Tobu Railway

IndustryRail-focused conglomerateFounded1 November 1897; 126 years ago (1897-11-01)HeadquartersTobu-kan, , Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Gunma, TochigiNezu Kaichirō (former Representative Director)
Yoshizomi Nezu [jp](Chairman)^[1]
Yutaka Tsuzuki (President)^[2] (Representative Director)ServicesPassenger railwayTotal assets¥1.3 trillionOwnerInvestment trusts (JTSB 6.13%, TMTBJ 4.19%)
Fukoku Life (2.47%)
SSBTC Treaty 505234 (2.26%)
Mizuho Bank (2.20%)3,470 (As of March 2022^[update])SubsidiariesVarious, including the operating company of Tokyo Skytree, Tobu Bus, Asahi MotorWebsitewww.tobu.co.jp

The Tobu Railway Company, Ltd. (東武鉄道株式会社, Tōbu Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha) is a Japanese commuter railway and keiretsu holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's 463.3 km (287.9 mi) rail system is the second longest in Japan after Kintetsu. It serves large portions of Saitama Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture and Tochigi Prefecture, as well as northern Tokyo and western Chiba Prefecture. The Tobu Railway Company is listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 index.

The Tobu corporate group is also engaged in road transportation (bus/taxi), real estate, and retail. It is the owner of the Tokyo Skytree, the third tallest tower in the world. The company is a member of the Fuyo Group keiretsu.

The name "Tobu" is formed from the kanji for east (東) and Musashi (武蔵), the initial area served.

History

Tobu is one of the oldest railway companies in Japan. It was established in November 1897 and began operation between Kita-Senju and Kuki in August 1899. The Tojo Railway was founded in 1911 as a separate company, but shared its president and head office with Tobu.^[3]

In 1905, Nezu Kaichirō became the president of Tobu Railway and successfully helped to grow the company to one of the largest private rail operators in the Kanto region.^[4]

In 1924, Tobu began operating its first electric train on the Isesaki Line between Asakusa (later Narihirabashi, today Tokyo Skytree Station) and Nishiarai.

Tobu was the first railway in the Kanto region to adopt quadruple tracks, on the Kita-Senju to Takenotsuka sector in 1974.^[5] The Tobu Dobutsu Koen (Tobu Animal Park) opened in 1981.^[6]

Railway network

Tobu has two isolated networks which are connected by the Chichibu Railway for ferrying of its rolling stock.

The Tobu Main Line network has a tree topology starting at Asakusa in Tokyo, with the Isesaki Line as the trunk, and the Tobu Kameido Line, Daishi Line, Tobu Urban Park Line, Tobu Sano Line, Koizumi Line, Tōbu Kiryū Line, and Nikkō Line forming the branches, with further branches into the Tobu Utsunomiya Line and Tobu Kinugawa Lines. It offers surcharged, seat-reserved limited express services from Tokyo to Nikkō and Kinugawa.

The Tojo Line runs northwest from Ikebukuro in Tokyo to central and western Saitama Prefecture. A branch, the Ogose Line, runs to Ogose from Sakado.

Tobu's terminals in Tokyo are at Asakusa (Main Line express services), Oshiage (most other Main Line services) and Ikebukuro (Tojo Line). The Skytree and Isesaki Lines interoperate with the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line and the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line to serve central, southwestern Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, while the Tojo Line interoperates with the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line, Tokyu Toyoko Line and Minatomirai Line to serve central and southwest Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture.

Main lines

Name	Symbol	Stations	Length
Skytree Line		Asakusa – Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen	41.0 km (25.5 mi)
Kameido Line		Hikifune – Kameido	3.4 km (2.1 mi)
Daishi Line		Nishiarai – Daishimae	1.0 km (0.62 mi)
Isesaki Line		Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen – Isesaki	73.5 km (45.7 mi)
Sano Line		Tatebayashi – Kuzū	22.1 km (13.7 mi)
Koizumi Line		Tatebayashi – Nishi-Koizumi, Ōta – Higashi-Koizumi	12.0 km (7.5 mi)
Kiryū Line		Ōta – Akagi	20.3 km (12.6 mi)
Nikkō Line		Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen – Tōbu Nikkō	94.5 km (58.7 mi)
Utsunomiya Line		Shin-Tochigi – Tōbu Utsunomiya	24.3 km (15.1 mi)
Kinugawa Line		Shimo-Imaichi – Shin-Fujiwara	16.2 km (10.1 mi)
Urban Park Line (Formerly Noda Line)		Ōmiya – Kasukabe – Funabashi	62.7 km (39.0 mi)

Tobu Tojo lines

Name	Symbol	Stations	Length
Tojo Line		Ikebukuro – Yorii	75.0 km (46.6 mi)
Ogose Line		Sakado – Ogose	10.9 km (6.8 mi)

Rolling stock

As of 1 April 2016^[update], Tobu Railway operates a fleet of 1,890 electric multiple unit (EMU) vehicles, the third largest fleet for a private railway operator in Japan after Tokyo Metro (2,728 vehicles) and Kintetsu (1,905).^[7]

Express EMUs

• 300/350 series EMU (introduced 1991, 300 series variant operated until 2017)
• 200/250 series EMU Ryōmō (introduced 1991)
• 100 series EMU Spacia (introduced 1990)
• 634 series EMU Skytree Train (introduced 2012)
• 500 series 3-car EMUs (introduced in April 2017)

Eight new three-car 500 series EMU trains were introduced on limited express services on lines from Asakusa on 21 April 2017.^[8]

• 
  100 series
• 
  200 series
• 
  350 series Kirifuri limited express
• 
  634 series Skytree Train
• 
  A 500 series EMU in April 2017

Commuter EMUs

• 8000 series EMU (introduced 1963)
• 800/850 series EMU
• 9000 series EMU (introduced 1981)
• 10000 series EMU (introduced 1983)
• 20000 series EMU (introduced 1988)
• 30000 series EMU (introduced 1996)
• 50000 series EMU (introduced 2005)
• 60000 series EMU (introduced June 2013)
• 70000 series EMU (since 7 July 2017)^[9]

• 
  8000 series
• 
  9000 series
• 
  10000 series
• 
  20000 series
• 
  30000 series
• 
  50000 series
• 
  60000 series
• 
  70000 series

Steam locomotive

Tobu plans to operate steam-hauled tourist services on the Kinugawa Line from 10 August 2017 using JNR Class C11 steam locomotive C11 207 loaned from JR Hokkaido together with JNR Class DE10 diesel locomotive DE10 1099 purchased from JR East, a fleet of six 12 and 14 series coaches purchased from JR Shikoku, and two Yo 8000 brake vans purchased from JR Freight and JR East.^[10]

Withdrawn types

Express EMUs

• 1700/1720 series
• 1800 series
• 5700 series
• 6000 series
• 6050 series

• 
  1720 series
• 
  5700 series
• 
  6000 series
• 
  6050 series

Commuter EMUs

• 2000 series
• 3000 series
• 5000 series (1979–2006)
• 7300 series
• 7800 series

• 
  2000 series
• 
  3000 series
• 
  5000 series
• 
  7300 series
• 
  7800 series

DMUs

• KiHa 2000 series

• 
  Preserved KiHa 2000 series DMU

Steam locomotives

• Tobu B1 Class 4-4-0 (1898)

• 
  Preserved Tobu Railway B1 Class 4-4-0

References

Further reading

• Small, Charles S. (January 1966). "Smoke Over Sano: An illustrious breed slowly vanishes far from home". Railway Magazine. Vol. 112, no. 777. pp. 13–15.
• Terada, Hirokazu (July 2002). データブック日本の私鉄: 全国私鉄149社局掲載 データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways]. Japan: Neko Publishing. pp. 56–57. ISBN 978-4-87366-874-1.

External links

• Tobu Group website (in Japanese)