Saitama Rapid Railway Line

Saitama Rapid Railway
A Saitama Rapid Railway 2000 series EMU
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
Locale	Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture
Termini	Akabane-Iwabuchi Urawa-Misono
Stations	8
Website	s-rail.co.jp/index.html
Operation
Opened	28 March 2001
Owner	Saitama Railway Corporation
Depot(s)	Urawa-Misono
Technical
Line length	14.6 km (9.1 mi)
No. of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Minimum radius	248 m
Electrification	1,500 V DC overhead line
Operating speed	80 km/h (50 mph)

The Saitama Rapid Railway Line (埼玉高速鉄道線 Saitama Kōsoku Tetsudō sen) is a commuter railway line in Japan operated by the third sector operating company Saitama Railway Corporation. Funded by Saitama Prefecture, local municipal governments, and Tokyo Metro, it forms a continuation of the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line, starting at Akabane-Iwabuchi Station in Tokyo and ending at Urawa-Misono Station in Saitama.^[1] It was completed on March 28, 2001, ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which held several matches at the Saitama Stadium close to Urawa-Misono Station. Except for the Urawa-Misono Station, the rest of the line is underground.

Operations

Services inter-run over the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line to Meguro and the Tokyu Meguro Line to Hiyoshi in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Stations

Color	Station	Japanese	Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
N-19	Akabane-Iwabuchi	赤羽岩淵	0.0	Tokyo Metro Namboku Line (N-19, Direct) Tōhoku Main Line (Utsunomiya Line, Takasaki Line, Shōnan-Shinjuku Line), Keihin-Tōhoku Line, Saikyō Line (Akabane Station)	Kita, Tokyo
	Kawaguchi-Motogō	川口元郷	2.4		Kawaguchi	Saitama Prefecture
	Minami-Hatogaya	南鳩ヶ谷	4.3
	Hatogaya	鳩ヶ谷	5.9
	Araijuku	新井宿	7.5
	Tozuka-angyō	戸塚安行	10.0
	Higashi-Kawaguchi	東川口	12.2	Musashino Line
	Urawa-Misono	浦和美園	14.6		Midori-ku, Saitama

Rolling stock

• Saitama Rapid Railway 2000 series 6-car EMUs
• Tokyo Metro 9000 series 6-car EMUs
• Tokyu 3000 series 6-car EMUs
• Tokyu 5080 series 6-car EMUs

Shareholders

As of 2013, the main shareholders in Saitama Railway Corporation are as follows.^[1]

Shareholder	Percentage
Saitama Prefecture	45.0
Tokyo Metro	19.4
City of Kawaguchi	18.7
City of Saitama	7.1

Ridership

Ridership figures for the line are as follows.^[1]

Fiscal year	Total passengers	Passengers/km day
2009	30.564 million	40,038
2010	31.051 million	40,770
2011	30.983 million	40,546

History

The third sector company, Saitama Railway Corporation, was established on 25 March 1992.^[1] The entire line from Akabane-Iwabuchi to Urawa-Misono opened on 28 March 2001.^[1] Through services to and from Hiyoshi on the Tokyu Meguro Line commenced on 22 June 2008.^[1]

Future developments

In the future, the line may be extended north from Urawa-Misono through Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama to Hasuda Station (in Hasuda, Saitama) on the JR East Utsunomiya Line, but financial problems have prevented construction of the extension.

See also

• List of rapid transit systems

References

1. Terada, Hirokazu (19 January 2013). データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways]. Japan: Neko Publishing. p. 56. ISBN 978-4-7770-1336-4.

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Saitama Prefectural Government information (Japanese)