The is a

commuter railway Commuter rail or suburban rail is a passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Commuter rail systems can use locomotive-hauled tr ...

line of the

Izuhakone Railway The is a private railway company in Kanagawa Prefecture and Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The company also operates excursion ships, and the group companies operate buses and taxis. The company has its roots in founded in 1893. Izuhakone Railway ...

, a private railroad in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The line connects Mishima Station in the city of

Mishima Mishima may refer to: Places * Mishima, Fukushima, a town in Fukushima Prefecture * Mishima, Kagoshima, a village in Kagoshima Prefecture * Mishima, Niigata, a town in Niigata Prefecture * Mishima, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japa ...

with Shuzenji Station in the city of Izu, both within

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

. The name "Sunzu" comes from the former provinces of Suruga and Izu, although the line at present operates only within the borders of former Izu Province.

Stations

Limited Express ''Odoriko''

The '' Odoriko'' runs two services on weekdays and three services on holidays on the Sunzu Line. Previously using

185 series The 185 series () is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) primarily on mid-distance limited express services centering on Tokyo. As of August of 2024, two sets operate as Special Limit ...

sets, E257-2000/2500 series trains were introduced by

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and 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 are in ...

in 2021. A limited express ticket is required to board the ''Odoriko''.

History

The Sunzu Line opened for operations on May 20, 1898, connecting Zuso-Mishima Station (present-day Mishima-Tamachi Station) with Nanjō Station (present-day Izu-Nagaoka Station). The terminus of the line was moved to Mishima Station (present-day Shimo-Togari Station) on June 15, 1898, and the southern end of the line was extended to Ōhito Station on July 17, 1899. The line became part of the on July 19, 1907, which in turn became the on April 1, 1912. This company merged with in 1914 and was spun back out as the on November 5, 1917. The line was electrified by June 1919, and the southern terminus extended to Shuzenji Station on August 1, 1924. In May 1933, regularly scheduled weekend services to

Tokyo Station Tōkyō Station (, ) is a major railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is not far ...

began operation but were later suspended during World War II. With the opening of the Tanna Tunnel in 1934 and the re-routing of the

Tōkaidō Main Line The Tōkaidō Main Line () is one of the most important railway corridors in Japan, connecting the major cities of Tokyo and Kobe via Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. The line, with termini at Tokyo Station, Tokyo and Kōbe St ...

, the Sunzu ceased operations at Shimotogari Station and its northern terminus became the new Mishima Station. A

rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of Track (rail transport), tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for k ...

and train factory was completed at Daiba Station on June 10, 1937. In 1949, the

Japan National Railway The , abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

s began semi-express and limited-express train operations from Tokyo. The Sunzu Railway Company was acquired by the Izuhakone Railway on June 1, 1957. The line was upgraded from 600 V to 1,500 V on September 7, 1959. All freight operations were discontinued as of June 16, 1972. An ATS system was installed in December 1972 and a CTC system in 1985 (upgraded in 2007).

References

External links

Railway train site

Railway - Where to go in Fuji-Hakone-Izu
{{HakoneFujiIzuTransit Railway lines in Kanagawa Prefecture * 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1898