Keio New Line
The Keio New Line (京王新線 -eki?) is the name for a 3.6 km segment of the Keio Corporation's Keio Line that runs from Shinjuku Station in Shinjuku, Tokyo to Sasazuka Station in Shibuya, Tokyo.
At Shinjuku Station the line has through service into the Shinjuku Line of the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation.
Contents
Route information
- Length: 3.6 km
- Gauge: 1372 mm
- Stations: 4
Synopsis
In order to have direct operation between the Keio Line and the Shinjuku Line, on October 30, 1978 the Keio New Line was built and put into operation before the Toei Shinjuku Line was completed. On March 30, 1980, with the completion of the last segment of the Toei Shinjuku Line, through service operations began.
The Keio New Line generally follows the main Keio Line along National Route 20 (Kōshū Kaidō) on a deeper route. Except for a short segment just before Sasazuka Station, the entire line is underground.
Because the line was built to normal railway standards and not to subway standards, only specially-designed trains can travel along the Keio New Line. However, since new train cars are being designed to be able to operate on above-ground and below-ground tracks there is no real point to the differentiation. All trains going west of Sasazuka station start and arrive at Shinjuku Station. During events at the Tokyo Racecourse, there are express trains that run from Fuchūkeibaseimonmae Station to Shinjuku station.
The Keio New Line shares the same platforms with the Toei Shinjuku Line at Shinjuku Station. From here trains travel west-southwest. At Hatsudai Station, the westbound platform is two floors underground while the eastbound one is three floors underground. (Both platforms are on the north side of the station.) At Hatagaya Station both platforms are two floors underground with platforms on either side of the two central tracks. From this point, the Keio New line diverges from the Kōshū Kaidō and heads towards the Keio Line further south. The Keio Line runs along the outside of the New Line on an elevated viaduct over Prefectural Road 420 (Nakano Dori) until Sasazuka Station.
Since most trains connecting to the Keio New Line from the Toei Shinjuku Line run until Sasazuka Station, both the Keio Line and Toei Shinjuku Line operations are being unified.
Stations
- Although there are four types of trains that travel along the Keio New Line segment (local, rapid, commuter rapid, and express), all trains stop at every station within the Keio New Line.
- There are trains that start and finish at each station listed below (as of April 2006).
Hatsudai and Hatagaya Stations: Only on the New Line
All Keio Line trains pass Hatsudai and Hatagaya stations since they are located on the Keio New Line. Customers traveling to Hatsudai and Hatagaya are directed to board at Shinsen Shinjuku Station, but those not used to the system often mistakenly board at the main Keio Line station. (While Hatsudai and Hatagaya stations are served by both the Keio New Line and the Toei Shinjuku Line, those lines are not usually referred to together.)
Interestingly, the old Keio Line platform at Hatsudai still exists and is used to store building materials.
About Naming
The Keio New Line was often dubbed part of the Toei Shinjuku Line, ostensibly because of local real-estate agents who considered "Keio" to have a strong image of the Tokyo suburbs, while the term "Shinjuku Line" had a much stronger mental connection to the central city. Another example of this thinking is the segment of the JR Joban Line that has direct service from the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, or the Tobu Isesaki Line local trains that have service from the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line.
Because of that, past real estate advertisements would often have mistaken phrases such as, "5 minutes walk from Shinjuku Line Hatagaya Station," "11 minutes walk from Toei Shinjuku Line Hatsudai Station," or "14 minutes by bus from Keio Shinjuku Line Sasazuka Station." This practice is gradually fading away but still persists in some real estate agents' advertisements.
