The , commonly known as the , is a railway line in Japan operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) which connects in Sapporo and in Tōbetsu, Ishikari District. Its name is made up of two characters from and , the latter of which was the terminus of the line until it was relocated to Shin-Totsukawa in 1972.
On 19 November 2016, JR Hokkaido's president announced plans to further rationalize the line by up to , a ~50% reduction in line length. The non-electrified section of the line was permanently closed on 17 April 2020.
Stations All trains, include through trains from other lines, are local trains. Sometimes, trains may skip ROYCE' Town station (marked "◌"). No.NameJapaneseBetween(km)Distance(km)TransfersLocation Sapporo to Sōen: officially Hakodate Main Line札幌(-1.6)Kita-ku, Sapporo桑園1.60.0 Hakodate Main Line (for )Chūō-ku, Sapporo Sasshō Line ↓ Electrified section八軒2.22.2 Nishi-ku, Sapporo新川1.53.7 Kita-ku, Sapporo新琴似1.95.6 Namboku Line (, )太平1.77.3 百合が原1.38.6 篠路1.610.2 拓北 2.012.2 あいの里教育大1.413.6 あいの里公園1.515.1 ROYCE' Town ◌ロイズタウン2.817.9 Tōbetsu,Ishikari District太美1.419.3 当別6.625.9 北海道医療大学3.028.9
Closed section
Closure dateNameJapaneseBetween(km)Distance(km)TransfersLocation↓ Unelectrified section7 May 2020石狩金沢2.231.1TōbetsuIshikari District本中小屋4.535.6中小屋3.238.8月ヶ岡2.841.6Tsukigata,Kabato District知来乙2.644.2石狩月形2.146.3豊ヶ岡4.751.0札比内2.553.5晩生内4.558.0Urausu,Kabato District札的2.960.9浦臼1.862.7鶴沼3.466.1於札内1.867.9南下徳富1.569.4Shintotsukawa,Kabato District下徳富2.171.5新十津川5.076.5 19 June 1972石狩橋本2.779.2上徳富2.882.0北上徳富1.783.7雨竜5.188.8Uryū,Uryū District石狩追分3.392.1渭ノ津2.494.5和3.497.9Hokuryū,Uryū District中ノ岱3.1101.0碧水1.8102.8北竜3.2106.0Numata,Uryū District五ヶ山2.6108.6石狩沼田2.8111.4 Rumoi Main Line (Closed April 1st, 2026)
Rolling stock As of April 2020, the following electric multiple unit (EMU) rolling stock is used on the Sasshō Line.
721 series EMUs (since 1 June 2012) 731 series EMUs (since 1 June 2012) 733 series EMUs (since 1 June 2012) 735 series EMUs (since 1 June 2012)
Former rolling stock Prior to the 27 October 2012 timetable revision, and closures on 17 April 2020, the following diesel multiple unit (DMU) and EMU rolling stock was used on the Sasshō Line.
KiHa 40 series DMUs KiHa 141 series DMUs KiHa 201 series DMUs 711 series EMUs
History The first part of the line to open was the northern (and now closed) section between Ishikari-Numata (on the Rumoi Main Line) to Nakatoppu (present-day ). This opened on 10 October 1931, and was initially named the . This line was extended southward from Nakatoppu to Urausu on 10 October 1934, and the Soen to Ishikari-Tobetsu section, initially named , opened on 20 November 1934. The section between Urausu and Ishikari-Tobetsu opened on 3 October 1935, linking the north and south lines, which were unified as the "Sasshō Line".
Nakatoppu Station was renamed Shin-Totsukawa in 1953.
The section between Shin-Totsukawa and Ishikari-Numata was closed on 1 April 1972.
With the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, ownership of line was transferred to JR Hokkaido.
Duplication The section between Hachiken and Ainosato-Kyoikudai was double-tracked between 1995 and 2000.
Electrification The line was electrified over the 28.9 km section from Sōen Station to Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku Station in 2012, with engineering work completed by March 2012. New 733 series EMUs were introduced from June 2012, with all trains operated using EMUs from the start of the revised timetable on 27 October 2012.
Part Closure in 2020 JR Hokkaido had been planning to permanently close the section between Hokkaido-Iryodaigaku and Shin-Totsukawa on 7 May 2020, but the company moved closure forward to 17 April due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Former connecting lines
Shinkotoni Station: An 11 km horse-drawn gauge line operated from Sapporo north west to Kawabata, opening in 1911 and crossing the Sassho Line near Shinkotoni. Petrol locomotives were introduced in 1922. The line was replaced by buses in 1943. Tobetsu Station: A 31 km 762 mm gauge line was opened to Obukuro in sections between 1949 and 1952. Typhoon Marie (1954) caused significant damage to the line, and repair was considered impractical. The line was formally closed in 1958. An 11 km 762 mm gauge line operated to Ebetsu, on the Hakodate Main Line, although at each terminus, the 762 mm gauge stations were on the opposite banks of the Tobetsugawa and Ishikarigawa rivers (respectively) to the JR stations.
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