History of Tobu Railway
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Tobu Railway started operation in 1899 between Kita Senju and Kuki stations on the current Isesaki Line. Later, it merged with Tojo Railway (Tojo Main Line) on equal terms, and also merged with Sobu Railway (Noda Line), Shimono Electric Railway (Kinugawa Line), etc. under the Land Transport Business Adjustment Act during the war, and had a history of becoming the present line. The total operating kilometer is 463.3km in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures. This is the second longest railway line in Japan, excluding JR companies, after Kinki Nippon Railway (508.2 km). It is the longest railway company in the Kanto region. |
| Tokyo Sky Tree under construction from Narihira detention line |
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In 1962, the Isesaki Line began operating a direct connection with the Hibiya Line of the Eidan Subway. In 1987, the Tojo Line began operating a direct connection with the Yurakucho Line, and in 2003, the Isesaki Line began operating a direct connection with the Hanzomon Line and Tokyu Denentoshi Line. In 2006, a connecting line was established at Kurihashi Station, the connecting station between the Nikko Line and the JR East Utsunomiya Line, and three types of express trains began direct service between JR East Shinjuku and Tobu Nikko/Kinugawa Onsen stations. 2008 saw the start of direct service between the Tojo Main Line and the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line. |
| Shimoitabashi Detention Line |
Tobu Museum
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MOHA5701 MOHA5701 appeared in 1951 as an express train for the Nikko and Kinugawa lines. Together with the cars added to the fleet in 1953, six trains of 12 cars were created. At that time, it operated between Asakusa and Nikko in 2 hours and 17 minutes. However, in 1956, soon after its appearance, it gave up limited express operation and was downgraded to an express train. Since then, it was mainly used for express, rapid and group trains on the Isesaki and Nikko lines. It was retired in July 1991. |
| MOHA5701 |
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Inside the car of MOHA5701 The seats are all convertible cross seats with armrests, and are arranged in rows of 14, one on each side of the aisle, for a total of 28 seats, giving a seating capacity of 56 passengers. This was the first express train newly built by Tobu Railway after the war, and its interior was characterized by the brightness of its fluorescent lighting. It was also nicknamed “Nekohige” (cat’s whiskers) because of its appearance. |
| Inside MOHA5701 |
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ED5010 Electric ( No.5015) A lot of freight trains were operated over almost all lines until 1984, and freight stations existed in various places in Tokyo including “Tokyo Skytree” and “Senju” stations on the origin side, and freight communication was carried out. Fourteen ED5010s were manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd. between 1957 and 1962. The overall length is 12,000mm, the weight is 45.5t, and four MT40 type main electric motors are installed. Freight trains were operated on the Sano Line until the end of the line, and freight operations were discontinued in September 2003. |
| ED5015. |
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Deha5 class This class was introduced in 1924 when the line between Asakusa (now Tokyo Skytree) and Nishiarai Station was electrified. It was one of the first eight wooden cars introduced by Tobu Railway, and was a 16-meter class car manufactured by the Tokyo Branch of Nippon Sharyo. From 1956, it was engaged in the rolling stock replacement at Nishiarai factory. The photo shows the car which is preserved as it is. |
| Deha5 class |
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Series 1720 ( No.1721) Series 1720 is a special express train which was operated to Nikko and Kinugawa area as a representative train of Tobu Railway from 1960 to 1991. 6 cars and 9 trains were registered. The distinctive bonnet-type leading part of the train was designed with the 151 Series “Kodama” express of the Japan National Railways at that time in mind. It was a fixed six-car formation of the all-electric car system, and as a Cardan-driven car, it was the second high-speed operation specification following the Odakyu Type 3000 (SE car). |
| Series 1720 first car cut model |
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Series 1720 ( Model) The Kegon is a special express train between “Asakusa and Tobu Nikko” station, and the Kinu is a special express train between “Asakusa and Kinugawa Onsen, Kinugawa Koen, Shintohara” station.The photograph is a model (N gauge: 1/150 scale) made by Micro Ace. The model uses the power unit with flywheel. It was released in December 2004. |
| Series 1720 Model |
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The driver’s seat of Series 1720 (No.1721) The maximum operating speed was 110km/h, starting acceleration 2.3km/h, deceleration 3.7(normal) km/h/s, and motor output 75Kw. It was retired on June 1, 1990 when its successor, Series 100 “Spacia” started commercial operation, but it was not completely scrapped. |
| Series 1720 driver’s seat |
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Tobu Museum Access: Go out the ticket gate of Higashi Mukojima Station on the Tobu Isezaki Line and turn right. It is under the same elevated railway tracks. Opening hours: 10:00 – 16:30 Closed: Mondays (or the following day if Monday is a national holiday) Year-end and New Year holidays (December 29 – January 3) Admission: Adults 200 yen, Children (4 years old to junior high school students) 100 yen The photos on this page were taken at our office. |
| Tobu Museum Entrance |
Isesaki Line and Tojo Line
| As mentioned above, the Isesaki Line and the Tojo Line were merged from different railway companies, and the tracks of the two lines are not connected. However, they use the same type of rolling stock. How do they transfer the trains? It is done via Chichibu railway. The new rolling stock will be brought in, inspected and transferred via Chichibu Railway “Hanyu – Yorii” station. Chichibu Railway has a connecting line with Tobu Isesaki Line at Hanyu Station and with Tobu Tojo Line at Yorii Station. Tobu Railroad and JR East Japan have commissioned Chichibu Railroad to operate the ticket gates at Yorii Station. Delivery of new rolling stock The following is an example of a Series 50000 train manufactured at the Kasado Works of Hitachi, Ltd. in Yamaguchi Prefecture and delivered to Tobu Railway’s Tojo Line. The newly manufactured rolling stock is transported by JR Freight through a dedicated factory line from Kudamatsu Station on the Sanyo Main Line via the Tokaido Main Line and Takasaki Line to Kumagaya Freight Terminal Station. From here, the freight trains are transferred to Chichibu Railway Mikajiri Line, and go to Mukawa Station on the freight line to enter the Chichibu Railway main line. It runs on the main line between “Mukawa – Yorii” station, and the transfer work to Tobu Railway is done in the Yorii station. The protection cover is removed at Yorii station of Tobu Tojo line, the pantograph is raised, and the train is sent to the Morinokoen inspection area (vehicle base ) near the Morinokoen station by own power for the first time. In case of Tobu Isezaki line, it runs to Kumagaya freight terminal station by the same route, and then runs on Chichibu railway main line from Mukawa station to Hanyu station via freight line, and enters Tobu Isezaki line at Hanyu station, then runs to Minami Kurihashi rail yard near Minami Kurihashi station by itself. |
Kurihashi Liaison Line
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| Kurihashi Liaison Line | Branch from JR Utsunomiya Line to Tobu Nikko Line (point) |
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The Kurihashi Liaison Line connecting JR East’s tracks and Tobu Railway’s tracks has been installed at Kurihashi Station on the Tobu Nikko Line and JR Utsunomiya Line. The Kuribashi station building and the connecting line were newly built on March 18, 2006, when the Tobu Limited Express train “Spacia” and the JR Limited Express train “Nikko/Kinugawa) started to operate directly between JR Shinjuku and Tobu Nikko/Kinugawaonsen stations. The connecting line was built near the boundary line between the two companies’ lands and also utilizes the land of the former Tobu’s sidetrack. In the middle of the connecting line, there is a deck where the crews of both companies take turns and a crew station. The limited express trains that directly connect JR and Tobu do not have a passenger platform at this station because they do not handle passengers getting on and off at this station. The 80-meter-long dead section was installed when the two companies’ connecting lines were installed. The official announcement of JR East at that time is here ( PDF). |
| Crew Change Deck |
| The JR Tohoku Line between Tokyo and Kuroiso Station and the Tobu Nikko Line are both electrified lines with 1,500 volts DC, but this is there to prevent the power supply for both from getting mixed up. In the event that a train stops in the dessection, the train can be moved by pressurization from the Tobu side. Tobu Railway’s new rolling stock is brought in from Chichibu Railway line from JR Kumagaya freight terminal station instead of using Kuribashi connecting line. |
Electric vehicle (Twin Doctor)
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The electric inspection car is a special type of car that runs on the track for inspection to diagnose the condition of overhead wires and ATS function. Tobu Railway has decided to use this type of vehicle because the main line and the Tojo Line are not connected, and because it is difficult to incorporate the inspection schedule into the operation schedule due to the many branch lines. When entering the railroad, the hydraulic turntable is lowered at the level crossing, the body is lifted, the retractable track wheels are lowered, and the turntable is lowered by turning it 90 degrees parallel to the track. The hydraulic motor drives the train on the tracks. |
| vehicle-mounted electricity meter |
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Overhead Line Inspection Equipment The pantograph for overhead line inspection needs to be at the same height as the pantograph of the train, so it is designed to be raised by a hydraulic shaft from the girders above the equipment room. The pantograph is raised to the same height as that of the train, and stopped by a limit switch to start measurement. In addition, an interlock is provided so that the train cannot run on the road when the girders are elevated for security reasons. |
| Overhead Cable Inspection System |
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The base vehicle is a double-cabin commercial truck remodeled and equipped with overhead line and ATS measuring devices in the equipment compartment of the cargo bed. The overhead line inspection equipment uses a multi-view optical contact measurement system. In this method, light is irradiated from the pantograph, and the width of the light reflected from the sliding surface on the underside of the trolley wire (sliding surface width) is received by the CCD light receiving element and converted by comparing it with the diameter of the trolley wire to collect data on the amount of wear. For the overhead line deflection (left-right runout), five sets of CCD photodetectors are overlapped each other, and as in the wear inspection, the reflected light from the underside of the trolley wire is received and the overhead line deflection is measured from the position of the reflected light. |
| Wheels for rail and road |
| The height of the trolley wire from the rail surface is measured by converting changes in the rotation angle of the pantograph spindle into an electrical signal and extracting the signal as the height of the trolley wire. In addition, the beam sensor for detecting the position of supports (poles and beams) is also equipped with an infrared sensor to improve accuracy. The system is also equipped with an on-board camera to capture and monitor the contact between the pantograph and overhead wires, and a separate image monitor is provided to display the measurement waveforms.Measurement method and data processing program The measurement software runs on Microsoft Windows and is easy to use. To start a measurement, click the icon to start the software, connect it to the signal processing unit in the instrument room, and set the measurement conditions before starting the measurement. During the measurement, you can check the waveform display on your seat while checking the overhead line status on the monitor, and save the data to removable media after the measurement. The structure separates the measurement and signal processing parts. The console is installed in the rear equipment room, and is connected to the notebook PC in the seat with a LAN cable for measurement processing.ATS Test Equipment The ATS measuring section consists of the main body of the ATS device, the ATS onboard unit, and a notebook PC. The ATS equipment receives the frequency information from the ATS on-board unit and measures the frequency value and the ease of receiving the frequency information (Q) while running in the same way as an actual train. The measured data is displayed on the terminal and recorded in the measuring device. The measured value is judged as good or bad, and if it is out of the specified value, it is recorded as “bad”. The recorded data is taken into the terminal unit, analyzed on the desk, and used for maintenance work. |
| Reference: From “Introduction of Tobu Railway’s Electric Inspection Cars” by Electric Department, Railway Division, Tobu Railway Co. “2010 Tobu Fan Festa! We took pictures at Minami-Kuribashi Railcar Control Area. |
Minami-Kuribashi Vehicle District
| The Minami-Kurihashi Rail Yard has both a rail yard and a rolling stock plant, and conducts train inspections and statutory inspections (inspections of important parts within 4 years or 600,000 km of mileage, and general inspections within 8 years). The rolling stock belonging to the depot is Series 30000 and Series 50050. In 2003, the three inspection districts of Kasukabe, Tatebayashi, and Shintochigi were merged to form the Minami Kurihashi Inspection District, and in 2004, the Nishiarai and Sugito plants were merged to form the Minami Kurihashi Plant, which was renamed the Minami Kurihashi Rolling Stock District in 2009, and the Shichikodai Inspection District became a branch of this district. Tobu Intertec, a group company, handles the plant operations. |
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| 2010 Tobu Fan Festa! (December 5, 2010) The event which was opened to the public at Minami-Kuribashi Railcar Depot had interesting demonstrations such as “unloading and moving the car body”, “bogie painting robot”, “wheel press-in (hydraulic)”, etc., and also had hands-on experiences such as “mass control operation”, “panther up-and-down operation”, “brake operation”, etc., and also showed main control devices (electric cam shaft with resistance control) and main electric motors, etc. The careful exhibition that opened the lid was very substantial. |
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Tobu Railway’s existing lines ( total kilometers : 463.3km)
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discontinued line
| alignment | classification | obsolescent feature | Interval distance | date of abolition |
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| Takasaki Line | railroad track | Takasaki Ekimae～Shibukawa-Shinmachi | 20.9km | Abolished on July 1, 1953 |
| Maebashi Line | railroad track | Maebashi Ekimae – Shibukawa Ekimae | 14.5km | Abolished on March 1, 1954 |
| Ikaho Line | railroad track | Shibukawa Ekimae～Ikaho | 12.6km | Abolished on December 29, 1956. |
| Keishi Line (between Tokyo and Yokohama) | railroad track | Kamiitabashi – Grant Heights | – | Abolished on July 22, 1959 |
| Yaita Line (railway in Hyogo Prefecture) | railroad track | Shin Takanori – Yaita | 23.5km | Abolished on July 1, 1959 |
| Nikko Railways | railroad track | Nikko Ekimae – Umagae | 10.6km | Abolished on February 25, 1968 |
| Nikko Kosaku Railway Line | rail line | Umagae~Meijidaira | 1.2km | Abolished on April 1, 1970 |
| Kumagaya Line | rail line | Kumagaya – Tsumanuma | 10.1km | Abolished on June 1, 1983 |
| debtor-in-possession line | freight track | Noshu Yamabe – Nakagawa Branch – Borrowing lodge | 1.3km | Abolished July 7, 1935. |
| Tonara Line | freight track | Tanuma – Tonara – Tanuma – Tomuro | – | Abolished April 5, 1939. |
| Oya Line | freight track | Tsuruta – Shin-Tsuruta | 1.0km | Abolished on September 1, 1952. |
| Oya Line | freight track | Nishikawada – Shin-Tsuruta – Arahari – Tateiwa | 11.1km | Abolished on June 16, 1964 |
| Oya Rail Line | railroad track | Tsuruta – Tateiwa | 26.6km | March 31, 1952 all lines were discontinued. |
| Otone gravel line | freight track | Hanyu – Tone River right bank | – | Abolished in September 1962 |
| Tobu Izumi Gravel Line | freight track | Tobu Izumi – Watarase right bank | – | Abolished on March 23, 1967 |
| Tokugawa riverbank line | freight track | Kisaki – Tokugawa river bank | 3.2km | Abolished on June 10, 1968 |
| Senseki Riverside Line | freight track | Nishi Koizumi – Senseki river bank | 3.0km | Abolished on October 1, 1976 |
| Ogura River Gravel Line | freight track | Mibu – Ogura River Harvesting Site | – | Abolished on February 1, 1984 |
| Ookan Line (West Tottori-Okayama Railway) | freight track | Kami Shiraishi – Ohanashi | 1.6km | Abolished on October 21, 1986 |
| Senju Line | freight track | Senju Junction (former Nakasenju Station) – Senju | 0.6km | Abolished on May 1, 1987 |
| Yanagihara Line | freight track | Yanagihara Signal “Noshu Otsuka – Mibu” between – Yanagihara Harvesting Station | – | Abolished on November 28, 1989 |
| Aizawa Line | freight track | Kuzuu – Kami Shiraishi – Daisan Kaizawa | 4.6km | October 1, 1997 All lines were discontinued. |
History of Railroad Accidents
| Tobu Isesaki Line Tatebayashi accident [ December 9, 1969]. A semi-express train from Isesaki to Asakusa collided with a large crane truck that had entered the Tatebayashi Station level crossing between Tadara Station and Tatebayashi Station on the Isesaki Line, ignoring the alarm. It was a catastrophic accident, resulting in 7 deaths and 101 injuries. After the accident, the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) ordered Tobu Railway to make the level crossing more level. Tobu Railway installed a bridge over the level crossing on September 14, 1971 (Showa 46), and the crossing was abolished. |
| Tobu Isesaki line Takenotsuka station level crossing fatal accident [ March 15, 2005] Four women were hit by a semi-express train bound for Asakusa Station at the Isesaki Line No. 37 level crossing south of Takenotsuka Station on the Tobu Isesaki Line, killing two people and injuring two others. At the time, the crossing was a manual crossing (Class 1, B crossing) and was operated by a Tobu Railway staff member. Although the warning lamps were lit to warn of an approaching train after the previous train had passed, the crossing guard thought there was enough time before the next semi-express train passed, so he unlocked the circuit breaker and raised it by 2 to 3 m. The Tobu Isezaki Line was notified of the accident by the Tobu Railway staff. When the Tobu Isesaki Line was upgraded to a double-double track between Kita-Senju and Kita-Koshigaya stations, all but one section between Nishiarai and Takenotsuka stations were also upgraded to an elevated, multi-level crossing. This section was level-crossed by a level crossing because it was difficult to elevate the line due to the location of the Takenotsuka Inspection District of the Tokyo Metro, which is just south of Takenotsuka Station. On the other hand, because there were frequent trains coming in and out of the Takenotsuka Inspection District and trains stopping at this station on the north side of the station, both crossings were so-called “unopened crossings”, and there was a risk that the crossing time would be longer if the crossing was automated, so it was left as a manual crossing. However, due to the crowded timetable, the waiting time at the level crossing was sometimes as long as 10 minutes, and there were constant complaints from users. In addition, there was a fact that the malicious person kicked the door of the station and shouted abuse at the policeman. The reason is that they knew it was illegal and unlocked the lock. After the accident, all manual level-crossings on the Tobu Line were automated, and the level-crossings in front of and behind Takenotsuka Station were widened and pedestrian bridges were installed. As a solution, Adachi Ward, together with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Tobu Railway, is planning to start the construction of a multi-level crossing near the accident site in 2011, which is expected to be completed in 2020. |
| Tobu Tojo Line Tokiwadai Station fatal accident [ June 6, 2007]. An express train (10 cars) bound for Ogawamachi from Ikebukuro entered Tokiwadai Station on the Tobu Tojo Line at 60km/h. The train hit Kunihiko Miyamoto, then 53 years old, a police sergeant of the Tokiwadai Police Station, Itabashi Police Station, and a 39-year-old woman who was suicidal at the time. The woman suffered a serious hip fracture, but recovered. The accident started when a local resident reported to the police box that there was a woman on the tracks, and Inspector Miyamoto immediately rushed to the police box |