Sakado Station (Saitama)

Sakado Station (坂戸駅) is a junction passenger railway station located in the city of Sakado, Saitama, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Tōbu Railway.

Lines
Sakado Station is served by the Tōbu Tōjō Line from Ikebukuro in Tokyo. Located between Wakaba and Kita-Sakado, it is 40.6 km from the Ikebukuro terminus. It also forms the starting point of the Tobu Ogose Line branchline to Ogose.

Services
All services, (TJ Liner, Rapid Express, Rapid, Express, Semi express, Local) stop at this station. During the daytime, the station is served by eight trains per hour in each direction on the Tojo Line, and by four trains per hour to Ogose on the Ogose Line.

Station layout
The station consists of two sets of island platforms numbered from south to north. From 2010, a new elevated station building provided a central set of ticket gates, replacing the previous exits on the north and south sides.

This station has a season ticket sales office.

A siding on the north side of the station is used for storing track maintenance machines. A stabling track for Ogose Line trains lies to the east of the station, next to the permanent way depot. This was created in 2008.

Platforms
The Ogose Line platforms (1 and 2) are 4 cars long, and the Tojo Line platforms (3 and 4) are 10 cars long.



History
The station first opened on 27 October 1916, named Sakado-machi Station (坂戸町駅), coinciding with the extension of the Tojo Railway from Kawagoe. At the time of opening, the journey time from Ikebukuro was approximately 1 hour 40 minutes (compared to 45 minutes by express in 2008). The Ogose Line was opened from Sakado Station on 17 February 1932, initially as a freight line as far as Morido (森戸). The Ogose Line was extended from Morido to Ogose on 16 December 1934, from which date passenger service commenced.

From the 1920s, a track continued due westward to the Komagawa River for transporting gravel. This operated until the 1960s. The track maintenance storage track stub to the west of the station, between the Tojo Line and Ogose Line tracks is the truncated remainder of this former line.

The station was renamed Sakado on 1 September 1976 when Sakado became a city. In 1986, the locomotive depot at the east end of the station was closed, although the sheds remain to this day, used as a track maintenance depot.

From 17 March 2012, station numbering was introduced on the Tōbu Tōjō Line, with Sakado Station becoming "TJ-26".

Through running to and from Shin-Yokohama and Shōnandai via the Tōkyū Shin-yokohama Line, Sōtetsu Shin-yokohama Line, Sōtetsu Main Line, and Sōtetsu Izumino Line commenced on 18 March 2023.

Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2019, the station was used by an average of 29,107 passengers daily. Passenger figures for previous years are as shown below.

Surrounding area

 * Sakado City Office
 * Nishi-Iruma Police Station
 * Sakado Central Library

Education

 * Yamamura International High School
 * Asahano Junior High School
 * Sakado School for the Deaf

Hotels

 * Sakado Hotel
 * Hotel Sun Road
 * Sakado Grand Hotel

Bus services
The north side of the station is served by the "Sakacchi Bus" (Ōya Line) and "Sakacchi Wagon" (Nissai Line) community minibus services operated by the city of Sakado. The south side is served by the "Sakacchi Bus" (Tsurumai Line) and "Sakacchi Wagon" (Shigaichi Line) community minibus services.

The following long-distance express bus services operate from the south side of the station.


 * Narita Airport (via Kawagoe Station), operated jointly by Chiba Kōtsū, Kawagoe Motor Corp, and Tobu Bus West
 * Haneda Airport, operated jointly by Kokusai Juo and Airport Transport Service (Limousine Bus)
 * Kyoto and Osaka, Wing Liner overnight service operated by Kintetsu Bus