Tobu Isesaki Line
 |
| Tōbu Isesaki Line | |
|---|---|
 250 Series EMU on a Ryomo limited express service | |
| Overview | |
| Owner | Tobu Railway |
| Locale | Kantō |
| Termini | |
| Stations | 55 |
| Service | |
| Type | Commuter rail |
| System | Tobu Railway |
| Operator(s) | Tobu Railway, Tokyo Metro, Tōkyū Corporation |
| History | |
| Opened | August 27, 1899 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 114.5 km (71.1 mi) |
| Track gauge | 1067 |
| Operating speed | 110 km/h (70 mph)* |
|}
The Tōbu Isesaki Line (東武伊勢崎線, Tōbu Isesaki-sen) is one of the two main lines of Japanese private railway company Tobu Railway, extending from Asakusa Station in Tokyo to Isesaki Station in Gunma Prefecture. It is the longest non-JR "private" railway line in Japan at 114.5 km. Some trains from the line continue to the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line and Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line.
Descriptions
- Track
- quadruple: Narihirabashi − Hikifune 1.3 km, Kita-Senju − Kita-Koshigaya 18.9 km
- single: Tatebayashi − Isesaki 39.9 km
- double: the rest
- Length
- 114.5 km
N.B. Oshiage is officially an extension or part of Narihirabashi. Double tracks between Oshiage and Hikifune are thus the 3rd and 4th tracks of Narihirabashi − Hikifune.
Operation
Through trains
The Isesaki Line has trains through to two lines of Tokyo Metro. One is the Hibiya Line connected at Kitasenju, with Local trains alone. The other is the Hanzōmon Line at Oshiage, with rapid trains of Tōbu. Beyond Shibuya, the terminus of Hanzōmon Line, nearly all trains go through to the Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line, down to the terminus Chūō-Rinkan.
To the north it has trains through the Yagan Railway to the Aizu Railway's Aizutajima Station.
Rapid service
Tōbu operates several types of rapid service on this line.
Stops and operated sections are as of 2006.
- Local (普通, Futsū) (announced as 各駅停車 (Kakueki Teisha) or 各停 (kakutei) for short) (L)
- Operated in separate three sections.
- Asakusa − Kitasenju to complement Section Semi Express and Section Express
- Nakameguro of Hibiya Line − Kitasenju − Tōbu Dōbutsu Kōen. One service per direction per 10 minutes.
- Kuki − Ōta. Connection with Express. Three per hour, with one between Kuki and Tatebayashi.
- Ōta − Isesaki. One per hour per direction, conductorless.
- Section Semi-Express (区間準急, Kukan Junkyū) (SSE)
- Between Asakusa and Kuki or Minami-Kurihashi on Nikkō Line.
- Semi-Express (準急, Junkyū) (SmE)
- Early morning and late night. Down to Kuki or to Minami-Kurihashi of Nikkō Line halfly through from Chūō-Rinkan of Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line via Hanzōmon Line. 10 cars.
- Section Express (区間急行, Kukan Kyūkō) (SE)
- Between Asakusa and Tatebayashi, Ōta or Shin-Tochigi of Nikkō Line.
- Express (急行, Kyūkō) (Ex)
- From morning to night. Down to Kuki (nearly half to Minami-Kurihashi of Nikkō Line), through from Chūō-Rinkan of Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line via Hanzōmon Line. 10 cars.
- Rapid (快速, Kaisoku), Section Rapid (区間快速, Kukan Kaisoku) (R)
- Non-charged rapid train through to Nikkō Line, Kinugawa Line of Tōbu and Yagan Railway, terminates at Aizu Tajima of Aizu Railway.
- Limited Express (特急, Tokkyū)
- Stops not shown. Charged for seat reservation and rapid service. Mainly through to Nikkō Line for touristic Nikkō area named "Kegon" (けごん) and "Kinu" (きぬ). Some through to Isesaki from Asakusa, sole direct service named Ryōmō (りょうもう). See Tōbu Limited Express for detail.
Stations
- S: Stop
- Sh: stop on holidays
- *1: To Naka-Meguro on Hibiya Line.
- *2: To Chūō-Rinkan on Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line via Hanzōmon Line
- *3: Stop only terminating train, one service a day
- *4: Through to Nikkō Line
History
The Isesaki Line was opened in 1899 between Kita-Senju and Saitama with steam motive power by the present company. In 1902 Toōbu extended south to have a maritime connection at present Narihirabashi (then Azumabashi (吾妻橋), later renamed Asakusa) in downtown Tokyo, and north to Kazo. In the next year further north extension to Kawamata (then on the south bank of Tone River) was opened. Gradual extension northward progressed, and in 1910 the line arrived Isesaki. In 1931, a bridge over Sumida River was built and present Asakusa Station (then Asakusa Kaminarimon (浅草雷門)) opened in the upper floors of a department store building, the entire stretch completed.
Electrification was begun in 1924 on the section of Asakusa and Nishiarai, and in 1927 completed til Isesaki. The distance of over 100 km was then one of the longest electrified railway lines together with the present Kintetsu Osaka Line and Kintetsu Yamada Line.
After the World War II, a great problem emerged that the Tōbu Lines had no connection to the Yamanote Line or other major lines of the then Japan National Railway (present JR) to offer effective transfers to central Tokyo. The sole connection was with the Jōban Line at Kitasenju, which offered poor access to central Tokyo.
To solve the inefficiencies of transfers at Kitasenju and notoriously narrow Asakusa, in 1962, the Hibiya Line of the then Teito Rapid Transport Authority (帝都高速度交通営団, Teito Kōsokudo Kōtsū Eidan), known as TRTA or Eidan, present Tokyo Metro) was built, connecting at Kitasenju.
Further growing traffic required Tobu to make the second through line to Tokyo Metro in 1990s. The answer is the Hanzōmon Line. In 2003, the company built new tracks from Hikifune to connect at Oshiage, officially an annex station of Narihirabashi.
On March 3, 2006, the revised timetable changed past operations greatly, with only less than half of trains originating or terminating at Asakusa, and more trains operating through to Tokyo Metro underground (subway) lines.
References
- ^ Tobu ridership in 2010 Train Media (sourced from Tobu) Retrieved May 28, 2012.
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