The Saikyō Line () is a Japanese railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Ōsaki Station in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and Ōmiya Station in Saitama Prefecture. The line's name is a portmanteau of the names of the two areas it connects, using the first syllable of Saitama and the last syllable of Tōkyō.
At the northern end of the line, some trains continue beyond Ōmiya to Kawagoe on the Kawagoe Line. At the southern end, many Saikyō Line trains continue beyond Ōsaki to Shin-Kiba on the Rinkai Line, operated by Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit (TWR), or to Ebina on the Sotetsu Main Line, via the Sōtetsu Shin-Yokohama Line.
Route From south to north, the Saikyō Line runs on the Yamanote Freight Line, parallel to the Yamanote Line, between Ōsaki and Ikebukuro. Between Ikebukuro and Akabane, it runs on the . Between Akabane and Ōmiya, trains use a line purpose-built for the Saikyō Line, which is classified as a branch of the Tōhoku Main Line and runs parallel to it.JR Timetable, December 2008 issue
The line's maximum speed is between Ōsaki and Itabashi, between Itabashi and Akabane, and between Akabane and Ōmiya.
Service There are three types of trains on the Saikyō Line: , , and . Between Akabane and Musashi-Urawa, Rapid trains stop only at Toda-Kōen, while Commuter Rapid trains, which run during rush hours, stop only at Musashi-Urawa between Akabane and Ōmiya. Between Akabane and Ikebukuro, as well as on the Kawagoe and Rinkai lines, all trains stop at all stations. Between Ikebukuro and Osaki on the Yamanote Freight Line, all trains run limited-stop in both directions, with the Yamanote Line providing all-stations service. Some local trains also terminate at Shinjuku.
Station list Local trains stop at all stations. Rapid and commuter rapid trains stop at stations marked "●" and pass those marked "|".
LineNo.StationDistance in km (mi)rowspan=2rowspan=2TransfersLocationBetweenstationsTotal↑ Through-running to/from ↑ via or via Shōnan–Shinjuku, Sōtetsu–JR Link and Sotetsu Main linesYamanote●●ShinagawaTokyo●●Shibuya●●●●Shinjuku●●ToshimaAkabane●●Kita, Itabashi, Toshima●● Kita●●Tohoku (branch)|| || ●| TodaSaitama|| || ●● (JM26)Minami-ku, Saitama●| ●| Chūō-ku, Saitama●| ●| ●●Ōmiya-ku, Saitama↓ Through-running to/from via Kawagoe Line ↓
Rolling stock
Current JR East E233-7000 series 10-car EMUs (since 30 June 2013) TWR 70-000 series 10-car EMUs (since 1 December 2002) TWR 71-000 series 10-car EMUs (since 1 October 2025) Sotetsu 12000 series 10-car EMUs (since 30 November 2019) Services on the Saikyō Line, includuing through service on the Kawagoe, Rinkai, and Sōtetsu Main lines are operated by JR East's fleet of 38 10-car E233-7000 series EMU trains, based at Kawagoe Depot; TWR's fleet of eight 10-car 70-000 series EMU trains, currently being replaced by eight 10-car 71-000 series EMU trains, based at Yashio Depot; and Sagami Railway's fleet of six 10-car Sotetsu 12000 series EMU trains, based at the Kashiwadai Vehicle Center.
Former
JR East 205 series 10-car EMUs (July 1989October 2016)
Before the establishment of the Saikyō Line, rolling stock used on the Akabane Line included: 72 series 8-car EMUs (1953–1967) 101 series 8-car EMUs (1967–1978) 103 series 8/10-car EMUs (1978–1985)
History The Akabane Line opened on 1 March 1885, as part of Nippon Railway's Shinagawa Line. Nippon Railway was nationalized in 1906, and electric services began in 1909. From 1972 to 1985, the Akabane Line was operated as a branch of the Yamanote Line.
Before the Saikyō Line was built, several proposals sought to improve commuter rail service between Saitama and Tokyo. The was established in 1928 but went bankrupt soon afterward. In 1968, the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation proposed extending the Toei Mita Line to central Ōmiya.
Development of the Saikyō Line began as part of an agreement between Japanese National Railways (JNR) and local residents opposed to construction of the Tōhoku Shinkansen and Jōetsu Shinkansen through Saitama Prefecture. During the 1970s, residents and activists protested the Shinkansen construction through sit-ins and other forms of opposition. JNR agreed to construct a new commuter railway between Ōmiya and Akabane as part of a settlement that allowed construction of the Shinkansen lines to proceed.
The new railway was known as the during construction. The stations between Kita-Akabane and Kita-Yono were temporarily designated by numbers from one to ten, with Kita-Akabane known as "New Commuter Line Station No. 1". Because the stations had largely identical designs, JNR gave each a distinct accent color to help passengers distinguish them.
The newly built line between Ōmiya and Akabane opened on 30 September 1985. Services continued through to Ikebukuro over the existing Akabane Line, and the Saikyō Line name was adopted for the combined service. The Akabane Line designation subsequently fell out of use for passenger services.
On 3 March 1986, Saikyō Line services began operating through to Shinjuku over the Yamanote Freight Line, which had seen less freight traffic following the opening of the Musashino Line in 1973. Freight traffic on the Akabane Line continued until 1999.
Services were extended south to Shibuya and Ebisu on 16 March 1996, following the construction of new passenger platforms on the Yamanote Freight Line at those stations.
Services were extended south to Ōsaki, with through services onto the Rinkai Line, on 1 December 2002.
The Saikyō Line experienced severe overcrowding during peak periods, particularly on weekday mornings. The opening of the Shōnan–Shinjuku Line in 2004 and Tokyo Metro's Fukutoshin Line in 2008 provided additional parallel service on parts of the route. Overcrowding was also associated with longer station dwell times and delays, and was blamed, in part, for the line having the highest number of reported groping incidents (known as chikan) in the Greater Tokyo area."Worst for Chikan in Tokyo is Saikyo Line" Yomiuri Shimbun, 2005-02-08, retrieved 2006-06-19 JR East introduced women-only passenger cars on Saikyō Line trains during designated periods in response to these incidents.
On 20 August 2016, station numbering was introduced on the line, with stations assigned numbers JA08 through JA26. The numbers increase in the northbound direction toward Ōmiya.
On 30 November 2019, some Saikyō Line services began operating through to Ebina via the Sōtetsu–JR Link Line. From Ōsaki, trains travel onto the Hinkaku Line and Tōkaidō Freight Line before joining the Sōtetsu–JR Link Line near Hazawa Yokohama-Kokudai Station.
References
Further reading
External links
Stations of the Saikyō Line (JR East)