On March 31, Saitama Prefecture and Saitama City made a formal request to the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency and Saitama Rapid Transit Railway to extend the Saitama Rapid Transit Line (Subway Line 7) to Iwatsuki.
The project will connect the current terminus at Urawa Misono Station (existing station) to Iwatsuki, a distance of approximately 7.2 km. The section will include a new temporary station, Saitama Stadium Station, an intermediate station between Urawa Misono and Iwatsuki, and a final station, Iwatsuki Station (all tentative names).
The line will be elevated from Urawa Misono to just before Iwatsuki city center, and will run underground between Iwatsuki city center and Iwatsuki Station, where buildings are densely located.
The estimated project cost is approximately 144 billion yen (in April 2025 prices), and a construction period of 14 years is expected from the time the project plan is approved to the actual opening of the line.
The Saitama Rapid Transit Line (Subway Line 7) extension project (Urawa Misono – Iwatsuki – Hasuda) was positioned by the Council for Transport Policy in April 2016 as a project that will contribute to the enhancement of the railroad network in response to regional growth, and when completed will greatly improve access convenience from eastern Saitama Prefecture to central Tokyo When completed, the project will greatly improve accessibility from eastern Saitama Prefecture to central Tokyo.
The extension of the line to Iwatsuki, the first section to be developed, is expected to improve the speed and convenience of service to the city center, as well as “enhance the function of an alternative route in the event of a disaster,” among other benefits.
© Source travel watch