Seibu Tamako Line

Seibu Tamako Line
300px Seibu Tamako Line train near Hagiyama station
Overview
Native name	西武多摩湖線
Type	Commuter rail
System	Seibu Shinjuku
Locale	Kanto region
Termini	Kokubunji Seibu-Yūenchi
Stations	7
Operation
Opened	1928
Owner	Seibu Railway
Rolling stock	Seibu 101 series and Seibu 3000 series
Technical
Line length	9.2 km (5.7 mi)
No. of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC, overhead catenary
Operating speed	95 km/h (60 mph)
Route map Legend x20px 0.0 Kokubunji: JR Chūō linefor Tokyo and Takao Kokubunji Line Higashi-Murayamafrom Kokubunji 2.4 Hitotsubashi-Gakuen 3.4 Ōmekaidō Haijimafrom Seibu-Shinjuku Haijima Line 4.6 Hagiyama Shinjuku Line Kodairafrom Seibu-Yūenchi Seibu-Shinjukufrom Haijima 5.6 Yasaka Kokubunji Linefor Kokubunji and Higashi-Murayama 8.1 Musashi-Yamato 9.2 Seibu-Yūenchi:Yamaguchi Linefor Seibu-Kyūjō-mae

The Seibu Tamako Line (西武多摩湖線, Seibu Tamako-sen) is a 9.2 km single-track railway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Seibu Railway.

The line is part of the Seibu Shinjuku group of railway lines that connects suburban areas of western Tokyo to Seibu and JR East main lines that extend to central Tokyo. The line is named after the Tama Lake (多摩湖 , Tamako), a major reservoir supplying water to Tokyo, located close to the terminus of the line at Seibu-Yūenchi. Since July 2008, recorded announcements on trains have been provided in English in addition to Japanese and, as part of Seibu Railway's ongoing refurbishment programme, signage and maps at stations are also bilingual.

Stations

No.	Name	Japanese	Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
ST01	Kokubunji	国分寺	0.0	Seibu Kokubunji Line Chūō Line (Rapid)	Kokubunji, Tokyo
ST02	Hitotsubashi-Gakuen	一橋学園	2.4		Kodaira, Tokyo
ST03	Ōmekaidō	青梅街道	3.4
ST04	Hagiyama	萩山	4.6	Seibu Haijima Line	Higashimurayama, Tokyo
ST05	Yasaka	八坂	5.6
ST06	Musashi-Yamato	武蔵大和	8.1
ST07	Seibu-Yūenchi	西武遊園地	9.2	Seibu Yamaguchi Line

Operation

All services on this line operate as all-stations "Local" (普通列車, futsū-ressha) services, mainly for the full length of the line between Seibu-Yūenchi and Kokubunji stations, with other services terminating at starting from the middle station, Hagiyama. The line is single track and except at Hitotsubashi-Gakuen station and Hagiyama station, where services in operation routinely pass each other.

Connections

This line connects the suburban Seibu lines with the JR Chūō line at Kokubunji. At Hagiyama, there is transfer to the Seibu Haijima Line. The Seibu Yamaguchi Line, also known as the Leo Liner, connects Seibu Yūenchi Station with Seibu Yūenchi amusement park and the Seibu Dome, home of the Saitama Seibu Lions baseball team. Ōmekaidō Station is listed as a connection to services on the JR Musashino Line at Shin-Kodaira Station, a short walk away.

The Tamako Line also provides access to the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry and the International Campus of Hitotsubashi Gakuen University from Hagiyama and Hitotsubashi-Gakuen stations respectively.

History

File:Seibu Tamako Line 22 1937 Scan10001.JPG

A Tamako Railway train at Kokubunji Station in 1937

The Tamako Railway opened the Kokubunji to Hagiyama section in 1928, and extended it to Musashi-Yamato in 1930, electrifying the entire section at 600 V DC at the same time. The company was absorbed into the Seibu Railway system on 12 March 1940.　In 1961, the line was extended to Seibu-Yūenchi, and the voltage increased to 1,500 V DC at the same time.

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

External links

• Seibu Railway route map