Opening of the Tokyu/Sotetsu Shin-Yokohama Line
2023/07/31
Image: Tunnel opening heading from Hiyoshi to Shin-Yokohama
On Saturday, March 18, 2023, the Tokyu and Sotetsu Shin-Yokohama Lines opened. This connected Shonandai and Hiyoshi. Furthermore, through mutual through-service with the Tokyu Meguro Line and Toei Mita Line, it not only provides a direct link to Mita but also places Onarimon (near the Shiba-Kyoritsu Campus) on a single line, connecting Keio University campuses through a massive railway network.
The Shin-Yokohama Line branches off from Nishiya on the Sotetsu Main Line and runs from Hazawa Yokohama-kokudai (which opened earlier in November 2019) through Shin-Yokohama to Hiyoshi. It consists of the Sotetsu Shin-Yokohama Line to the west and the Tokyu Shin-Yokohama Line to the east, with Shin-Yokohama as the boundary.
The tracks, which run underground from Shin-Yokohama, pass beneath the Toyoko Line and reach Shin-Tsunashima station located under Tsunashima-kaido Road. They then emerge above ground, flanking the Meguro Line storage tracks, to connect to Hiyoshi. From there, the system splits into two: the Toyoko Line and the Meguro Line. The Toyoko Line route provides through-service to the Tobu Tojo Line via the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, while the Meguro Line route provides mutual through-service to the Toei Mita Line and Tokyo Metro Namboku Line, with the Namboku Line further connecting to the Saitama Railway Line. The scenery at Hiyoshi Station, with its diverse destinations displayed on the platforms and a mix of various subway and private railway cars, has gained even more "members" starting this spring. Regarding through-service from Sotetsu to Tokyu, the operational systems are clearly divided: the Sotetsu Main Line from Ebina connects to the Meguro Line, while the Izumino Line from Shonandai connects to the Toyoko Line.
In the 201st issue of "Juku," a public relations magazine for Keio students and parents published a quarter-century ago in November 1996, a cover story was featured on the theme "Improving the Convenience of the Transportation Network Surrounding the University."
During that era, large-scale construction was underway around Den-en-chofu Station, involving the demolition of retaining walls. The old, short, green trains of the "Mekama Line" ran parallel to the Toyoko Line. A major project was in progress to move this line underground, split the system at Tamagawa (then Tamagawa-en) Station, designate the section toward the city center as the Meguro Line, and quadruple the tracks of the Toyoko Line between Hiyoshi and Den-en-chofu to create a new route to central Tokyo. The Meguro Line was established in 2000 upon completion up to Musashi-Kosugi, and mutual through-service with the Mita and Namboku Lines began, bringing a revolutionary change to transportation access between Mita and Hiyoshi. Furthermore, the connection between Hiyoshi and Musashi-Kosugi was completed in 2008. This ushered in an era where trains bound for Hiyoshi would arrive at the platforms of Mita Station.
Meanwhile, the nearest station to the Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC), which opened in 1990, was Shonandai on the Odakyu Enoshima Line. However, extension work for the Sotetsu Izumino Line and the Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Line toward this station was underway. With the opening scheduled for the spring of 1997, the major renovation of Shonandai Station into a large terminal where three lines converge was nearing completion. Furthermore, the line connecting Hiyoshi and the Sotetsu Line was described as a "highly anticipated planned line." After a quarter-century, this has finally become a reality.
(Yasuhiko Takano, Director, Administrative Affairs Office)
※Affiliations and job titles are as of the time of publication.