Odakyu Electric Railway Explained

Odakyu Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
Native Name:小田急電鉄株式会社
Native Name Lang:ja
Romanized Name:Odakyū Dentetsu kabushiki gaisha
Type:Public (kabushiki gaisha)
Traded As:
Industry:Public transport
Predecessor:Odawara Express Railway Co., Ltd.
小田原急行鉄道株式会社
Foundation:Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Location:
Key People:, (President & CEO)
Revenue:¥166.445 billion (FY2016)
Net Income:¥39.824 billion (FY2016)
Owner:Dai-ichi Life (5.55%)
Yamanashi Chuo Bank (0.50%)
Tokyu Corporation (0.26%)
Keikyu (0.15%)
JR East (0.12%)
Keio Corporation (0.09%)
Seibu Holdings (0.05%)
Num Employees:3,593 (as of 2016/8/1)

, commonly known as Odakyū or Odawara Kyuko, is a major railway company based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for its Romancecar series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone.

The Odakyu Electric Railway Company forms the core of the Odakyu Group, which comprises 101 companies (as of July 14, 2017) and includes the Enoshima Electric Railway, Hakone Tozan Railway,,, and hotel. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225.

History

Pre-WWII

The 83km (52miles) line from Shinjuku to Odawara opened for service on 1 April 1927. Unlike the Odawara line, rarely were pre-World War II Japanese private railways constructed with double-track and fully electrified from the first day of operation. Two years later, on 1 April 1929, the Enoshima Line was added.

The original full name of the railroad was,[1] but this was often shortened to . The abbreviation Odakyu was made popular by the title song of the 1929 movie Tōkyō kōshinkyoku and eventually became the official name of the railroad on March 1, 1941.[2]

On 1 May 1942, Odakyu 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.

Post-WWII

The company regained its independence on June 1, 1948, and it obtained a large amount of Hakone Tozan Railway stocks, instead of separating Keio Inokashira Line for Keio Corporation. Odakyu restarted Non-stop Limited Express service between Shinjuku and Odawara in 1948. In 1950, Odakyu trains ran through to Hakone-Yumoto on Hakone Tozan Line. Odakyu uses narrow gauge tracks, but the Hakone Tozan Railway is, so one track of the section from Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto (6.1km (03.8miles)) was changed to a dual gauge system. Odakyu operated the first Romancecar (1710 series) limited express in 1951.

After the 1950s, due to rapid Japanese economic growth, Odakyu 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. Odakyu began construction on the - "Shinjuku Station Great Improvement Project" setting 5 lines and 10 platforms long enough for 10 standard commuter 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. Odakyu could not take main part of transport from Tama New Town Area, though Odakyu started the operation of Tama Line in 1974. To serve its Mukōgaoka-Yūen Amusement Park, Odakyu operated the Mukōgaoka-Yūen Monorail Line between Mukōgaoka-Yūen and Mukōgaoka-Yūen-Seimon (1.1km (00.7miles), 2 stations) beginning in 1966 using a Lockheed Corporation style monorail system; the system was closed in 2001 when the amusement park was shut down.

Post-millennium

Since 2000, Odakyū has been adding track in both directions from Izumi-Tamagawa Station, on Tama River, the border station of Tokyo, to just outside 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. Odakyu announced that the bottle-neck will be resolved by 2013.

All of its lines are double- or quadruple-tracked within Tokyo Metropolis as of March 2018, a project first decided in December 1964 but due to NIMBY land acquisition difficulties, complex and expensive workarounds were constructed and finished, taking a half century. The main or Odawara Line acts as a bypass route for the Tōkaidō Main Line from Tokyo to western Kanagawa. The Romancecar 3000 series "SE" was tested at speeds of up to 145km/h in 1957, achieving a world record for narrow gauge 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.

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

Station numbers were introduced to all Odakyū Line stations in 2014, with stations numbered using the prefix "OH".[3] [4]

Odakyu are the current shirt sponsors of football club Machida Zelvia.

On 6 August 2021, a mass stabbing incident occurred on one of its commuter services when a man stabbed nine passengers, seriously injuring a woman before trying to ignite a fire on the compartment. The man escaped and was arrested hours later.[5]

Lines

Odakyu owns three railway lines directly, and another three lines via subsidiaries. It also operates trains onto the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, JR East Jōban Line, and JR Central Gotemba Line.

LineSection Length (km)Stations Date opened
Odawara Line - 82.547April 1, 1927
Enoshima Line - 27.417April 1, 1929
Tama Line - 10.68June 1, 1974 (in part)
March 27, 1990 (full)
Total3 lines120.570 

Train classification

(As of March 17, 2018 timetable revision)

Classification Japanese Runs between Line(s)
  Limited Express 特急 Shinjuku, Kita-Senju, and Shin-Kiba to Hakone-Yumoto, Katase-Enoshima, Karakida or Numazu Odakyū Odawara, Enoshima, Tama; Hakone Tozan; JR Central Gotemba; and Tokyo Metro Chiyoda and Yūrakuchō lines
  Rapid Express 快速急行 Shinjuku to Odawara or Fujisawa (one service on weekdays to Katase-Enoshima) Odakyū Odawara and Enoshima lines
  Express 急行 Shinjuku to Odawara, Katase-Enoshima or Karakida Odakyū Odawara, Enoshima, and Tama lines
  Commuter Express 通勤急行 All services operate in the weekday morning rush hour for Shinjuku from Karakida on the Odakyu Tama Line Odakyū Odawara, Tama Lines
  Commuter Semi Express通勤準急All Services operate in the weekday morning rush hour for Yoyogi-Uehara through to the Chiyoda Line from Hon-Atsugi Odakyu Odawara Line, Chiyoda Line, Joban Line
  Semi Express 準急 All services operate between Yoyogi-Uehara and Isehara during the offpeak and evening rush hour Odakyū Odawara Line, Chiyoda Line, Joban Line
  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
Romancecar limited express services require a supplementary surcharge.

Limited express service

Shinjuku Station routes

Commuter service is shown on each line's page.

StationJapaneseDistance (km)Mt. FujiEnoshimaHome WayLines
Shinjuku新宿align="right"-<--SH-->●<--H-->●<--S-->●<--A-->●<--E-->●<--HW-->●Odakyū Odawara Line
Mukōgaoka-Yūen向ヶ丘遊園15.8<--SH-->|<--H-->■<--S-->■<--A-->|<--E-->|<--HW-->|
Shin-Yurigaoka新百合ヶ丘21.5<--SH-->|<--H-->■<--S-->■<--A-->|<--E-->●<--HW-->■
Machida町田30.8<--SH-->|<--H-->●<--S-->●<--A-->●<--E-->|<--HW-->■
Sagami-Ōno相模大野32.3<--SH-->|<--H-->■<--S-->■<--A-->|<--E-->●<--HW-->■
Hon-Atsugi本厚木45.4<--SH-->|<--H-->■<--S-->●<--A-->●<--E-->∥<--HW-->●
Hadano秦野61.7<--SH-->|<--H-->■<--S-->■<--A-->|<--E-->∥<--HW-->●
新松田71.8<--SH-->|<--H-->■<--S-->■<--A-->∥<--E-->∥<--HW-->|
Odawara小田原82.5<--SH-->●<--H-->●<--S-->●<--A-->∥<--E-->∥<--HW-->●
Hakone-Yumoto箱根湯本88.6<--SH-->●<--H-->●<--S--> <--A-->∥<--E-->∥<--HW-->●Hakone Tozan Line
Yamato大和39.9   <--A-->∥<--E-->●<--HW-->●Odakyū Enoshima Line
Fujisawa藤沢55.4   <--A-->∥<--E-->●<--HW-->●
Katase-Enoshima片瀬江ノ島59.9<--SH--> <--H--> <--S--> <--A-->∥<--E-->●<--HW-->●
Odakyū-Nagayama小田急永山28.3   <--A-->∥ <--HW-->●Odakyū Tama Line
Odakyū-Tama-Center小田急多摩センター30.6   <--A-->∥ <--HW-->●
Karakida唐木田32.1<--SH--> <--H--> <--S--> <--A-->∥<--E--> <--HW-->●
松田71.8   <--A-->●  JR Central Gotemba Line
Suruga-Oyama駿河小山86.2   <--A-->■  
Gotemba御殿場97.1   <--A-->●  

Tokyo Metro routes

Commuter services are shown on each line's page.

StationJapaneseDistance (km) Metro HomewayMetro HakoneMetro SagamiBay ResortLines
Shin-Kiba新木場    <--BRs-->●Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line
Toyosu豊洲 <--MHm--> <--MHk--> <--MSg--> <--BRs-->●
北千住0.0<--MHm-->●<--MHk-->●<--MSg-->●<--BRs-->∥Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line
Ōtemachi大手町9.9<--MHm-->●<--MHk-->●<--MSg-->●<--BRs-->∥
Kasumigaseki霞ヶ関12.1<--MHm-->●<--MHk-->●<--MSg-->●<--BRs-->●
Omotesandō表参道16.2<--MHm-->●<--MHk-->●<--MSg-->●<--BRs-->●
Yoyogi-Uehara代々木上原19.3<--MHm-->*|rowspan="2" align="center"|*<--MSg-->*|rowspan="2" align="center"|*
Odakyū Odawara Line
Seijōgakuen-Mae成城学園前27.4<--MHm-->■<--MHk-->|<--MSg-->■<--BRs-->●
Shin-Yurigaoka新百合ヶ丘37.3<--MHm-->■<--MHk-->|<--MSg-->■<--BRs-->●
Machida町田46.6<--MHk-->●<--MSg-->●<--BRs-->●
Hon-Atsugi本厚木61.2<--MHk-->|<--MSg-->●<--BRs-->●
Odawara小田原98.3<--MHm-->∥<--MHk-->●<--MSg--> <--BRs--> 
Hakone Tozan Line
Hakone-Yumoto箱根湯本104.4<--MHm-->∥<--MHk-->●<--MSg--> <--BRs--> 
Odakyū-Nagayama小田急永山44.1<--MHm-->●<--MHk--> <--MSg--> <--BRs--> Odakyū Tama Line
Odakyū-Tama-Center小田急多摩センター46.4<--MHm-->●<--MHk--> <--MSg--> <--BRs--> 
Karakida唐木田47.9<--MHm-->●<--MHk--> <--MSg--> <--BRs--> 

Legend

SymbolDefinition
all trains stop
some trains stop
all trains pass
trains do not travel through this section

Rolling stock

Romancecar sets

Former

Commuter sets

Current
Former

Odakyu Electric Railway in media

The Odakyu 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, with the 2000 series commuter trainset and the 7000 series "LSE" Romancecar trainset being player driveable. Several "activities", or scenarios, are included.

Various Odakyu add-ins are available for the BVE Train Simulator, a freeware cab view train simulator for Microsoft Windows.

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Ubukata. Yoshio. Morokawa. Hisashi. amp. 1988. Odakyu – Color Books No. 768. Hoikusha. Osaka. 148. Japanese.
  2. Book: Seidensticker, Edward. 1990. Tokyo Rising: the city since the great earthquake. New York. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.. 0-394-54360-2. registration.
  3. Web site: 24 December 2013 . 2014年1月から駅ナンバリングを順次導入します! . From January 2014, station numbering will be introduced sequentially! . https://web.archive.org/web/20221026092741/http://www.odakyu.jp/program/info/data.info/8052_1284200_.pdf . 26 October 2022 . 9 January 2023 . odakyu.jp . ja.
  4. Web site: 28 December 2013 . 小田急グループ、鉄道から海賊船まで通しの駅番号…2014年1月から順次導入 . Odakyu Group, station numbers from railways to pirate ships, Introduced sequentially from January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200622180450/https://response.jp/article/2013/12/28/213984.html . 22 June 2020 . 10 January 2023 . Response Automotive Media . ja.
  5. News: 9 passengers stabbed or punched on Tokyo train, suspect detained . 8 August 2021 . . 7 August 2021.