The is a railway line in Japan operated by the

Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical ...

(JR Central). It connects Kōzu Station in

Odawara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in the far western por ...

Numazu is a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 189,486 in 91,986 households, and a population density of 1,014 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Numazu is at the nor ...

via

Gotemba is a city on the southeastern flank of Mount Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 88,370 in 36,096 households, and a population density of 450 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography ...

. The '' Mt. Fuji'' limited express service runs between

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

Shinjuku Station is a major railway station in the Shinjuku and Shibuya wards in Tokyo, Japan. In Shinjuku, it is part of the Nishi-Shinjuku and Shinjuku districts. In Shibuya, it is located in the Yoyogi and Sendagaya districts. It is the world's busiest ...

and Gotemba via Matsuda.

Station list

Rolling stock

Local services

211 series The is a suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced in 1985 by the Japanese National Railways (JNR). It is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). It was formerly operated ...

313 series The is a DC suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) in Japan since 1999. The design was introduced from spring 1999 to replace older 113 and 115 series EMUs. Variants 313-0 ...

Limited express ''Mt. Fuji'' (formerly named ''Asagiri'') services

Odakyu 60000 series MSE The (Multi Super Express) is a Romancecar electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway in Japan since March 2008. The trains are used on Odakyu through service to the Tokyo Metro Chiy ...

(from March 2012)

Past

113 series The is a Japanese suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced in 1963 by Japanese National Railways (JNR), currently operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) and Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku), and formerly also op ...

* Odakyu 3000 series SE (until 1991) *

115 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type developed by Japanese National Railways (JNR) and now operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West), and the Shinano Railway. Operations JR East JR East operated their last 115 series ...

(until 2007) *

E231 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type used for commuter and outer-suburban services operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan since 2000. Design Trains were manufactured by Tokyu Car Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy In ...

(until March 2012) *

371 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) in Japan between 1991 and 2014. Originally used on '' Asagiri'' limited express services in conjunction with Odakyu Electric Railway, from 2 ...

(''Asagiri'' services, until March 2012) *

Odakyu 20000 series RSE The (Resort Super Express) is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated between 1991 and March 2012 by the private railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway on '' Asagiri'' limited express services in Japan. Operations Up until 16 M ...

(''Asagiri'' services, until March 2012)

History

The present-day Gotemba Line was built as part of the original route of the

Tōkaidō Main Line The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...

connecting

with

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. The portion between Kōzu and Numazu was opened on February 1, 1889, although it was not officially named the "Tokaido Line" until 1896. Portions were double tracked from 1891 and the double tracking was completed by 1901. The line took an indirect route between Kōzu and Numazu in order to avoid the Hakone Mountains, which affected the potential journey time between Tokyo and Osaka. A more direct route had been planned as early as 1909, but technical difficulties delayed the completion of the

Tanna Tunnel is a railroad tunnel in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan operated by JR Central’s Tōkaidō Main Line. This 7.8 km long tunnel shortened the trunk route between Tokyo and Kobe by omitting a detour round the mountains between Atami and Numazu. ...

until December 1, 1934. With the opening of the tunnel, the route of the Tōkaidō Main Line became via

Atami Station is a railway station in the city of Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). Lines Atami Station is served by the JR Central Tōkaidō Shink ...

, leaving the section between Kōzu Station and Numazu Station as a

spur line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

renamed as the Gotemba Line. In 1943, due to the reduced traffic on the Gotemba line, and the urgent requirement for steel in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the line was returned to a single track railway. Diesel multiple units replaced

Steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

hauled passenger trains in 1955, and a cooperative agreement was reached with the privately owned

Odakyu Electric Railway , 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 Compa ...

to operate

express train An express train is a type of passenger train that makes a small number of stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, allowing faster service than local trains that stop at most or all of the stations alon ...

s directly from

in Tokyo in the same year. The line was

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

from 1968, and regularly scheduled freight services were discontinued at most stations by 1982. A new

Centralized traffic control Centralized traffic control (CTC) is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America. CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system con ...

system was installed in December 1989, with a programmed route control system implemented from March 1990. Installation for the TOICA automated

turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a ...

system was completed at all stations in 2010.

Former connecting lines

* Gotemba station - A 19 km 762mm gauge horse tramway opened to Kawaguchiko in 1898, closed in 1905 but was reopened in 1909. It connected to the Tsuru horse tramway, providing a connection to Otsuki station on the Chuo Main Line until 1919, when it was truncated by 9 km, completely closing 10 years later. * Shimo-Togari station - The Izu Railway Co. opened a line to Shuzenji in 1898, electrifying the line at 1500V DC in 1918. In 1934 following the opening of the

and associated realignment, the line was truncated to Mishima-Hirokoji station on the Tokaido Main Line.

References

* {{Central Japan Railway Company Lines Lines of Central Japan Railway Company Railway lines in Kanagawa Prefecture Rail transport in Shizuoka Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1889