Nagasaki Electric Tramway Sakuramachi Line

For much of its life the line was known under a different name. It was originally called the Furumachi Branch Line (古町支線, Furumachi-shisen): from near the old Ogawamachi stop (today's Sakuramachi) the route climbed a steep grade, passed north of the present Sakuramachi Park, ran along the boundary of Katsuyamamachi with Okeyamachi and Furumachi, and joined the Hotarujaya Branch Line at the Furumachi stop. The alignment was changed in 1954, but the line continued to appear under the name Furumachi Branch Line in the Mintetsu Yōran railway directory through its fiscal-1983 edition.

The line opened in the Taishō era as a route running inland from the Nagasaki Station area. On 25 December 1919 the first section, from Nagasaki-Ekimae to the original Sakuramachi stop, was brought into service, and the Ebisumachi, Bungomachi and Sakuramachi stops all opened. The branch was completed the following year: on 9 July 1920 the section from Sakuramachi through to Furumachi opened, carrying the line to its junction with the Hotarujaya route. In 1921 the Bungomachi stop was renamed Ogawamachi.

The war and its aftermath interrupted the line. In January 1944 wartime express operation led to the closure of the Ebisumachi stop. On 9 August 1945 the atomic bombing of Nagasaki put the line out of service, and operation did not resume until 11 January 1946. In June 1950 the Nagasaki-Ekimae stop was shifted about 36 metres east as the station plaza was enlarged.

The decisive change came in the 1950s. On 1 March 1954 the steep pass-crossing section was abolished and the route was altered: the original Sakuramachi stop and the Furumachi stop were both closed, the Ogawamachi stop was relocated, and a new Okeyamachi stop was opened, fixing the branch on its present alignment. The Okeyamachi stop was renamed Kōkaidō-mae in March 1963, and in September 1966 the Ogawamachi stop was renamed Sakuramachi. The Nagasaki-Ekimae stop was relocated once more in April 1969.

In later decades the branch suffered flood and a recurring derailment problem. The Nagasaki Flood of July 1982 suspended the line on the 23rd, with service resuming on the 25th. At the junction with the Hotarujaya Branch Line, by the Kōkaidō-mae intersection, a series of five derailments occurred over the following years — twice in 2007 (on 19 and 24 May), again in October 2015, in June 2016, and a fifth time in April 2019. After the fourth of these the track was rebuilt: in October 2017 Route 3 was cut back to Akasako–Kōkaidō-mae for the improvement work, and full operation was restored on 29 November 2017, with the cross-over toward Nishihamanomachi removed.

The line's terminal stop has been renamed in recent years. On 1 August 2018 the Kōkaidō-mae stop became Shimin-kaikan (Civic Hall), as part of a system-wide renaming of thirteen stops, and on 4 January 2023 it was renamed again to Shiyakusho (City Hall). Today the Sakuramachi Branch Line remains a short but useful connector, served only by Route 3, that links the Nagasaki Station area, the Peace Park and Urakami districts with the tramway's eastern routes toward Hotarujaya.

• 191925 December: the first section opens from Nagasaki-Ekimae to the original Sakuramachi stop; the Ebisumachi, Bungomachi and Sakuramachi stops open.
• 19209 July: the section from Sakuramachi through to Furumachi opens, completing the branch to its junction with the Hotarujaya Line.
• 1921The Bungomachi stop is renamed Ogawamachi.
• 1944January: wartime express operation leads to the closure of the Ebisumachi stop.
• 19459 August: the line is put out of service by the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
• 194611 January: service resumes.
• 1950June: the Nagasaki-Ekimae stop is moved about 36 metres east as the station plaza is enlarged.
• 19541 March: the steep pass-crossing section is abolished and the route is altered; the original Sakuramachi stop and the Furumachi stop are closed, the Ogawamachi stop is relocated, and the Okeyamachi stop opens (renamed Kōkaidō-mae in March 1963).
• 196620 September: the Ogawamachi stop is renamed Sakuramachi.
• 1969April: the Nagasaki-Ekimae stop is relocated again.
• 198223 July: the Nagasaki Flood suspends the line; service resumes on 25 July.
• 200719 and 24 May: a Route 3 Akasako-bound car derails at the Kōkaidō-mae intersection, then derails again at the same spot five days later — the first two of five derailments at the junction.
• 201722 October – 29 November: Route 3 is cut back to Akasako–Kōkaidō-mae for track-improvement work after the fourth derailment, then fully restored, and the cross-over toward Nishihamanomachi is removed.
• 20181 August: the Kōkaidō-mae stop is renamed Shimin-kaikan (Civic Hall) in a system-wide renaming of thirteen stops.
• 201921 April: a Route 3 Akasako-bound car derails at the Shimin-kaikan intersection — the fifth derailment at the junction.
• 20234 January: the Shimin-kaikan stop is renamed Shiyakusho (City Hall).