Sasshō Line

The Sasshō Line (札沼線, Sasshō-sen), commonly known as the Gakuentoshi Line (学園都市線, Gakuentoshi-sen), is a railway line in Japan operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) which connects Sōen in Sapporo and Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku in Tōbetsu, Ishikari District. 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 relocated to Shin-Totsukawa in 1972.

Sasshō Line
733 series 3-car set B-115 running in multiple with a 731 series set on the Sasshō Line, March 2014
Overview
Other name(s)	Gakuentoshi Line
Native name	札沼線
Owner	JR Hokkaido
Line number	G
Locale	Hokkaido
Termini	Sōen Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku
Stations	14
History
Opened	1931
Electrified	2012 (Sōen – Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku)
Closed	19 June 1972 (Shin-Totsukawa – Ishikari-Numata) 7 May 2020 (Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku – Shin-Totsukawa)
Technical
Line length	28.9 km (18.0 mi)
Number of tracks	Double (Hachiken – Ainosato-Kyōikudai) Single (elsewhere)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	20 kV AC overhead line
Operating speed	85 km/h (53 mph)
Route map

On 19 November 2016, JR Hokkaido's president announced plans to further rationalise the line by up to 1,237 km (769 mi), a ~50% reduction in line length.^[1] The non-electrified section of the line was permanently closed on 17 April 2020.

Stations

All trains, include through trains from other lines, are local trains. Sometimes, trains may skip ROYCE' Town station (marked "◌").

No.	Name	Japanese	Between (km)	Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
Sapporo to Sōen: officially Hakodate Main Line
01	Sapporo	札幌		(-1.6)	■ Chitose Line ■ Hakodate Main Line (for Asahikawa) Subway Namboku Line ( N06 ) Subway Tōhō Line ( H07 ) Hokkaido Shinkansen (planned)	Kita-ku, Sapporo
S02	Sōen	桑園	1.6	0.0	■ Hakodate Main Line (for Otaru)	Chūō-ku, Sapporo
Sasshō Line ↓ Electrified section
G03	Hachiken	八軒	2.2	2.2		Nishi-ku, Sapporo
G04	Shinkawa	新川	1.5	3.7		Kita-ku, Sapporo
G05	Shin-Kotoni	新琴似	1.9	5.6	Namboku Line (Asabu,  N01 )
G06	Taihei	太平	1.7	7.3
G07	Yurigahara	百合が原	1.3	8.6
G08	Shinoro	篠路	1.6	10.2
G09	Takuhoku	拓北	2.0	12.2
G10	Ainosato-Kyōikudai	あいの里教育大	1.4	13.6
G11	Ainosato-kōen	あいの里公園	1.5	15.1
G11-1	ROYCE' Town ◌	ロイズタウン	2.8	17.9		Tōbetsu, Ishikari District
G12	Futomi	太美	1.4	19.3
G13	Tōbetsu	当別	6.6	25.9
G14	Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku	北海道医療大学	3.0	28.9

Closed section

Closure date	Name	Japanese	Between (km)	Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
↓ Unelectrified section
7 May 2020	Ishikari-Kanazawa	石狩金沢	2.2	31.1		Tōbetsu Ishikari District
	Moto-Nakagoya	本中小屋	4.5	35.6
	Nakagoya	中小屋	3.2	38.8
	Tsukigaoka	月ヶ岡	2.8	41.6		Tsukigata, Kabato District
	Chiraiotsu	知来乙	2.6	44.2
	Ishikari-Tsukigata	石狩月形	2.1	46.3
	Toyogaoka	豊ヶ岡	4.7	51.0
	Sappinai	札比内	2.5	53.5
	Osokinai	晩生内	4.5	58.0		Urausu, Kabato District
	Satteki	札的	2.9	60.9
	Urausu	浦臼	1.8	62.7
	Tsurunuma	鶴沼	3.4	66.1
	Osatsunai	於札内	1.8	67.9
	Minami-Shimo-Toppu	南下徳富	1.5	69.4		Shintotsukawa, Kabato District
	Shimo-Toppu	下徳富	2.1	71.5
	Shin-Totsukawa	新十津川	5.0	76.5
19 June 1972	Ishikari-Hashimoto	石狩橋本	2.7	79.2
	Kami-Toppu	上徳富	2.8	82.0
	Kita-Kami-Toppu	北上徳富	1.7	83.7
	Uryū	雨竜	5.1	88.8		Uryū, Uryū District
	Ishikari-Oiwake	石狩追分	3.3	92.1
	Inotsu	渭ノ津	2.4	94.5
	Yawara	和	3.4	97.9		Hokuryū, Uryū District
	Nakanotai	中ノ岱	3.1	101.0
	Hekisui	碧水	1.8	102.8
	Hokuryū	北竜	3.2	106.0		Numata, Uryū District
	Gokayama	五ヶ山	2.6	108.6
	Ishikari-Numata	石狩沼田	2.8	111.4	■ Rumoi Main Line

Rolling stock

As of April 2020, the following electric multiple unit (EMU) rolling stock is used on the Sasshō Line.

• 721 series EMUs (since 1 June 2012)^[2]
• 731 series EMUs (since 1 June 2012)^[2]
• 733 series EMUs (since 1 June 2012)^[2]
• 735 series EMUs (since 1 June 2012)^[2]

• 
  721 series EMU, July 2006
• 
  731 series EMU, March 2008
• 
  733 series EMU, June 2012
• 
  735 series EMU, May 2012

Former rolling stock

Prior to the 27 October 2012 timetable revision, and closures on 17 April 2020, the following diesel multiple unit (DMU) and EMU rolling stock was used on the Sasshō Line.^[2]

• KiHa 40 series DMUs
• KiHa 141 series DMUs
• KiHa 201 series DMUs
• 711 series EMUs

• 
  KiHa 40 series DMU
• 
  KiHa 141 series DMU, January 2010
• 
  KiHa 201 series DMU, January 2010
• 
  711 series EMU, January 2009

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).^[3] 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.^[3] 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".^[3]

Nakatoppu Station was renamed Shin-Totsukawa in 1953.^{[citation needed]}

The section between Shin-Totsukawa and Ishikari-Numata was closed on 1 April 1972.^[3]

With the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, ownership of line was transferred to JR Hokkaido.^[3]

Duplication

The section between Hachiken and Ainosato-Kyoikudai was double-tracked between 1995 and 2000.^{[citation needed]}

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,^[4] with all trains operated using EMUs from the start of the revised timetable on 27 October 2012.^[5]

Part Closure in 2020

JR Hokkaido had been planning to permanently close the section between Hokkaido-Iryodaigaku and Shin-Totsukawa on 7 May 2020, but the company moved closure forward to 17 April due to the COVID-19 outbreak.^[6]

Former connecting lines

• Shinkotoni Station: An 11 km horse-drawn 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge line operated from Sapporo north west to Kawabata, opening in 1911 and crossing the Sassho Line near Shinkotoni. Petrol locomotives were introduced in 1922. The line was replaced by buses in 1943.
• Tobetsu Station: A 31 km 762 mm gauge line was opened to Obukuro in sections between 1949 and 1952. Typhoon Marie (1954) caused significant damage to the line, and repair was considered impractical. The line was formally closed in 1958. An 11 km 762 mm gauge line operated to Ebetsu, on the Hakodate Main Line, although at each terminus, the 762 mm gauge stations were on the opposite banks of the Tobetsugawa and Ishikarigawa rivers (respectively) to the JR stations.