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Odakyu Electric Railway Co.,Ltd
小田急電鉄株式会社
Type Public KK (TYO: 9007)
Founded June 1, 1948 (from Odawara Express Railway Co., Ltd. established May 1, 1923)
Headquarters 1-3-3, Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-8309, Japan
Key people Yorihiko Osuga, Executive President
Industry Land Transportation
Employees 3,478 (2006)
Website www.odakyu.jp
Odakyū 50000 series VSE Romancecar near Shin-yurigaoka station
Odakyū 5000 series commuter EMU near Mukogaoka-yuen Station

The Odakyū Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (小田急電鉄株式会社 Odakyū Dentetsu Kabushiki-gaisha?), or OER, is a major private railway company in Tokyo, Japan, best known for its Romance car series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone.

The Odakyū Electric Railway forms the core of the Odakyū Group, which comprises 108 companies (as of October 2005), and also includes the Enoshima Electric Railway, Hakone Tozan Railway, Tachikawa Bus and Tokai Bus.

Contents

History

The 83 km line from Shinjuku to Odawara opened for service on April 1, 1927. Unlike the Odawara line, rarely were pre-WWII Japanese private railways constructed with double-track and fully electrified from the first day of operation. Two years later, April 1, 1929, the Enoshima Line was added.

The original full name of the railroad was Odawara Express Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (小田原急行電気軌道株式会社 Odawara Kyūkō Denki Kidō Kabushiki-gaisha?), but this was often shortened to Odawara Kyūkō (Odawara Express). The abbreviation Odakyū was made popular by the title song of the 1929 movie Tokyo Kōshinkyoku and eventually became the official name of the railroad on March 1, 1941.1

On May 1, 1942, Odakyū merged with the Tokyo-Yokohama Electric Railway company (now Tokyu Corporation), which controlled all private railway services west and south of Tokyo by the end of World War II. The company regained its independence on June 1, 1948, and it obtained a large of Hakone Tozan Railway stocks, instead of separating Keiō Inokashira Line for Keio Corporation. Odakyū restarted Non-stop Limited Express service between Shinjuku and Odawara in 1948. In 1950, Odakyū trains ran through to Hakone-Yumoto on Hakone Tozan Line. Odakyū uses narrow gauge (1,067 mm) tracks, but Hakone Tozan Railway is on standard gauge (1,435 mm), so one track of the section from Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto (6.1 km) was changed to a dual gauge system. It operated the first Romance Car, 1710 series, for Limited Express in 1951.

After the 1950s, due to rapid Japanese economic growth, Odakyū was faced with an explosive increase of population along with its lines. Commuter passengers had to use very crowded trains every morning, and complained strongly with the delay of improvements from the railway company. Odakyū began construction on the - "Shinjuku Station Great Improvement Project" setting 5 lines and 10 platforms long enough for 10 standard commuter cars (Romance Cars excepted, they have 11 cars) with service on the Chiyoda Line, among others. Plans for a four-track system in 1964 were prevented by residents of Setagaya Ward in Tokyo, as such the system remains uncompleted. The Setagaya Residents' opposition set the stage for a long-term and remarkable case in the courts and legislature. Odakyū could not take main part of transport from Tama New Town Area, though Odakyu started the operation of Tama Line in 1974.

In the last ten years, Odakyū has been adding track in both directions from Izumi-Tamagawa Station, on Tama River, the border station of Tokyo, to just outside of Setagaya-Daita Station for expanding the availability of express trains, especially for morning commuter service. The lines between Setagaya-Daita and Higashi-Kitazawa Station are still under construction, however. Odakyū announced that the bottle-neck will be resolved by 2013.

Odakyū has shown its high potential technology for mass and rapid transport. It operates all sections of its lines as double (or more) tracks from the day service begins, except for a few rare instances. It sometimes is regarded as a bypass route for the Tōkaidō Main Line from Tokyo to western Kanagawa, also going out to further areas away from Tokyo, although not through Yokohama in wartime. The Romance Car 3000 series "SE" was tested at speeds of up to 145 km/h in 1957, achieving a world record for narrow gauge (1067 mm) lines at the time. These tests also provided important data on high-speed electric multiple units (EMU), which Japanese National Railways (JNR) used for its limited express EMUs, 151 series, and 0 Series Shinkansen introduced in the early 1960s.

Odakyū celebrated its 80th anniversary in April 2007. The 50th anniversary of the Romancecar was celebrated in September 2007.

Lines

Odakyū has three railway lines, and through service to four lines of other companies.

Odakyū lines

Lines Sections Length (km) Stations Operated date Minutes by Ltd. Exp./Express
(in normal)
Odawara Line Shinjuku -
Odawara		 82.5 47 April 1, 1927 68-81 / 92
(fastest Ltd Exp. is 63)
Enoshima Line Sagami-Ōno -
Katase-Enoshima		 27.4 17 April 1, 1929 30-32 / 34
(fastest Ltd Exp. is 26)
Tama Line Shin-Yurigaoka -
Karakida		 10.6 8 June 1, 1974 (in part)
March 27, 1990 (full)		 11-12 / 13
Total 3 lines 120.5 80
  • Not including the connecting branch between Odawara Line and JR-Central Gotenba Line near Shin-Matsuda Station.
  • Odakyū operated the Mukōgaoka-Yūen Monorail Line, between Mukōgaoka-Yūen and Mukōgaoka-Yūen-Seimon (1.1 km, 2 stations), from 1966 to 2001, using a Lockheed Corporation style monorail system.

Through lines

Train classification

(As of March 15, 2008 timetable revision)

Color Classification Japanese Runs between Line(s)
Limited Express 特急 Shinjuku, Kita-Senju, and Shin-Kiba to Hakone-Yumoto, Katase-Enoshima, Karakida or Numazu Odakyu Odawara, Enoshima, Tama, Hakone Tozan, JR Central Gotenba, and Tokyo Metro Chiyoda and Yūrakuchō Lines
orange Rapid Express 快速急行 Shinjuku to Fujisawa (one service on weekdays to Katase-Enoshima) or Odawara Odakyū Odawara and Enoshima Lines
red Express 急行 Shinjuku to Odawara, Katase-Enoshima or Karakida Odakyū Odawara, Enoshima, and Tama Lines
hotpink Tama Express 多摩急行 Toride, Abiko or Ayase and Karakida via Yoyogi-Uehara Odakyū Odawara, Tama, Tokyo Metro Chiyoda, and JR East Jōban Lines
green Semi Express 準急 Shinjuku to Hon-Atsugi (Odawara) Odakyū Odawara Line
sky blue Sectional Semi Express 区間準急 Shinjuku to Karakida, Mukogaoka-Yuen or Hon-Atsugi Odakyū Odawara and Tama Lines
blue Local 各駅停車 in all sections, includes to/from Hakone-Yumoto on Hakone Tozan Line (occasionally between Odawara and Shin-Matsuda) Odakyū Odawara, Enoshima, Tama, and Hakone Tozan Lines
  • "Limited Express" services require a supplementary surcharge, and use the Romancecar trains.

Limited Express service

Shinjuku Station Route

Commuter service is shown in each lines pages.

Station in Japanese km Super Hakone Hakone Sagami Asagiri Enoshima Homeway Lines
Shinjuku 新宿 0.0 S S S S S S Odakyū Odawara Line
Mukōgaoka-Yūen 向ヶ丘遊園 15.8 / S* S* / / /
Shin-Yurigaoka 新百合ヶ丘 21.5 / S* S* / S S*
Machida 町田 30.8 / S S S / S*
Sagami-Ōno 相模大野 32.3 / S* S* / S S*
Hon-Atsugi 本厚木 45.4 / S* S S   S
Hadano 秦野 61.7 / S* S* /   S
Shin-Matsuda 新松田 71.8 / S* S*     /
Odawara 小田原 82.5 S S S     S
Hakone-Yumoto 箱根湯本 88.6 S S       S Hakone Tozan Line
Yamato 大和 39.9         S S Odakyū Enoshima Line
Fujisawa 藤沢 55.4         S S
Katase-Enoshima 片瀬江ノ島 59.9         S S
Odakyū Nagayama 小田急永山 28.3           S Odakyū Tama Line
Odakyū Tama-Center 小田急多摩センター 30.6           S
Karakida 唐木田 32.1           S
Matsuda 松田 71.8       S     JR Central Gotenba Line
Suruga-Oyama 駿河小山 86.2       S*    
Gotenba 御殿場 97.1       S    
Susono 裾野 112.3       S    
Numazu 沼津 121.8       S    
marks trains
"S" stopped
"S*" partly stopped or passed
"/" passed
  • "Asagiri" runs on the connecting branch line just before Shin-Matsuda from Shinjuku, and stops at Matsuda on Gotenba Line. Matsuda and Shin-Matsuda are treated as one station.
  • "Homeway" runs only evening every day, after 18:00 from Shinjuku. There is no service to Shinjuku.

Tokyo Metro Route

Commuter service is shown in each lines pages.

Station in Japanese km Metro Homeway Metro Hakone Metro Sagami Bay Resort Lines
Shin-Kiba 新木場         S Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line
Toyosu 豊洲         S
Kita-Senju 北千住 0.0 S S S   Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line
Ōtemachi 大手町 9.9 S S S  
Kasumigaseki 霞ヶ関 12.1 S S S S
Omote-Sandō 表参道 16.2 S S S S
Yoyogi-Uehara 代々木上原 19.3 (/) (/) (/) (/)
Odakyū Odawara Line
Seijōgakuen-Mae 成城学園前 27.4 S* / S* S
Shin-Yurigaoka 新百合ヶ丘 37.3 S* / S* S
Machida 町田 46.6 S S S S
Hon-Atsugi 本厚木 61.2 S / S S
Odawara 小田原 98.3   S    
Hakone Tozan Line
Hakone-Yumoto 箱根湯本 104.4   S    
Odakyū Nagayama 小田急永山 44.1 S       Odakyū Tama Line
Odakyū Tama-Center 小田急多摩センター 46.4 S      
Karakida 唐木田 47.9 S      
  • At Yoyogi-Uehara, all trains stop, but don't treat passenger service. Odakyū and Tokyo Metro change their operating staff at the station.
  • On weekday, "Metro Sagami" runs once from Hon-Atsugi to Kita-Senju in morning. And "Metro Homeway" runs three times in evening, twice from Hon-Atsugi to Kita-Senju, and the other once, from Ōtemachi to Hon-Atsugi.
  • On weekends and holidays, "Metro Hakone" runs between Kita-Senju and Hakone-Yumoto four times. "Metro Sagami" (once in morning) and "Metro Homeway" (once in night) also in service between Kita-Senju to Hon-Atsugi.
  • About once or twice in month, Metro Sagami and Metro Homeway are changed to "Bay Resort", between Shin-Kiba and Hon-Atsugi. It runs on the connection line between Yūrakuchō Line and Chiyoda Line in Tokyo Metro sections.

Rolling stock

Active

Romancecar sets

Commuter sets

Odakyū railway on the computer

The Odakyū Railway has been included in several Japanese language train simulator programs as well as the English language Microsoft Train Simulator program. Microsoft Train Simulator includes the railway's Odawara and Hakone Tozan lines, collectively referred to as the "Tokyo-Hakone" route. You can drive two of the trains that travel on the line; the 2000 series commuter trainset and the 7000 series "LSE" Romance Car trainset. Several "activities", or scenarios, are included.

Various Odakyū addins are available for the BVE Train Simulator, a freeware cab view train simulator for Microsoft Windows.

See also

References

  1. ^ Seidensticker, Edward (1990). Tokyo Rising : the city since the great earthquake. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. ISBN 0-394-54360-2

External links

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