Sasshō Line

The Sasshō Line (札沼線, Sasshō-sen) is a railway line in Japan operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), which connects Sōen in Sapporo and Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku in Ishikari District. Its name is made up of two characters from Sapporo (札幌) and Ishikari-Numata (石狩沼田), the letter 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
LocaleHokkaido
TerminiSōen
Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku
Line numberG
Operation
Opened1931
Closed17 April 2020 (Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku – Shin-Totsukawa)
OwnerJR Hokkaido
Events
Electrified2012 (Sōen – Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku)
Technical
Line length28.9 km (18.0 mi)
Number of tracks2 (Sōen – Ainosato-Kyōikudai)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification20 kV AC overhead line
Operating speed85 km/h
Route map

On 19 November 2016, JR Hokkaido's president announced plans to further rationalise the network by up to 1,237 km, or ~50% of the current network,[1]. The non-electrified section of the Line was permanently closed on 17 April 2020.

Stations
No. Name Japanese Between
(km)		 Distance
(km)		 Transfers Location
Sapporo to Sōen: officially Hakodate Main Line
 01  Sapporo 札幌 (-1.6)
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  
 G12  Ishikari-Futomi 石狩太美 4.2 19.3   Tōbetsu,
Ishikari District
 G13  Ishikari-Tōbetsu 石狩当別 6.6 25.9  
 G14  Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku 北海道医療大学 3.0 28.9  

Closed section
No. Name Japanese Between
(km)		 Distance
(km)		 Transfers Location
↓ Unelectrified section
  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  

Rolling stock

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

  • 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, the following diesel multiple unit (DMU) and EMU rolling stock was used on the Sasshō Line.[2]

  • 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.

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.

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 7th May 2020, but the company moved closure forward to 17th 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.
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References
  1. "JR Hokkaido says it can't maintain half of its railways". 10 May 2013.
  2. "JR北海道　2012(平成24)年6月1日に札幌～北海道医療大学間が電化開業" [Electric services to commence between Sapporo and Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku from 1 June 2012]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine. Vol. 41 no. 337. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. May 2012. p. 68.
  3. Ishino, Tetsu, ed. (1998). 停車場変遷大辞典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory - JNR/JR]. I. Japan: JTB. pp. 126–127. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
  4. "臨時列車運転情報" [Non-scheduled train operation information]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine. Vol. 41 no. 334. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. February 2012. p. 97.
  5. "札幌圏の電車運用と札沼線用気動車の去就" [Sapporo area EMU rosters and Sassho Line DMU retirement]. Japan Railfan Magazine. Vol. 53 no. 622. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. February 2013. pp. 76–81.
  6. "The Last Service on Sasshō Line (Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku - Shin-Totsukawa)" (PDF). 16 April 2020.
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