Tokyu Corporation Applies for Business Scheme Certification Aiming for New Airport Line Development

Tokyu Corporation has applied to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for the certification of a business scheme under the Urban Railway Enhancement Law, in anticipation of the development of a new airport line.

The plan involves the underground relocation of the Tokyu Tamagawa Line from the vicinity of Yaguchi-no-Watashi Station to Kamata Station, along with the creation of a new connecting line (new airport line) between Kamata Station and near Keikyu Kamata Station on the Keikyu Main Line/Airport Line, intended to merge into the Keikyu Airport Line before reaching Otorii Station. The total length is about 800 meters. Some trains are expected to switch from the Tamagawa Station to the Toyoko Line.

If realized, it would create a new railway network linking the Tobu Tojo Line, Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, Tokyu Toyoko Line, the new airport line, and the Keikyu Airport Line. Consequently, the travel time between Nakameguro Station and near Keikyu Kamata Station would be reduced from about 36 minutes to about 23 minutes, and between Jiyugaoka Station and near Keikyu Kamata Station from about 37 minutes to about 15 minutes.

The new airport line is appointed by the Transportation Policy Council as part of a “project to enhance the international competitiveness of the railway network,” intending to eliminate the missing link between the JR Keihin-Tohoku Line, Tokyu Tamagawa Line, Ikegami Line Kamata Station, and Keikyu Kamata Station, thereby contributing to the improvement of access and convenience to Haneda Airport, a hub for enhancing international competitiveness, from areas such as Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Tokyo’s northwestern part, and the southwestern part of Saitama Prefecture, as well as promoting further development of the Kamata and Keikyu Kamata areas.

Haneda Airport Line, funded by Ota Ward and Tokyu Corporation, is expected to be the primary developer, adopting a vertically separated operation system, where the business and development bodies differ under the Urban Railway Enhancement Law. They plan to carry out the development with subsidies from the national and local public organizations, financing the rest.