Sagami Railway is one of the core companies of the Sotetsu group. Sotetsu focuses on railway operations, although formerly it had a more diversified set of holdings, such as bus lines and supermarkets. Sotetsu is the smallest company of the "Big 15" railways in Japan, as it has only short lines, but it succeeded in developing towns along its lines in the 1960s and 1970s, with many passengers ride this line. In May 1990, Sotetsu joined the major railways. In 2010 it had a daily ridership of 623,500
Lines
The company operates three passenger lines and a freight-only line. All lines are electrified.
700 series 2-car EMUs modified in 2006 from 7000 series for use as an inspection and rescue train
Further 20000 series trains will be delivered ahead of the start of inter-running services to and from Tokyu Corporation lines scheduled to commence in late fiscal 2022.
The Sagami Railway was established in Chigasaki, Kanagawa, in January 1917, to transport gravel along the Sagami River valley. The first section, between Chigasaki and Samukawa was opened in 1919, and the line was extended gradually to Hashimoto in 1931. Sagami Railway started direct operation to Hachioji, but performance was sluggish during the economic depression, so Sagami Railway became a subsidiary of Tokyu in 1941. The Jinchu Railway was established in Seya village 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 also became a subsidiary of Tokyu in 1939, prior to Sagami Railway. The two companies' rail lines were connected at Atsugi Station. In April 1943, Sagami Railway took over Jinchu Railway and named two lines "Sagami Line" and "Jinchu line". However, in June 1944, the 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 lines were 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 ㎡ of land around Yokohama Station's west entrance from Esso, and began to develop to attract department stores.
