The , commonly known as the , is a railway line in Japan operated by
Hokkaido Railway Company
The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart ...
(JR Hokkaido) which connects in
Sapporo
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...
and in
Tōbetsu,
Ishikari District. Its name is made up of two characters from and , the latter of which was the terminus of the line until it was relocated to Shin-Totsukawa in 1972.
On 19 November 2016, JR Hokkaido's president announced plans to further rationalise the line by up to , a ~50% reduction in line length. 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 "◌").
Closed section
Rolling stock
As of April 2020, the following
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...
(EMU) rolling stock is used on the Sasshō Line.
*
721 series EMUs (since 1 June 2012)
*
731 series EMUs (since 1 June 2012)
*
733 series
__NOTOC__
Year 733 (Roman numerals, DCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 733 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the preval ...
EMUs (since 1 June 2012)
*
735 series EMUs (since 1 June 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.
*
KiHa 40 series DMUs
*
KiHa 141 series DMUs
*
KiHa 201 series DMUs
*
711 series EMUs
File:JR Hokkaido KI HA 40 401.JPG, KiHa 40 series DMU
File:JR Hokkaido 141 series DMU 101.JPG, KiHa 141 series DMU, January 2010
File:JR Hokkaido 201 series DMU 013.JPG, KiHa 201 series DMU, January 2010
JNR 711 series EMU 005.JPG, 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
The is a Japanese railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) which connects Fukagawa Station in Fukagawa, Hokkaido, Fukagawa and Ishikari-Numata Station in Numata, Hokkaido, Numata. Following the discontinuation ...
) to Nakatoppu (present-day ). This opened on 10 October 1931, and was initially named the .
This line was extended southward from Nakatoppu to Urausu on 10 October 1934, and the Soen to Ishikari-Tobetsu section, initially named , opened on 20 November 1934.
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".
Nakatoppu Station was renamed Shin-Totsukawa in 1953.
The section between Shin-Totsukawa and Ishikari-Numata was closed on 1 April 1972.
With the
privatization
Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
of
JNR on 1 April 1987, ownership of line was transferred to JR Hokkaido.
Duplication
The section between Hachiken and Ainosato-Kyoikudai was double-tracked between 1995 and 2000.
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
__NOTOC__
Year 733 (Roman numerals, DCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 733 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the preval ...
EMUs were introduced from June 2012,
with all trains operated using EMUs from the start of the revised timetable on 27 October 2012.
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
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
outbreak.
Former connecting lines
* Shinkotoni Station: An 11 km horse-drawn 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
The is a railway line connecting the cities of Hakodate, Hokkaido, Hakodate and Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Asahikawa via Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan. It is one of the trunk lines that is operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The Sawa ...
, 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.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sassho Line
Lines of Hokkaido Railway Company
Rail transport in Hokkaido
1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
Railway lines opened in 1931
20 kV AC railway electrification