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 (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 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" (original section) and "Jinchu line" (acquired section). 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 m2 of land around Yokohama Station's west entrance from Esso, and began to develop to attract department stores. Through service to JR and Tōkyū The Sōtetsu Shin-Yokohama Line is an approximately 6 km link, which is constructed from Nishiya via to . This new line will enable through services between the JR East Saikyō Line and the Sōtetsu Main Line by late 2019, as well as between the Tōkyū Tōyoko Line, the Tōkyū Meguro Line & Toei Mita Subway Line and the Sōtetsu Main Line by March 2023. Sōtetsu's network will be joined to JR, Tōkyū and Toei Subway, towards the center of Tokyo Metropolis. References External links Sotetsu Group Sotetsu Lines history (site for kids) Railway companies of Japan Companies based in Yokohama Railway companies established in 1964 1964 establishments in Japan