History
In January 1917, Sagami Railway KK was established at Chigasaki, Kanagawa to transport gravel on Sagami River. The first section, between Chigasaki and Samukawa was opened in 1919, and the line extended gradually to Hashimoto in 1931. Sagami Railway started direct operation to Hachiouji, but performance was sluggish in the recession so Sagami Railway became a subsidiary of Tokyu in 1941.
Jinchu Railway KK was also established at Seya village (now, Seya-ku, Yokohama) in 1917, and opened its first section from Futamatagawa to Atsugi in May, 1926. Jinchu Railway extended to Yokohama Station in 1933, but its management had financial difficulties, so the company became a subsidiary of Tokyu in 1939, prior to Sagami Railway. The two companies were connected at Atsugi Station.
In April 1943, Sagami Railway took over Jinchu Railway and named two lines "Sagami Line" (originally section) and "Jinchu line" (got section). However, in June 1944, Sagami Line and Nishi-Samukawa branch line were purchased by the government to use the bypass between Tokaido main line and Chuo main line. At the same time, Imperial Japanese Navy Atsugi Airport was opened, so the number of passengers and amount of freight increased sharply. As a result, Sagami Railway released all management and delegated it to Tokyu. Under Tokyu, the line gained electrification to increase the carrying capacity and in 1944, all passenger sections was electrified.
In June 1947, Sagami Railway employees bought their own shares from Tokyu and resolved the commission.
In 1952, Sagami Railway purchased the 25,000 ㎡ land around Yokohama Station's west entrance from Standard Oil company, and began to develop to attract department stores.
Read more about this topic: Sagami Railway
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