Odakyu Electric Railway


Odakyu Electric Railway Co., Ltd., commonly known as Odakyū, 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 forms the core of the Odakyu Group, which comprises 101 companies and includes the Enoshima Electric Railway, Hakone Tozan Railway, Odakyu Bus, Odakyu Department Store, and Hyatt Regency Tokyo hotel.

History

Pre-WWII

The 83 km line from Shinjuku to Odawara opened for service on April 1, 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, April 1, 1929, the Enoshima Line was added.
The original full name of the railroad was Odawara Express Railway Co., Ltd., 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.
On May 1, 1942, Odakyu merged with the Tokyo-Yokohama Electric Railway company, 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 was changed to a dual gauge system. Odakyu operated the first Romancecar 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 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 , a project first decided in December 1964 but due to NIMBY land acquisition difficulties, complex and expensive workarounds were constructed and finished, taking 1/2 a 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 145 km/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, which Japanese National Railways 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.
Odakyu are the current shirt sponsors of football club Machida Zelvia.

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.
LineSectionLength StationsDate opened
Odawara Line - 82.547April 1, 1927
Enoshima Line - 27.417April 1, 1929
Tama Line - 10.68June 1, 1974
March 27, 1990
Total3 lines120.570

ColorClassificationJapaneseRuns betweenLine
Limited Express特急Shinjuku, Kita-Senju, and Shin-Kiba to Hakone-Yumoto, Katase-Enoshima, Karakida or NumazuOdakyū 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 Odakyū Odawara and Enoshima lines
Express急行Shinjuku to Odawara, Katase-Enoshima or KarakidaOdakyū 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 LineOdakyū Odawara, Tama Line
Commuter Semi Express通勤準急All Services operate in the weekday morning rush hour for Yoyogi-Uehara from Hon-AtsugiOdakyu Odawara, Chiyoda Line, Joban Line
Semi Express準急All services operate between Yoyogi-Uehara and Isehara during the offpeak and evening rush hourOdakyū Odawara Line, Chiyoda Line, Joban Line
Local各駅停車In all sections, includes to/from Hakone-Yumoto on Hakone Tozan Line 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 Super HakoneHakoneSagamiMt. FujiEnoshimaHome WayLines
Shinjuku新宿-●●●●●●Odakyū Odawara Line
Mukōgaoka-Yūen向ヶ丘遊園15.8｜■■｜｜｜Odakyū Odawara Line
Shin-Yurigaoka新百合ヶ丘21.5｜■■｜●■Odakyū Odawara Line
Machida町田30.8｜●●●｜■Odakyū Odawara Line
Sagami-Ōno相模大野32.3｜■■｜●■Odakyū Odawara Line
Hon-Atsugi本厚木45.4｜■●●∥●Odakyū Odawara Line
Hadano秦野61.7｜■■｜∥●Odakyū Odawara Line
Shin-Matsuda新松田71.8｜■■∥∥｜Odakyū Odawara Line
Odawara小田原82.5●●●∥∥●Odakyū Odawara Line
Hakone-Yumoto箱根湯本88.6●● ∥∥●Hakone Tozan Line
Yamato大和39.9 ∥●●Odakyū Enoshima Line
Fujisawa藤沢55.4 ∥●●Odakyū Enoshima Line
Katase-Enoshima片瀬江ノ島59.9 ∥●●Odakyū Enoshima Line
Odakyū-Nagayama小田急永山28.3 ∥ ●Odakyū Tama Line
Odakyū-Tama-Center小田急多摩センター30.6 ∥ ●Odakyū Tama Line
Karakida唐木田32.1 ∥ ●Odakyū Tama Line
Matsuda松田71.8 ● JR Central Gotemba Line
Suruga-Oyama駿河小山86.2 ■ JR Central Gotemba Line
Gotemba御殿場97.1 ● JR Central Gotemba Line

Commuter services are shown on each line's page.
StationJapaneseDistance Metro HomewayMetro HakoneMetro SagamiBay ResortLines
Shin-Kiba新木場 ●Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line
Toyosu豊洲 ●Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line
Kita-Senju北千住0.0●●●∥Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line
Ōtemachi大手町9.9●●●∥Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line
Kasumigaseki霞ヶ関12.1●●●●Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line
Omotesandō表参道16.2●●●●Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line
Yoyogi-Uehara代々木上原19.3****Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line
Yoyogi-Uehara代々木上原19.3****Odakyū Odawara Line
Seijōgakuen-Mae成城学園前27.4■｜■●Odakyū Odawara Line
Shin-Yurigaoka新百合ヶ丘37.3■｜■●Odakyū Odawara Line
Machida町田46.6●●●-Odakyū Odawara Line
Hon-Atsugi本厚木61.2｜●●-Odakyū Odawara Line
Odawara小田原98.3∥● Odakyū Odawara Line
Odawara小田原98.3∥● Hakone Tozan Line
Hakone-Yumoto箱根湯本104.4∥● Hakone Tozan Line
Odakyū-Nagayama小田急永山44.1● Odakyū Tama Line
Odakyū-Tama-Center小田急多摩センター46.4● Odakyū Tama Line
Karakida唐木田47.9● Odakyū Tama Line

Rolling stock

Romancecar sets

;Current
;Former
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.