Tobu Urban Park Line

Tobu Urban Park Line

A lineup of Tobu Urban Park Line rolling stock at the line's Nankodai Depot, June 2013
Overview
Native name 東武アーバンパークライン
Type Commuter rail
Locale Kantō Region
Termini Ōmiya
Funabashi
Stations 35
Daily ridership 448,528 (FY2010)[1]
Operation
Opened 1911
Owner Tobu Railway
Depot(s) Nanakōdai
Rolling stock Tobu 8000 series, Tobu 10000 series, Tobu 60000 series
Technical
Line length 62.7 km (39.0 mi)
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification 1,500 V DC, overhead catenary
Operating speed 100 km/h (60 mph)
Route map
New Shuttle
Joetsu Shinkansen, Tohoku Shinkansen
Saikyo Line / Kawagoe Line
Tohoku Main Line / Takasaki Line
Keihin-Tohoku Line
0.0 Ōmiya
1.2 Kita-Ōmiya
Tohoku Main Line
 2.2 Ōmiya-kōen
 4.0 Ōwada
 5.6 Nanasato
 Kakuraabandoned in 1950
 8.5 Iwatsuki
 Shibue
 10.9 Higashi-Iwatsuki
 12.2 Toyoharu
 14.1 Yagisaki
Tobu Skytree Line
15.2 Kasukabe
Skytree Line
 Doiabandoned in 1947
 17.8 Fujino-ushijima
 Naganumaabandoned in 1956
 20.6 Minami-Sakurai
 Edo River
 22.9 Kawama
Nanakōdai depot
25.1 Nanakōdai
 26.6 Shimizu-kōen
 27.7 Atago
 28.6 Nodashi
 30.9 Umesato
 33.2 Unga
 35.1 Edogawadai
 36.8 Hatsuishi
Tsukuba Express
 Nagareyama-Ōtakanomori
 39.7 Toyoshiki
 Kita-Kashiwaabandoned in 1955
42.9 Kashiwa
Jōban Line
Jōban Line
45.8 Shin-Kashiwa
 47.1 Masuo
 48.0 Sakasai
50.2 Takayanagi
 51.9 Mutsumi
 53.3 Shin-Kamagaya
Hokusō Line
Shin-Keisei Line
Hatsutomi
55.2 Kamagaya
 57.7 Magomezawa
 60.1 Tsukada
 61.3 Shin-Funabashi
KaijinBypass abandoned in 1934
Keisei Main Line
Tōyō Rapid Line
62.7 Funabashi
Sōbu Main Line
Chūō-Sōbu Line
Keisei Main Line
Keisei-Funabashi

The Tobu Urban Park Line (東武アーバンパークライン Tōbu Ābanpāku-rain), formally known as the Tobu Noda Line (東武野田線 Tōbu Noda-sen), is a 62.7 km (39.0 mi) long railway line in Saitama and Chiba Prefectures operated by the Japanese private railway company Tobu Railway. It connects the satellite cities of Tokyo, such as Saitama, Kasukabe, Noda, Nagareyama, Matsudo, Kamagaya, Kashiwa, and Funabashi.[2]

Description

Operation

All trains are operated as all-stations "Local" services. Most trains, excluding a few from/to train depots, originate or terminate at Kashiwa Station which has a switchback. During the daytime, six trains run per hour. All trains stop at all stations.

From 26 March 2016, limited-stop "Express" services were introduced on the line. During the daytime off-peak, these run at 30-minute intervals, stopping only at Iwatsuki between Ōmiya and Kasukabe, and all-stations between Kasukabe and Funabashi. The journey time between Omiya and Kasukabe is reduced by 6 minutes compared with all-stations "Local" services.[3]

Stations

Abbreviations:

No. Station Japanese Distance (km) L E Transfers Location
TD-01 Ōmiya 大宮 0.0 O O
Ōmiya-ku, Saitama Saitama
TD-02 Kita-Ōmiya 北大宮 1.2 O |  
TD-03 Ōmiya-kōen 大宮公園 2.2 O |  
TD-04 Ōwada 大和田 4.0 O |   Minuma-ku, Saitama
TD-05 Nanasato 七里 5.6 O |  
TD-06 Iwatsuki 岩槻 8.5 O O   Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama
TD-07 Higashi-Iwatsuki 東岩槻 10.9 O |  
TD-08 Toyoharu 豊春 12.2 O |   Kasukabe
TD-09 Yagisaki 八木崎 14.1 O |  
TD-10 Kasukabe 春日部 15.2 O O ■ Tobu Skytree Line
TD-11 Fujino-ushijima 藤の牛島 17.8 O O  
TD-12 Minami-Sakurai 南桜井 20.6 O O  
TD-13 Kawama 川間 22.9 O O   Noda Chiba
TD-14 Nanakōdai 七光台 25.1 O O  
TD-15 Shimizu-kōen 清水公園 26.6 O O  
TD-16 Atago 愛宕 27.7 O O  
TD-17 Nodashi 野田市 28.6 O O  
TD-18 Umesato 梅郷 30.9 O O  
TD-19 Unga 運河 33.2 O O   Nagareyama
TD-20 Edogawadai 江戸川台 35.1 O O  
TD-21 Hatsuishi 初石 36.8 O O  
TD-22 Nagareyama-ōtakanomori 流山おおたかの森 38.4 O O ■ Tsukuba Express
TD-23 Toyoshiki 豊四季 39.7 O O   Kashiwa
TD-24 Kashiwa 柏 42.9 O O ■ Joban Line
TD-25 Shin-Kashiwa 新柏 45.8 O O  
TD-26 Masuo 増尾 47.1 O O  
TD-27 Sakasai 逆井 48.0 O O  
TD-28 Takayanagi 高柳 50.2 O O  
TD-29 Mutsumi 六実 51.9 O O   Matsudo
TD-30 Shin-Kamagaya 新鎌ヶ谷 53.3 O O
Kamagaya
TD-31 Kamagaya 鎌ヶ谷 55.2 O O  
TD-32 Magomezawa 馬込沢 57.7 O O   Funabashi
TD-33 Tsukada 塚田 60.1 O O  
TD-34 Shin-Funabashi 新船橋 61.3 O O  
TD-35 Funabashi 船橋 62.7 O O

Rolling stock

Trains are formed of 6-car (or 4+2-car) 8000 series EMUs, introduced from 1997. New 6-car 60000 series EMUs were introduced on the line from 15 June 2013, replacing the older 8000 series sets.[5][6] Eight sets are scheduled to be delivered by the end of fiscal 2013.[7]

From 3 March 2012, test running using 10030 series EMUs commenced on the line,[8] with the first reliveried set entering revenue service from 20 April 2013.[9]

From spring 2017, new Tobu 500 series three-car EMUs will operate on Urban Park Liner limited express services on the line. Services will operate between Asakusa in Tokyo (Tobu Skytree Line) and Omiya and Nodashi on the Tobu Urban Park Line, with trains dividing and joining at Kasukabe. The 500 series trains will also be used on Urban Park Liner services operating between Omiya and Unga on the Tobu Urban Park Line.[10]

Former rolling stock

History

The Chiba Prefectural Railway Noda Line

The line first opened as the Chiba Prefectural Railway Noda Line (千葉県営鉄道野田線 Chiba Ken'ei Tetsudō Noda-sen) on 9 May 1911, from Kashiwa to Nodamachi (now Nodashi), a distance of 14.7 kilometres (9 miles 10 chains) using steam haulage.[2] In 1923, the line was privatized and the operator was named Hokusō Railway (北総鉄道 Hokusō Tetsudō) (separate from the present Hokusō Railway), and also opened its own line from Funabashi Station to Kashiwa Station, a distance of 19.6 km (12 mi 14 ch).

The company gradually extended the line to Ōmiya, and changed its name in 1929 to Sōbu Railway (総武鉄道 Sōbu Tetsudō) (not to be confused with the present Sōbu Main Line). The line was completed in 1930 with the completion of the bridge over the Edo River.

On 1 March 1944, the company merged with the Tobu Railway, and the line became the Tobu Noda Line.[4] 6-car trains were introduced from November 1972.[2]

Electrification was commenced in 1929 between Kasukabe and Ōmiya,[2] and while the section from Kashiwa to Funabashi was still unelectrified when the operation of the line was taken over by Tobu in 1944, the remaining section was electrified by 1 March 1947.[4]

The Omiya to Kasukabe section was double-tracked between 1957 and 2011, the Nodashi to Umesato section in 2011, the Unga to Sakasai section between 1960 and 1991, and the Mutsumi to Funabashi section between 1964 and 1999.

Six-car 8000 series EMUs were phased in from 1997, displaced by new 30000 series EMUs introduced on the Tobu Isesaki Line.[12] The last remaining 5070 series EMUs were withdrawn from the start of the revised timetable on 19 October 2004, and the line's maximum speed was raised from 90 km/h to 100 km/h at the same time.[12]

From 17 March 2012, station numbering was introduced on all Tobu lines, with Noda Line stations receiving numbers prefixed with the letters "TD".[13]

From 1 April 2014, the line was rebranded the Tobu Urban Park Line (東武アーバンパークライン).[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Tobu ridership in 2010 Train Media (sourced from Tobu) Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 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.
  3. ↑ 東武鉄道の野田線急行、大宮～春日部間で6分短縮…来春運行開始 [Tobu Noda Line express to start next spring - reducing time between Omiya and Kasukabe by 6 minutes]. Response (in Japanese). Japan: IID, Inc. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Hanaue, Yoshinari (September 2013). 東武鉄道野田線を走った車両たち [Rolling stock that ran on the Tobu Noda Line]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 53 no. 629. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. pp. 104–111.
  5. ↑ 野田線（大宮～船橋間）に新型車両「６００００系」を導入します！ [New 60000 series trains to be introduced on Noda Line] (PDF). Tobu News release (in Japanese). Japan: Tobu Railway. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  6. ↑ 東武60000系，野田線で営業運転開始 [Tobu 60000 series enters revenue service on the Noda Line]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 16 June 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  7. 1 2 ２０１４年４月１日（火）より東武野田線に路線愛称名「東武アーバンパークライン」を導入します！ [Tobu Noda Line to be nicknamed "Tobu Urban Park Line" from 1 April 2014] (pdf). News release (in Japanese). Japan: Tobu Railway. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  8. ↑ 東武10030型が野田線で試運転 [Tobu 10030 series test run on Noda Line]. RM News (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  9. ↑ 「10000系車両野田線デビュー記念乗車券」を４月２０日（土）より発売します！ [10000 series Noda Line debut commemorative ticket on sale from 20 April] (pdf). News Release (in Japanese). Japan: Tobu Railway. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  10. ↑ 東武 新型特急車輌500系の愛称名「Revaty」に決定 [Brand name "Revaty" chosen for new Tobu 500 series limited express trains]. Tetsudo Hobidas (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing Co., Ltd. 27 October 2016. Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  11. 1 2 Iijima, Iwao (July 2002). 私鉄の車両２４　東武鉄道 [Private Railway Trains 24: Tobu Railway]. Tokyo, Japan: Neko Publishing Co., Ltd. p. 151. ISBN 978-4-87366-307-4.
  12. 1 2 "東武野田線ダイヤ改正で旧型5070系電車引退" [Old 5070 series EMUs withdrawn with Tobu Noda Line timetable revision]. Railway Journal. Japan: Tetsudō Journal. 39 (459): 102. January 2005.
  13. ↑ 「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 6 March 2013.
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