The is a branch line operated by the

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 ...

ese private railway operator Odakyū Electric Railway in eastern

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

. The Enoshima Line branches from the Odawara Line at Sagami-Ōno, extending south to Fujisawa and Katase-Enoshima, a distance of 27.6 km. It was completed with 13 stations on April 1, 1929. As is also the case with the Odawara Line, as well as being a heavy commuter line the operator also offers, for an additional charge, limited express services to the popular scenic site of

Enoshima is a small offshore island, about in circumference, at the mouth of the Katase River which flows into the Sagami Bay of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Administratively, Enoshima is part of the mainland city of Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Fujisawa, and is ...

. After the introduction of

East Japan Railway Company 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 ...

's (JR East) Shōnan-Shinjuku Line, passengers between

Fujisawa Station is an interchange passenger railway station located in the city of Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the private railway operators Odakyu Electric Railway and Enoshima Electric Railway. Clustered aro ...

and

Shinjuku Station is a major railway station in Tokyo, Japan, that serves as the main connecting hub for rail traffic between central/eastern Tokyo (the Special wards of Tokyo, special wards) and Western Tokyo on the inter-city rail, commuter rail, and rapid tr ...

have had an alternative to the Enoshima Line. Odakyū have responded since then to improve the frequencies of rapid through services to Shinjuku.

History

The Odawara Express Railway Co. opened the Sagami-Ōno - Fujisawa section in 1928, and extended the line to Katase-Enoshima, as well as duplicating the entire line, the following year. In 1943 the line was returned to single track and the steel rail recycled for the Japanese war effort. The line was re-duplicated in 1948/49. In 1942, the company was forcibly merged by the government with

Tokyu Corporation The , a contraction of and formerly until 2 September 2019, is a Japanese ''keiretsu'' or conglomerate headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. While a multinational corporation, its main operation is , a wholly-owned subsidiary operating railways i ...

. Tokyu was broken up in 1948 and the line was transferred to the newly founded Odakyu Electric Railway Co. Freight services operated on the line between 1944 and 1966.

Services

The Limited Express trains are named ''Enoshima'' and ''Homeway''. Surcharges are required for rapid and seat reservation services with better accommodation of carriages. Rapid service is also offered. Express and Rapid Express services make more stops than Limited Express services, and are served by the same types of EMUs as Local trains without extra charge. ; :Shinjuku and Katase-Enoshima ; :Shinjuku and Fujisawa (only two are to/from Katase-Enoshima) ; :Shinjuku and Katase-Enoshima (some exceptions) ; :Machida or Sagami-Ōno (some from Shinjuku) and Katase-Enoshima

Stations

For Limited Express service, see Odakyu Electric Railway. *All stations are located in

. ;Legend * ● : All trains stop * │ : All trains pass

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

External links

Odakyū website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odakyu Enoshima Line Enoshima Line Railway lines in Kanagawa Prefecture Railway lines opened in 1929 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan