Gotemba Line

The Gotemba Line (御殿場線, Gotemba-sen) is a railway line in Japan operated by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). It connects Kōzu Station in Odawara to Numazu via Gotemba.

Gotemba Line
Asagiri (now Mt. Fuji) limited express trains pass at Yaga Station, April 2008
Overview
OwnerJR Central
TerminiKōzu
Numazu
Stations19
Service
TypePassenger/freight
Rolling stock313 series
211 series
Odakyu 60000 series MSE
History
Opened1889
Technical
Line length60.2 km (37.4 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification1,500 V DC
Route map

The Mt. Fuji limited express service runs between Tokyo's Shinjuku Station and Gotemba via Matsuda.

Station list

No. Station
name
Japanese Distance from
Kōzu (km)
Transfers Location
Town/city Prefecture
CB00 Kōzu 国府津 0.0 Tōkaidō Main Line Odawara Kanagawa
CB01 Shimo-Soga 下曽我 3.8
CB02 Kami-Ōi 上大井 6.5 Ashigarakami District,
Ōi
CB03 Sagami-Kaneko 相模金子 8.3
CB04 Matsuda 松田 10.2 Odakyu Odawara Line Ashigarakami District,
Matsuda
CB05 Higashi-Yamakita 東山北 13.1 Ashigarakami District,
Yamakita
CB06 Yamakita 山北 15.9
CB07 Yaga 谷峨 20.0
CB08 Suruga-Oyama 駿河小山 24.6 Suntō District,
Oyama
Shizuoka
CB09 Ashigara 足柄 28.9
CB10 Gotemba 御殿場 35.5 Gotemba
CB11 Minami-Gotemba 南御殿場 38.2
CB12 Fujioka 富士岡 40.6
CB13 Iwanami 岩波 45.3 Susono
CB14 Susono 裾野 50.7
CB15 Nagaizumi-Nameri 長泉なめり 53.5 Suntō District,
Nagaizumi
CB16 Shimo-Togari 下土狩 55.6
CB17 Ōoka 大岡 57.8 Numazu
CB18 Numazu 沼津 60.2 Tōkaidō Main Line

Rolling stock

Local services

Limited express Mt. Fuji (formerly named Asagiri) services

Past

History

The present-day Gotemba Line was built as part of the original route of the Tōkaidō Main Line connecting Tokyo with Osaka. The portion between Kōzu and Numazu was opened on February 1, 1889, although it was not officially named the "Tokaido Line" until 1896. Portions were double tracked from 1891 and the double tracking was completed by 1901.

The line took an indirect route between Kōzu and Numazu in order to avoid the Hakone Mountains, which affected the potential journey time between Tokyo and Osaka. A more direct route had been planned as early as 1909, but technical difficulties delayed the completion of the Tanna Tunnel until December 1, 1934. With the opening of the tunnel, the route of the Tōkaidō Main Line became via Atami Station, leaving the section between Kōzu Station and Numazu Station as a spur line renamed as the Gotemba Line.

In 1943, due to the reduced traffic on the Gotemba line, and the urgent requirement for steel in World War II, the line was returned to a single track railway. Diesel multiple units replaced Steam locomotive hauled passenger trains in 1955, and a cooperative agreement was reached with the privately owned Odakyu Electric Railway to operate express trains directly from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo in the same year. The line was electrified from 1968, and regularly scheduled freight services were discontinued at most stations by 1982.

A new Centralized traffic control system was installed in December 1989, with a programmed route control system implemented from March 1990. Installation for the TOICA automated turnstile system was completed at all stations in 2010.

Former connecting lines

  • Gotemba station - A 19 km 762mm gauge horse tramway opened to Kawaguchiko in 1898, closed in 1905 but was reopened in 1909. It connected to the Tsuru horse tramway, providing a connection to Otsuki station on the Chuo Main Line until 1919, when it was truncated by 9 km, completely closing 10 years later.
  • Shimo-Togari station - The Izu Railway Co. opened a line to Shuzenji in 1898, electrifying the line at 1500 VDC in 1918. In 1934 following the opening of the Tanna Tunnel and associated realignment, the line was truncated to Mishima-Hirokoji station on the Tokaido Main Line.

References

  1. Odakyu Electric Railway (16 December 2011). 2012年3月17日(土) ダイヤ改正を実施します。 [Saturday 17 March 2012 Timetable Revision] (PDF) (Press release) (in Japanese). Japan. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  • Yoshikawa, Fumio (2002). Tokaido-sen 130-nen no ayumi (in Japanese). Grand-Prix Publishing. ISBN 4-87687-234-1.
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