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Ikebukuro Station

Hanno Station

Agano Station

The Seibu Ikebukuro Line (西武池袋線, Seibu Ikebukuro-sen^?) is a commuter railway line in Tokyo, Japan. It heads northwest from Ikebukuro Station, Tokyo. The Seibu Ikebukuro Line is managed by Seibu Railway. The Seibu Chichibu Line is essentially an extension of this line, with through trains at Agano Station. However, the lines are divided operationally at Hanno Station, which has a switchback.

• Line length: 57.8 km
• Track gauge: 1067 mm
• Number of stations: 31 (including termini)
• Power supply: 1500 V DC overhead line
• Tracks:
  • 4-track section: Nerima to Nerima-Takanodai (3.5 km)
  • 2-track section: Ikebukuro to Nerima (6.0 km), Nerima-Takanodai to Hanno (40.2 km), Kita-Hanno Rail yard to Mushashigaoka Rail yard (1.5 km)
  • 1-track section: Remainder of line

The line opened April 15, 1915 as the Musashino line (separate from the JR Musashino Line) and ran from Ikebukuro to Hanno. Starting in 1922, powered sections were added in three stages, starting at Ikebukuro, until reaching Hanno in 1925. In the late 1920s, a second track was added from Ikebukuro to Hoya, and in 1929 the line was extended to Agano Station. On March 25, 1952, the line was renamed to the Ikebukuro line, and throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the 2-track section was extended in stages until reaching Kasanui Rail yard in 1969.

In 1969, through service was added to the Seibu Chichibu Line; in 1989, a transfer point was added to the Chichibu Honsen; and in 1998, through service was added to the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line.

In 2001, 350 meters of double-track was built to complete the double-track section from Ikebukuro to Hanno. At the same time, the elevated 4-track section from Nerima-Takanodai to Nakamurabashi opened, and this elevated 4-track section was extended to Nerima in 2003.

• Large sections of this article were translated from the Japanese-language article on the Seibu-Ikebukuro line [1]