is a Japanese commuter railway and ''

keiretsu A is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. In the legal sense, it is a type of informal business group that are loosely organized alliances within the social world of Japan's business community. The '' ...

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

in the

Greater Tokyo Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the ...

as well as an intercity and regional operator in the

Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Sl ...

. Excluding the

Japan Railways Group The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as the or simply JR, consists of seven for-profit stock companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. Mo ...

companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longest in Japan after Kintetsu. It serves large portions of

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuku ...

and

Tochigi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 km2 (2,474 sq mi). Tochigi Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to th ...

, as well as northern

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 ...

and western

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to t ...

. The Tobu Railway Company is listed in the First Section of the

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed ...

and is a constituent of the

Nikkei 225 The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the ''Nikkei'' or the ''Nikkei index'' (), is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It has been calculated daily by the '' Nihon Keizai Shimbun'' (''The Nikkei'') newspaper since 19 ...

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 is a broadcasting and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010Fuyo Group is a Japanese ''keiretsu'' descended from the Yasuda zaibatsu, Asano zaibatsu and Okura zaibatsu. They are major business grouping in Japan up to World War II. In 1948, Yasuda was dismantled, with its key financial arm Yasuda Bank becoming Fuj ...

''. The name "Tobu" is formed from the

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...

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. 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. Tobu was the first railway in the

Kanto region Kantō (Japanese) Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region *Kantō-kai, organized crime group *Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ' ...

to adopt quadruple tracks, on the Kita-Senju to Takenotsuka sector in 1974. The Tobu Dobutsu Koen (Tobu Animal Park) opened in 1981.

Railway network

Tobu has two isolated networks which are connected by the

Chichibu Railway The is a small-sector private railway company operating a railway line in northern Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In addition to its railway operations, the company deals in the real estate and tourism industries. It managed the Mitsumine Ropeway (� ...

for ferrying of its rolling stock. The Tobu Main Line network has a

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

topology In mathematics, topology (from the Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a geometric object that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, twisting, crumpling, and bending; that is, without closing ...

starting at in Tokyo, with the Isesaki line as the trunk, and the

Tobu Kameido Line The is a railway line operated by Japanese private railway company Tobu Railway in Tokyo. The line is in central Tokyo, a short 3.4 km branch off the Tobu Skytree Line at , southbound to with connections to the JR East The is a m ...

, Daishi Line,

Tobu Urban Park Line 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 rail system is the second long ...

, Tobu Sano Line, Koizumi Line, Tōbu Kiryū Line, and Nikkō Line forming the branches, with further branches into the

Tobu Utsunomiya Line 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 rail system is the second longes ...

and

Tobu Kinugawa Line The is a 16.2 km long Japanese railway line from Shimo-Imaichi Station to Shin-Fujiwara Station in Nikkō, Tochigi. It is owned and operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway. At Shimo-Imaichi Station it connects with the To ...

s. It offers surcharged, seat-reserved limited express services from Tokyo to Nikkō and Kinugawa. The Tojo Line runs northwest from in Tokyo to central and western

. A branch, the Ogose Line, runs to from . Tobu's terminals in Tokyo are at (Main Line express services), (most other Main Line services) and (Tojo Line). The Skytree and Isesaki Lines interoperate with the

Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by Tokyo Metro. The line was named after the Hibiya area in Chiyoda's Yurakucho district, under which it passes. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is shown using the color sil ...

, Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line and the

Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line Tokyu may refer to: * Tokyu Group, a group of companies centered on Tokyu Corporation ** Tokyu Corporation, a Japanese railway company, the largest member and parent company of the group ** Tokyu Car Corporation Tokyu may refer to: * Tokyu Group, ...

to serve central, southwestern Tokyo and

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...

, while the Tojo Line interoperates with the

Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line The , formally the , is a subway line operated by Tokyo Metro in west-central Tokyo and Wako, Saitama, Japan. The newest line in the Tokyo subway network, it opened in stages between 1994 and 2008. On average, the Fukutoshin line carries 362,65 ...

Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line 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 37.468 ...

Tokyu Toyoko Line Tokyu may refer to: * Tokyu Group, a group of companies centered on Tokyu Corporation ** Tokyu Corporation, a Japanese railway company, the largest member and parent company of the group ** Tokyu Car Corporation, a former Japanese railway vehicle ...

and

Minatomirai Line The Minatomirai 21 Line (みなとみらい21線 ''Minato-mirai-21-sen''), commonly known as the Minatomirai Line (みなとみらい線 ''Minatomirai-sen''), is a subway line in Yokohama, Japan that runs from Yokohama Station to Motomachi-Chū ...

to serve central and southwest Tokyo and

Main Lines

Tobu Tojo Lines

Rolling stock

, Tobu Railway operates a fleet of 1,890

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...

(EMU) vehicles, the third largest fleet for a private railway operator in Japan after

Tokyo Metro The is a major rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metro Co. With an average daily ridership of 6.84 million passengers, the Tokyo Metro is the larger of the two subway operators in the city; the other being the Toe ...

(2,728 vehicles) and Kintetsu (1,905).

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 in 21 April 2017. File:Tobu-Series100 orange.jpg, 100 series File:Tobu railway 200kei.JPG, 200 series File:Tobu Railway 350 Limited Express Kirifuri.jpg, 350 series ''Kirifuri'' limited express File:Tobu Railway 634kei.JPG, 634 series ''Skytree Train'' File:Tobu-Series500.jpg, 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) File:TOBURAILWAY SERIES8000 8126・8549F（Tc8649） NODALINE 01.jpg, 8000 series File:Tobu-Tojo-Line-Series9101F.jpg, 9000 series File:Tobu-Series10000_11003.jpg, 10000 series File:Tobu-Type20400-21444.jpg, 20000 series File:Tobu-Series30000_31604.jpg, 30000 series File:Tobu-Tojo-Line-Series51009F.jpg, 50000 series File:Tobu-Series60000-61606F.jpg, 60000 series File:Tobu-Series70000-71701.jpg, 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 The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a sm ...

together with JNR Class DE10 diesel locomotive DE10 1099 purchased from

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters ar ...

, a fleet of six 12 and 14 series coaches purchased from

JR Shikoku The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has ...

, and two Yo 8000 brake vans purchased from JR Freight and JR East.

Withdrawn types

Express EMUs

* 1700/1720 series * 1800 series * 5700 series * 6000 series * 6050 series File:Tobu DRC kinu.jpg, 1720 series File:Tobu 5700 genjin train nishiarai.jpg, 5700 series File:Tobu EC 6000 at Asakusa Sta2.jpg, 6000 series File:Tobu-Nikko-Line-Series6050-6172.jpg, 6050 series

Commuter EMUs

* 2000 series * 3000 series * 5000 series (1979–2006) * 7300 series * 7800 series File:Tobu 2000 2409 nishiarai.jpg, 2000 series File:Tobu 3070 3574 Nikko Line 19930504.jpg, 3000 series File:Tobu 5050 5157 Tochigi 20060606.JPG, 5000 series File:Tobu 7300 Isesaki Line 1977.jpg, 7300 series File:Tobu 7800 Hikifune Station.jpg, 7800 series

DMUs

* KiHa 2000 series File:Tobu-railway-Kiha2002-20110818.jpg, Preserved KiHa 2000 series DMU

Steam locomotives

* Tobu B1 Class 4-4-0 (1898) File:Tobu-No5SteamLocomotive-a.jpg, Preserved Tobu Railway B1 Class 4-4-0

References

External links

Tobu Group website
{{Authority control Railway companies of Japan Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Transport companies based in Tokyo Japanese companies established in 1897 Fuyo Group Railway companies established in 1897

History

Railway network

Main Lines

Tobu Tojo Lines

Rolling stock

Express EMUs

Commuter EMUs

Steam locomotive

Withdrawn types

Express EMUs

Commuter EMUs

DMUs

Steam locomotives

References

Further reading

External links