The Shōnan-Shinjuku Line (湘南新宿ライン) is a through service run by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links the Tohoku Line (Utsunomiya Line) and Takasaki Line with the Tokaido Line and Yokosuka Line, using the Ikebukuro to Osaki section of the Yamanote Line (山手線).
History
Passenger trains on the Yamanote freight line (山手貨物線) were limited to occasional and special trains until the mid-1980s. From September 1959 to September 1964 an occasional semi-express called Chuzenji (中禅寺) ran between Shinjuku and Nikko. At the year-end and New Year homeward rush, some down special trains from Omiya ran from Shinagawa via the Yamanote freight line. On 1 February 1984 the Omiya to Akabane section of the Tohoku freight line opened to passengers, and some mid-distance Tohoku and Takasaki line trains ran to Akabane. On 3 March 1986 the Saikyo Line (埼京線) was extended from Omiya to Shinjuku, and the Ikebukuro to Shinjuku section of the Yamanote freight line opened to passengers.
On 1 December 1987 the temporary limited express Monterey Odoriko (モントレー踊り子) began running from Maebashi to Izu-Kyu-Shimoda, in winter and summer holidays only, until 1990. It used the Tohoku freight line, the Yamanote freight line and the Osaki branch. From 13 March 1988 mid-distance trains on the Tohoku and Takasaki lines ran through the Tohoku freight line and the Yamanote freight line to Ikebukuro, through the day. On 6 July 1988 the Shonan Liner (湘南ライナー) on the Tokaido Line was extended as the Shonan-Shinjuku Liner, running through the Tokaido freight line, the Hinkaku Line (品鶴線), the Osaki branch and the Yamanote freight line to Shinjuku. In December 1988 a temporary rapid Nikko ran from Ikebukuro to Nikko. In 1989 the temporary rapid Nikko was extended to Shinjuku, and new Shinjuku departures were added for Home Liner Konosu and Home Liner Koga. On 19 March 1991 the Narita Express limited express began, with trains for Shinjuku and Ikebukuro that ran from Shinagawa on the Yokosuka Line and then the Yamanote freight line. In 1992 the holiday rapid Nikko was upgraded to a temporary limited express Nikko from Shinjuku to Nikko. In 1994 the temporary limited express Nikko was extended to Fujisawa, and later ran as a temporary rapid.
In 1995, on a date not given, a holiday rapid called Holiday Rapid Kamakura Road (ホリデー快速鎌倉路) began running from Takasaki to Kamakura, through the Tohoku freight line, the Yamanote freight line, the Osaki branch and the Yokosuka Line. On 1 December 1995 some Utsunomiya and Takasaki line trains that had ended at Ikebukuro were extended to Shinjuku, running on the Yamanote freight line as the Saikyo Line did. On 16 March 1996 the Saikyo Line was extended to Ebisu, and platforms were built on the Yamanote freight line at Shibuya and Ebisu. A temporary limited express called Ohayo Tochigi & Kamakura ran from Utsunomiya to Kamakura until 1997. In 1997 the temporary limited express Nikko ran from Fujisawa to Nikko. On 14 March 1998 the Holiday Rapid View Shonan (ホリデー快速ビュー湘南) and Holiday Rapid View Kamakura began, using 215 series trains. The Shonan ran between Shinjuku and Hiratsuka or Odawara, and the Kamakura between Shinjuku and Kamakura. These services ended when the Shonan-Shinjuku Line opened. On 8 December 1998 some Narita Express trains from Ikebukuro were extended to Omiya by the Tohoku freight line. On 21 September 2001 JR East announced a new route that would link the Utsunomiya and Takasaki lines with the Yokosuka and Tokaido lines through Shinjuku, and the name Shonan-Shinjuku Line was chosen for it.
On 1 December 2001 the Shonan-Shinjuku Line began, with three types of service. One was a rapid train from Takasaki to the Tokaido Line. Another was a local train from Utsunomiya to Yokosuka, and the third was a local train from Shinjuku to Yokosuka. Daytime trains from Ikebukuro on the Utsunomiya and Takasaki lines were extended through the line. Morning and evening Ikebukuro and Shinjuku trains were kept, and one Ofuna to Omiya service ran. On Saturdays and holidays the Tokaido Line Holiday Rapid from Shinjuku to Odawara and Atami was brought into the Shonan-Shinjuku Line. Work began to build a grade separation at the north of Ikebukuro, where the Yamanote freight line crossed the Saikyo Line. In May 2002 single track ran between Otsuka and Ikebukuro during that work, and the timetable was made to allow for it. On 1 December 2002 all trains began stopping at Osaki, when the Rinkai Line was fully opened and platforms for the Saikyo and Rinkai lines were opened at Osaki. More trains were added in the evening and at night, and some Shonan Liner trains were renamed Ohayo Liner Shinjuku and Home Liner Odawara to avoid boarding mistakes. In 2003 the Super View Odoriko was extended on certain Saturdays and holidays so that it started from Utsunomiya, until 2004. From 10 January to 1 February 2004 a temporary rapid Kamakura Monogatari ran from Utsunomiya to Kamakura through the Yamanote freight line. On 6 June 2004 the grade separation north of Ikebukuro was completed, which removed the level crossing south of Ikebukuro with the Saikyo Line and allowed many more trains to run. On 16 October 2004 the timetable changed. More Shonan-Shinjuku trains ran, the service covered the whole day, and trains ran north to south through the line. After this change the trains were standardised as E231 series sets of 15 or 10 cars, with two green cars, and some sections ran at 120 km/h. On the night of 31 December 2004 to 1 January 2005 overnight trains ran from Takasaki to Yokosuka, all stopping at every station. After that only the Utsunomiya to Yokosuka local service ran.
In 2006 the platforms from Jichi Medical University to Utsunomiya were lengthened for 15-car trains, and trains from Utsunomiya could then run as 15 cars except some. On 15 March 2008 weekday morning trains were added to the Utsunomiya to Yokosuka route. On 14 March 2009 a night train was added to the Takasaki to Tokaido route. On weekdays and holidays the Takasaki to Tokaido route then had more trains than the Utsunomiya to Yokosuka route. Most holiday trains became 15-car sets. On 13 March 2010 Musashi-Kosugi station opened between Nishi-Oi and Shin-Kawasaki. All trains of the Utsunomiya to Yokosuka local and the Takasaki to Tokaido rapid and special rapid services stopped there. The 2011 Tohoku earthquake (東北地方太平洋沖地震) struck on 11 March 2011. Trains were suspended all day, together with Tokyo Electric Power Company's planned blackouts, until 3 April. Service resumed from the first train on 4 April. On 16 March 2013 all trains on both services stopped at Urawa station, and morning and evening Takasaki to Tokaido line trains were added. On the overnight service of 31 December 2013 to 1 January 2014 the Shonan-Shinjuku Line ran only between Koganei and Zushi, and the Utsunomiya to Koganei section was removed from the overnight service.
On 14 March 2015 the E233 series entered service. The Takasaki to Tokaido trains south of Kagohara all became 15-car sets. On 1 October 2016 station numbering was set from Omiya to Zushi, with the line code JS.
On 30 November 2019 the Sagami Railway (相模鉄道, Sotetsu) Sotetsu-JR direct line opened, linking Hazawa-Yokohama-Kokudai station on the Tokaido freight line with Sotetsu's Nishiya station. Through running began between the Sotetsu lines and the Kawagoe and Saikyo lines, via the Hinkaku Line, the Tokaido freight line and the Sotetsu Shin-Yokohama Line. The line shares tracks with the Shonan-Shinjuku Line between Ikebukuro and Musashi-Kosugi, and the line code JS is shared at Nishi-Oi and Musashi-Kosugi. Congestion between Yokohama and Shinjuku was reduced. On 1 June 2020 the Shibuya station platform was moved.
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Written by an AI from the line's history on Japanese Wikipedia, nothing else, and checked by a program for dates and numbers that are not in those facts. It can still be wrong. Adapted from Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0; this text is shared under the same licence.