Tōbu Tōjō Line

Tobu Tojo Line

A Tobu 50090 series on a TJ Liner service on the Tobu Tojo Line
Overview
Native name 東武東上線
Type Commuter rail
Locale Kantō region
Termini Ikebukuro
Yorii
Daily ridership 954,715 (2010)[1]
Operation
Opened 1 May 1914
Owner Tobu Railway
Depot(s) Shinrinkōen
Technical
Line length 75.0 km (46.6 mi)
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification 1,500 V DC, overhead catenary
Operating speed 105 km/h (65 mph)
Route map
Legend
Seibu Ikebukuro Line for Tokorozawa
Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line to Wakōshi
0.0 Ikebukuro
Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line for Ginza
Shōnan-Shinjuku Line for Ōmiya
Yamanote Line for Tabata
1.2 Kita-Ikebukuro
Saikyō Line for Akabane, Ōmiya
 2.0 Shimo-Itabashi
 3.0 Ōyama
 4.0 Naka-Itabashi
 4.7 Tokiwadai
 6.0 Kami-Itabashi
Tōbu Keishi Line
Keishi
 7.4 Tōbu-Nerima
Yūrakuchō Line/Fukutoshin Line for Ikebukuro
8.9 Shimo-Akatsuka(Chikatetsu Akatsuka)
10.4 Narimasu(Chikatetsu Narimasu)
12.5 Wakōshi
Tokyo Metro Wakō Depot
 14.0 Asaka
Musashino Line Kita-Asaka
 16.4 Asakadai
 17.8 Shiki
 19.3 Yanasegawa
 20.6 Mizuhodai
 22.0 Tsuruse
 24.2 Fujimino
 25.9 Kami-Fukuoka
 28.3 Shingashi
Kawagoe Line to Ōmiya
30.5 Kawagoe
Seibu Shinjuku Line Hon-Kawagoe
to Komagawa
 31.4 Kawagoeshi
 34.8 Kasumigaseki
 37.0 Tsurugashima
 38.9 Wakaba
 40.6 Sakado
Tōbu Ogose Line to Ogose
 42.7 Kita-Sakado
 46.2 Takasaka
 49.9 Higashi-Matsuyama
 52.6 Shinrinkōen
 55.4 Tsukinowa
 57.1 Musashi-Ranzan
Hachikō Line for Komagawa, Hachiōji
64.1 Ogawamachi
67.1 Tōbu TakezawaJR-E Takezawa
to Yorii
 70.8 Obusuma
 73.5 Hachigata
 74.4 Tamayodo
Chichibu Main Line for Kumagaya
Hachikō Line to Takasaki
75.0 Yorii
for Ogawamachi
to Mitsumineguchi

The Tobu Tojo Line (東武東上線 Tōbu Tōjō-sen) is a 75.0 km suburban railway line in Japan which runs from Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, Tokyo to Yorii Station in Yorii, Saitama, operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway. Its official name is the Tobu Tojo Main Line (東武東上本線 Tōbu Tōjō Honsen), but it is referred to as Tobu Tojo Line (東武東上線 Tōbu Tōjō Sen) on Tobu signage and publicity information.

The Tojo Line and Tobu Ogose Line branch are isolated from other Tobu lines, such as the Isesaki Line and Nikko Line. There was a plan to connect between Nishiarai on the Isesaki Line and Kami-Itabashi on the Tojo Line, but this was never built.

The name of the line comes from the original plan to construct a line linking Tokyo (東京) with Jōshū (上州) (an old province now Gunma Prefecture).

Stations

Abbreviations:

No. Station Japanese Distance (km) L YF SE FL E R RE TJ Transfers Location
TJ-01 Ikebukuro 池袋 0.0 O O[* 1] O O[* 1] O O O O
Toshima Tokyo
TJ-02 Kita-Ikebukuro 北池袋 1.2 O [* 2] | [* 2] | | | |
TJ-03 Shimo-Itabashi 下板橋 2.0 O | | | | |
TJ-04 Ōyama 大山 3.0 O | | | | | Itabashi
TJ-05 Naka-Itabashi 中板橋 4.0 O | | | | |
TJ-06 Tokiwadai ときわ台 4.7 O | | | | |
TJ-07 Kami-Itabashi 上板橋 6.0 O | | | | |
TJ-08 Tōbu-Nerima 東武練馬 7.4 O | | | | |
TJ-09 Shimo-Akatsuka 下赤塚 8.9 O | | | | |
TJ-10 Narimasu 成増 10.4 O O O O | |
TJ-11 Wakōshi 和光市 12.5 O O O O O O O |
Wakō Saitama
TJ-12 Asaka 朝霞 14.0 O O O | | | | | Asaka
TJ-13 Asakadai 朝霞台 16.4 O O O O O O | | Musashino Line (Kita-Asaka Station)
TJ-14 Shiki 志木 17.8 O O O O O O O | Niiza
TJ-15 Yanasegawa 柳瀬川 19.3 O O O | | | | | Shiki
TJ-16 Mizuhodai みずほ台 20.6 O O O | | | | | Fujimi
TJ-17 Tsuruse 鶴瀬 22.0 O O O | | | | |
TJ-18 Fujimino ふじみ野 24.2 O O O O O O | O
TJ-19 Kami-Fukuoka 上福岡 25.9 O O O | | | | | Fujimino
TJ-20 Shingashi 新河岸 28.3 O O O | | | | | Kawagoe
TJ-21 Kawagoe 川越 30.5 O O O O O O O O ■ Kawagoe Line
TJ-22 Kawagoeshi 川越市 31.4 O O O O O O O O[* 3] Seibu Shinjuku Line
(Hon-Kawagoe Station)
TJ-23 Kasumigaseki 霞ヶ関 34.8 O O O O O | | |
TJ-24 Tsurugashima 鶴ヶ島 37.0 O O O O O | | | Tsurugashima
TJ-25 Wakaba 若葉 38.9 O O O O O O | | Sakado
TJ-26 Sakado 坂戸 40.6 O O O O O O O O Tobu Ogose Line
TJ-27 Kita-Sakado 北坂戸 42.7 O O O O O | | |
TJ-28 Takasaka 高坂 46.2 O O O O O | | | Higashimatsuyama
TJ-29 Higashi-Matsuyama 東松山 49.9 O O O O O O O O
TJ-30 Shinrinkōen 森林公園 52.6 O O O O O O O O Namegawa, Hiki District
TJ-31 Tsukinowa つきのわ 55.4 O   O   O O O O[* 3]
TJ-32 Musashi-Ranzan 武蔵嵐山 57.1 O O O O O O[* 3] Ranzan, Hiki District
TJ-33 Ogawamachi 小川町 64.1 O O O O O O[* 3] ■ Hachiko Line Ogawa, Hiki District
TJ-34 Tōbu-Takezawa 東武竹沢 67.1 O          
TJ-35 Obusuma 男衾 70.8 O Yorii, Ōsato District
TJ-36 Hachigata 鉢形 73.5 O
TJ-37 Tamayodo 玉淀 74.4 O
TJ-38 Yorii 寄居 75.0 O

Notes

  1. 1 2 Yurakucho Line and Fukutoshin Line through services stop at respective Yurakucho Line and Fukutoshin Line subway platforms.
  2. 1 2 Through train services to/from the Yurakucho Line and Fukutoshin Line do not stop at any stations on the Tōjō Line south of Wakōshi.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Trains stop in down direction only.

Former connecting lines

Rolling stock

Past rolling stock

Rolling stock depots

The main maintenance depot for the line is Shinrinkoen Depot, to the north of Shinrinkoen Station. This opened in March 1971, and as of December 2013 has an allocation of 678 vehicles (the entire fleet used on the Tojo Line and Ogose Line).[3] A smaller maintenance depot is also located at Kawagoe, on the south side of Kawagoeshi Station. This was the main maintenance depot from the time the line first opened in 1914 until the larger facility at Shinrinkoen was built in 1971. Kawagoe Depot still carries out lighter maintenance and inspection duties.[3] A stabling yard is located to the south of Shimo-Itabashi Station. Built in 1935, this is capable of stabling eight 10-car trains, and is used for stabling trains close to Ikebukuro outside the peak hours.[3]

History

The "-1.9" kilometre post just outside the station

On 1 May 1914, the Tojo Railway (東上鉄道 Tōjō Tetsudō) opened the 33.5 km section between Ikebukuro and Tanomosawa (田面沢駅) (located between the present stations of Kawagoeshi and Kasumigaseki).[3] The Tokyo terminus of the line was originally planned to be at Shimo-Itabashi, and this is where, even today, the "0 km" post for the line is located (with Ikebukuro Station marked by km post "-1.9").[3] The section from Shimo-Itabashi to Ikebukuro was initially treated as a light railway extension of the main line.[3] Two years later, the line was extended 9.2 km from Kawagoemachi (now Kawagoeshi) to Sakadomachi (now Sakado), and at the same time, the section between Kawagoemachi and Tanomosawa was abandoned.[4]

In 1920, the Tojo Railway was absorbed into the Tobu Railway, and in 1923, the line was extended 13.4 km from Sakadomachi to Ogawamachi. In 1925, the line was further extended 10.8 km from Ogawamachi to Yorii, completing the present-day Tobu Tojo Line.[3] While the original plan had been to extend the line as far as Gunma Prefecture, the connection at Yorii did at least allow for through operations via the Chichibu Railway.

The line from Ikebukuro to Yorii was electrified in October 1929.[3] The 10.9 km Ogose Line from Sakadomachi to Ogose was not opened until much later, in 1943. With the steadily growing population along the line, trains were gradually increased in length to the maximum 10 cars seen today, and the original single track was doubled and even quadrupled in some places (between Wakōshi and Shiki). The line from Ikebukuro to Yorii covers a total distance of 75 km.

The Ikebukuro to Shiki section was double-tracked between 1935 and 1937, extended to Kawagoe in 1954, to Higashi-Matsuyaa between 1965 and 1968, to Shinrinkoen in 1977, and to Musashi-Ranzan between 2002 and 2005.

In 1949, Flying Tojo limited express services commenced, running between Ikebukuro and Nagatoro on the Chichibu Railway, initially using 5310 series EMUs with transverse seating, and taking approximately two hours.[3] The name was inspired by the Flying Scotsman express train service running in Britain.[3] This service continued until December 1967.[3] Steam for freight haulage on the line was finally withdrawn in 1959.[5]

Freight services ceased in 1986. In 1987, the Yurakucho Line reached Wakōshi, allowing through-running from Kawagoeshi on the Tōbu Tōjō Line to the then terminus of Shintomichō (later extended further east to the present terminus of Shinkiba).

November 1993 timetable revision

March 1998 timetable revision

March 2005 timetable revision

(From 17 March 2005)

June 2008 timetable revision

From the start of the revised timetable on 14 June 2008, new limited-stop evening TJ Liner services commenced using new 50090 series rolling stock. Six down services operate on weekdays, with four at weekends. Trains from Ikebukuro stop at Fujimino, Kawagoe, Kawagoeshi, Sakado, Higashi-Matsuyama, and Shinrinkōen, with some services continuing to Ogawamachi stopping at Tsukinowa and Musashiranzan stations.[6] Limited Express services were discontinued and replaced by new Rapid Express (快速急行) services. Daytime express services were increased from four to five per hour, and semiexpress services were reduced from four to three per hour. All trains operating out of Ikebukuro are standardized as 10-car trains.[7] From this date, the maximum line speed was increased from 100 km/h (60 mph) to 105 km/h (65 mph).[5]

March 2011 timetable revision

From the start of the revised timetable on 5 March 2011, TJ Liner services were increased from six to nine on weekday evenings. The irregularly spaced daytime express services were adjusted to run at 12-minute intervals, and semi-express services were adjusted to run at 20-minute intervals.[8]

From 17 March 2012, station numbering was introduced on all Tobu lines. Tobu Tojo Line and Ogose Line stations were numbered prefixed with the letters "TJ".[9]

From 10 September 2012, 10-car 5050-4000 series sets entered revenue service on the Tobu Tojo Line, with inter-running through to the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line.[10]

March 2013 timetable revision

From the start of the revised timetable on 16 March 2013, through running via the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line was extended beyond Shibuya over the Tokyu Toyoko Line and Minatomirai Line to Motomachi-Chukagai in Yokohama.[11] New "Rapid" services were introduced, with the previous daytime off-peak pattern of five Express services hourly changed to four Express and two Rapid services per hour in each direction.

March 2016 timetable revision

Following the revised timetable introduced on 26 March 2016, through services to and from Motomachi-Chukagai in Yokohama, running via the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line were extended to Shinrinkoen, and upgraded to "Express" status, branded as "F Liner". Weekday morning TJ Liner services were introduced in the up direction to Ikebukuro.[12] Morning Commuter Express (通勤急行 Tsūkin-kyūkō) services were discontinued from this date.

See also

References

  • Terada, Hirokazu (July 2002). データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways]. Japan: Neko Publishing. ISBN 4-87366-874-3. 
  1. ↑ Tobu ridership in 2010 Train Media (sourced from Tobu) Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  2. ↑ 歴史でめぐる鉄道全路線NO.5 東武鉄道２ [Railway Line History No. 5: Tobu Railway 2]. Japan: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. September 2010. p. 24. ISBN 978-4-02-340135-8.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 週刊私鉄全駅・全車両基地 No.08 [Weekly All Private Railway Stations and Depots No.8]. Japan: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. 9 February 2014. pp. 9–19. EAN 4910234820243.
  4. ↑ Yamamoto, Tomoyuki (October 2008). "東武東上線の神話時代（１）". Japan Railfan Magazine. 48 (570): 126–131.
  5. 1 2 首都圏鉄道完全ガイド　主要私鉄編 [Tokyo Area Complete Railway Guide - Major Private Lines]. Japan: Futabasha. 22 July 2013. pp. 50–62. ISBN 978-4-575-45387-4.
  6. ↑ Tobu News, 21 November 2007
  7. ↑ Tobu News, 14 May 2008
  8. ↑ ３月５日（土）東上線でダイヤ改正を実施 [Tojo Line Timetable Revision for 5 March] (pdf). Tobu News (in Japanese). Tobu Railway. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  9. ↑ 「東武スカイツリーライン」誕生！ あわせて駅ナンバリングを導入し、よりわかりやすくご案内します [Tobu Sky Tree Line created! Station numbering to be introduced at same time] (pdf). Tobu News (in Japanese). Tobu Railway. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  10. ↑ 東急5050系が西武鉄道池袋線で営業運転開始 [Tokyu 5050 series enters service on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line]. RM News (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  11. ↑ 東武東上線がより便利に！ 自由が丘、横浜、元町・中華街方面とつながります！ [The Tojo Tobu Line will be even more convenient! Linked with Jiyugaoka, Yokohama, and Motomachi-Chukagai] (pdf). Tobu News (in Japanese). Tobu Railway. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  12. ↑ ２０１５年度の鉄道事業設備投資計画 [Fiscal 2015 railway business investment plans] (pdf). News release (in Japanese). Japan: Tobu Railway. 30 April 2015. p. 2. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
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