Tobu Railway

Tobu Railway Co., Ltd.
Native name	東武鉄道とうぶてつどう株式会社かぶしきがいしゃ
Romanized name	Tōbu Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha
Company type	Public KK
Traded as	TYO: 9001; Nikkei 225 component;
Industry	Rail-focused conglomerate
Founded	1 November 1897; 126 years ago
Headquarters	Tobu-kan, 18-12 Oshiage 2-chome, Sumida-ku, Tokyo; (Registered in Tokyo Skytree East Tower, 1-2 Oshiage 1-chome, Sumida-ku, Tokyo), Japan
Area served	Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi
Key people	Nezu Kaichirō (former Representative Director); Yoshizomi Nezu [jp](Chairman); Yutaka Tsuzuki (President) (Representative Director)
Services	Passenger railway
Total assets	¥1.3 trillion
Owner	Investment trusts (JTSB 6.13%, TMTBJ 4.19%); Fukoku Life (2.47%); SSBTC Treaty 505234 (2.26%); Mizuho Bank (2.20%)
Number of employees	3,470 (As of March 2022)
Subsidiaries	Various, including the operating company of Tokyo Skytree, Tobu Bus, Asahi Motor
Website	www.tobu.co.jp

The Tobu Railway Company, Ltd. (東武鉄道とうぶてつどう株式会社かぶしきがいしゃ, Tōbu Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha) 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 463.3 km (287.9 mi) rail system is the second longest in Japan after Kintetsu. It serves large portions of Saitama Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture and Tochigi Prefecture, as well as northern Tokyo and western Chiba Prefecture. The Tobu Railway Company is listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 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, the third tallest tower in the world. The company is a member of the Fuyo Group keiretsu.

The name "Tobu" is formed from the kanji for east (東ひがし) and Musashi (武たけ蔵くら), 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.^[3]

Inside the DeHa 1 Class No. 5, the first electric train of the Tobu Railway

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.^[4]

In 1924, Tobu began operating its first electric train on the Isesaki Line between Asakusa (later Narihirabashi, today Tokyo Skytree Station) and Nishiarai.

Tobu was the first railway in the Kanto region to adopt quadruple tracks, on the Kita-Senju to Takenotsuka sector in 1974.^[5] The Tobu Dobutsu Koen (Tobu Animal Park) opened in 1981.^[6]

Railway network

Diagram of the Tobu network, showing main lines to right and Tojo Lines to lower left

Tobu has two isolated networks which are connected by the Chichibu Railway for ferrying of its rolling stock.

The Tobu Main Line network has a tree topology starting at Asakusa in Tokyo, with the Isesaki Line as the trunk, and the Tobu Kameido Line, Daishi Line, Tobu Urban Park Line, Tobu Sano Line, Koizumi Line, Tōbu Kiryū Line, and Nikkō Line forming the branches, with further branches into the Tobu Utsunomiya Line and Tobu Kinugawa Lines. It offers surcharged, seat-reserved limited express services from Tokyo to Nikkō and Kinugawa.

The Tojo Line runs northwest from Ikebukuro in Tokyo to central and western Saitama Prefecture. A branch, the Ogose Line, runs to Ogose from Sakado.

Tobu's terminals in Tokyo are at Asakusa (Main Line express services), Oshiage (most other Main Line services) and Ikebukuro (Tojo Line). The Skytree and Isesaki Lines interoperate with the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line and the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line to serve central, southwestern Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, while the Tojo Line interoperates with the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line, Tokyu Toyoko Line and Minatomirai Line to serve central and southwest Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture.

Main lines

Name	Stations	Length
Skytree Line	Asakusa – Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen	41.0 km (25.5 mi)
Kameido Line	Kameido – Hikifune	3.4 km (2.1 mi)
Daishi Line	Nishiarai – Daishimae	1.0 km (0.62 mi)
Isesaki Line	Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen – Isesaki	73.5 km (45.7 mi)
Sano Line	Tatebayashi – Kuzū	22.1 km (13.7 mi)
Koizumi Line	Tatebayashi – Nishi-Koizumi, Ōta – Higashi-Koizumi	12.0 km (7.5 mi)
Kiryū Line	Ōta – Akagi	20.3 km (12.6 mi)
Nikkō Line	Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen – Tōbu Nikkō	94.5 km (58.7 mi)
Utsunomiya Line	Shin-Tochigi – Tōbu Utsunomiya	24.3 km (15.1 mi)
Kinugawa Line	Shimo-Imaichi – Shin-Fujiwara	16.2 km (10.1 mi)
Urban Park Line (Formerly Noda Line)	Ōmiya – Kasukabe – Funabashi	62.7 km (39.0 mi)

Tobu Tojo lines

Name	Symbol	Stations	Length
Tojo Line		Ikebukuro – Yorii	75.0 km (46.6 mi)
Ogose Line		Sakado – Ogose	10.9 km (6.8 mi)

Rolling stock

As of 1 April 2016^[update], Tobu Railway operates a fleet of 1,890 electric multiple unit (EMU) vehicles, the third largest fleet for a private railway operator in Japan after Tokyo Metro (2,728 vehicles) and Kintetsu (1,905).^[7]

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)
N100 series EMU Spacia X (introduced July 2023)

Eight new three-car 500 series EMU trains were introduced on limited express services on lines from Asakusa on 21 April 2017.^[8]

100 series
200 series
350 series Kirifuri limited express
634 series Skytree Train
A 500 series EMU in April 2017
N100 series Spacia X

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)^[9]

8000 series
9000 series
10000 series
20000 series
30000 series
50000 series
60000 series
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 together with JNR Class DE10 diesel locomotive DE10 1099 purchased from JR East, a fleet of six 12 and 14 series coaches purchased from JR Shikoku, and two Yo 8000 brake vans purchased from JR Freight and JR East.^[10]