazawa Freight Station, then enters the Yokosuka Line tracks near Tsurumi Station. The service shares the same route as the Shōnan–Shinjuku Line, heading inbound towards Musashi-Kosugi, Ōsaki, Shibuya, and Shinjuku.

Trains operate from Ebina on the Sotetsu Main Line, via Nishiya, Musashi-Kosugi, and enter the Saikyō Line at Ōsaki. Trains will mostly terminate at Shinjuku. In the morning rush hours, some trains go further north towards Musashi-Urawa, Ōmiya, Sashiōgi (where the Kawagoe Line depot is located), and as far as Kawagoe. A total of 46 round trips will be operated every day, with a rush-hour frequency of 4 trains per hour, and off-peak frequency of 2-3 trains per hour.^[6]

The fastest travel times are 44 minutes between Futamatagawa and Shinjuku, 45 minutes between Yamato and Shibuya, and 36 minutes between Ebina and Musashi-Kosugi.^[6]

Service types

•   Local (各停), stopping at all stations
•   Limited Express (特急), stopping at all stations on the JR lines.
  • However, when Limited Express trains are on the JR line, they are displayed as Local instead.

Past proposal

Past proposals also suggested Sōtetsu trains to operate through services with the Ueno-Tokyo Line, towards the Utsunomiya, Takasaki and Jōban Lines. This requires trains to cross over level junctions to enter Tōkaido Line tracks near Tsurumi or Shinagawa (or somewhere in between), which would possibly undermine the high density train operations in this section, if no dedicated grade separation is built. Thus the idea was scrapped due to these difficulties.

Nomenclature

		Ebina Station	...	Futamatagawa Station	...	Nishiya Station	Hazawa yokohama-kokudai Station	Tsurumi Station	Shin-Tsurumi Signal Station	...	Ōsaki Station	Shinjuku Station
Line name in passenger info	→	Through service to JR Saikyo Line						Through service to Saikyo (Kawagoe) Line				Saikyo (Kawagoe) Line
	←	Sotetsu Lines						Through service to Sotetsu Lines				Through service to Saikyo Line Sotetsu Line
Official route name		Sotetsu Main Line					Sotetsu Shin-Yokohama Line	Tōkaidō Main Line				Yamanote Line
Track name								Tokaido Freight Line	Hinkaku Line	Hinkaku Line		Yamanote Freight Line

Station list

Company	Line name	No.	Station	Japanese	Transfers	Location
Through service to Kawagoe on the Saikyō Line and Kawagoe Line
JR East	Yamanote Line	SJKJA11	Shinjuku	新宿	JC Chuo Line (Rapid) JB Chuo-Sobu Line JY Yamanote Line JS Shonan-Shinjuku Line KO Keio Line KO Keio New Line Odakyu Odawara Line Seibu Shinjuku Line (Seibu-Shinjuku) M Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line (M-08) S Toei Shinjuku Line (S-01) E Toei Ōedo Line (E-27, Shinjuku-Nishiguchi: E-01)	Shinjuku	Tokyo
						Shibuya
		SBYJA10	Shibuya	渋谷	JS Shonan-Shinjuku Line JY Yamanote Line IN Keio Inokashira Line DT Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line TY Tokyu Toyoko Line G Tokyo Metro Ginza Line (G-01) Z Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line (Z-01) F Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line (F-16)
		EBSJA09	Ebisu	恵比寿	JS Shonan-Shinjuku Line JY Yamanote Line H Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (H-02)
		OSKJS17JA08	Ōsaki	大崎	JY Yamanote Line R Rinkai Line	Shinagawa
	Tōkaidō Main Line	JS16	Nishi-Ōi	西大井	JO Yokosuka Line (for Shinagawa)
		MKGJS15	Musashi-Kosugi	武蔵小杉	JO Yokosuka Line (JO-15) JN Nambu Line (JN-07) TY Tokyu Toyoko Line (TY-11) MG Tokyu Meguro Line (MG-11)	Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki	Kanagawa
			Hazawa yokohama-kokudai	羽沢横浜国大	Sōtetsu Shin-Yokohama Line (for Shin-Yokohama)	Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama
Sagami Railway (Sotetsu)	Sōtetsu Shin-Yokohama Line
			Nishiya	西谷	Sōtetsu Main Line (for Yokohama)	Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama
	Sōtetsu Main Line
			Futamatagawa	二俣川	Izumino Line	Asahi-ku, Yokohama
			Yamato	大和	Odakyu Enoshima Line	Yamato
			Ebina	海老名	Odakyu Odawara Line Sagami Line	Ebina