Negishi Line

The Negishi Line does not exist as an independent service. It is run as a through service with the Keihin-Tōhoku Line past Yokohama toward Kamata, Tokyo, Minami-Urawa and Ōmiya, so the combined Ōmiya–Ōfuna corridor is commonly presented as the "Keihin-Tōhoku–Negishi Line" on system maps and in-train station guides; the trains are recognisable by their light-blue stripe, the line's map colour. Some Yokohama Line trains also run through onto the Negishi Line, linking Yokohama's north-western wards and the Machida, Hachiōji and Sagamihara areas to the central and southern parts of the city.

The line's northern end, between Yokohama and Sakuragichō, is among the oldest stretches of railway in Japan and was formerly part of the Tōkaidō Main Line, while the section south of Sakuragichō opened in the 1960s and 1970s. Sakuragichō, the oldest station on the line, was opened by the Japanese Government Railways on 12 June 1872 as Yokohama Station, the Yokohama terminus of Japan's first railway line. The railway was extended toward Kōzu on 11 July 1887, with trains reversing at Yokohama via a switchback; a bypass between Kanagawa and Hodogaya opened on 1 August 1898, and the branch was named the Tōkaidō Main Line Branch Line on 12 October 1909. Takashimachō Station opened on 20 December 1914 as the terminus of the electrified Keihin Line, the predecessor of today's Keihin-Tōhoku Line. A new Yokohama Station opened on 15 August 1915, the old Yokohama station was renamed Sakuragichō, and Keihin Line service reached Sakuragichō on 30 December 1915.

A southward extension to Ōfuna had its route fixed in 1920, but the plan was scrapped after the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923. The project was later revived on an entirely different alignment: a railway from Sakuragichō to Kita-Kamakura was added to the Railway Construction Act on 31 March 1937, and this provision became the legal basis for the present-day Negishi Line. Construction of the Sakuragichō–Ōfuna route — provisionally called the "Ōdai Line" — was carried out by the Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation (today's Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency). According to the corporation's construction record, the Sakuragichō–Isogo section cost ¥5.96 billion and the Isogo–Ōfuna section ¥14.4 billion.

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The Negishi Line proper took shape in stages. On 19 May 1964 the line was extended from Sakuragichō to Isogo (7.5 km), opening Kannai, Ishikawachō, Yamate, Negishi and Isogo stations, and the Yokohama–Isogo route was named the Negishi Line after one of the new stations. The Takashima freight line opened on 1 June 1964, returning freight to the route after a nearly fifty-year absence, and 103 series trains entered service in October 1965. The line was extended from Isogo to Yōkōdai (4.6 km) on 17 March 1970, and the final section from Yōkōdai to Ōfuna (8.0 km) opened on 9 April 1973, completing the line; freight service between Ōfuna and Isogo began on 1 October 1973. When the line was planned, its main purpose was to carry freight for the industrial districts along Negishi Bay; partly because of rapid population growth along the route, however, the timetable is built mainly around passenger trains. The new line replaced the parallel Yokohama city tram and greatly improved access, serving both the Negishi Bay industrial coast and the newly developed hillside bedroom suburbs of Yōkōdai and Kōnandai; the journey from Yokohama to Ōfuna takes about 30 minutes.

Freight service between Ōfuna and Isogo ceased on 1 February 1984; Automatic Train Control had been adopted on the line three days earlier, on 29 January 1984. On 1 April 1987 the Japanese National Railways were privatised: ownership of the Negishi Line passed to JR East, while Japan Freight Railway (JR Freight) took over freight operations as the line's second-class operator. JR Freight's second-class section covers the 20.1 km between Sakuragichō and Ōfuna. The E233-1000 series entered service on 22 December 2007; Digital ATC (D-ATC) was introduced between Yokohama and Ōfuna on 14 August 2009; and a women-only car was added on 19 April 2010. The Tokyo Metropolitan Area Traffic Control system (ATOS) has been in use since 1998. Today the line is served by E233-1000 series trains (Keihin-Tōhoku Line stock) and E233-6000 series trains used on Yokohama Line inter-running services, and the entire route lies within the Suica IC-card area for the Tokyo metropolitan region.

Accidents on the line include the Sakuragichō train fire of 24 April 1951. On 20 May 1970, a 103 series train derailed between Shin-Sugita and Yōkōdai, injuring two people.

12 stations tracked on the map, listed alphabetically. Select any to read its page.

• Hongodai本郷台
• Ishikawacho石川町
• Isogo磯子
• Kannai関内
• Konandai港南台
• Negishi (Kanagawa)根岸
• Ofuna大船
• Sakuragicho桜木町
• Shin-Sugita新杉田
• Yamate山手
• Yokodai洋光台
• Yokohama横浜

• 1872June 12: Sakuragichō (then named Yokohama Station, the oldest station on the line) opens, as the Yokohama terminal of Japan's first railway line; the segment belongs to the Tōkaidō Main Line.
• 1909October 12: the Kanagawa–Yokohama–Hodogaya branch is designated the Tōkaidō Main Line Branch Line.
• 1915August 15: a new Yokohama Station opens and the old Yokohama station is renamed Sakuragichō.
• 1923After the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923, an earlier (1920) plan to extend the line to Ōfuna is scrapped.
• 1937March 31: a Sakuragichō–Kita-Kamakura railway is added to the Railway Construction Act — the legal basis for the present-day Negishi Line.
• 1951April 24: the Sakuragichō train fire occurs.
• 1964May 19: the line is extended Sakuragichō–Isogo (7.5 km) and the Yokohama–Isogo route is named the Negishi Line. June 1: the Takashima freight line opens, returning freight after a nearly 50-year absence.
• 1965October: 103 series trains are introduced to the line.
• 1970March 17: the line is extended Isogo–Yōkōdai (4.6 km). May 20: a 103 series train derails between Shin-Sugita and Yōkōdai, injuring two people.
• 1973April 9: the final section Yōkōdai–Ōfuna (8.0 km) opens, completing the line. October 1: freight service begins between Ōfuna and Isogo.
• 1984January 29: Automatic Train Control is adopted on the line. February 1: freight service between Ōfuna and Isogo ceases.
• 1987April 1: JNR is privatised; the Negishi Line passes to JR East and JR Freight takes over freight as the line's second-class operator.
• 2007December 22: E233-1000 series trains enter service.
• 2009August 14: Digital ATC (D-ATC) is introduced between Yokohama and Ōfuna.
• 2010April 19: a women-only car is introduced on Keihin-Tōhoku–Negishi Line services.