is a Japanese

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 ...

and ''

keiretsu A is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings that dominated the Japanese economy in the second half of the 20th century. In the legal sense, it is a type of business group that is in a loosely organized al ...

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

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, Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefecture, Gunma, Ibaraki Prefecture, ...

as well as an intercity and regional operator in the

Kantō region The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...

. Excluding the

Japan Railways Group The Japan Railways Group, commonly known as the or simply JR, is a network of railway companies in Japan formed after the Corporate spin-off, division and privatization of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. ...

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

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, 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 . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...

and

Tochigi Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,897,649 (1 June 2023) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi ...

, as well as northern

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and western

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, 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 ...

. 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. The exchange is owned by Japan Exchange Group (JPX), a holding company that it also lists (), and operated by Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc., a wholly owned sub ...

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 is a price-weighted index, operating in the Japanese yen, Japanese Yen (JP¥), and its compone ...

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 , also written as Tokyo Sky Tree, is a broadcasting and observation tower, located in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It has been the tallest tower in Japan since opening in 2012,

, the third tallest tower in the world. The company is a member of the

Fuyo Group is a Japanese ''keiretsu'' descended from the Yasuda zaibatsu, Asano zaibatsu and Okura zaibatsu. They were a major business grouping in Japan up to World War II. In 1948, Yasuda was dismantled, with its key financial arm Yasuda Bank becoming ...

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

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

for and , 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. DeHa_1_Class_No

In 1905,

Nezu Kaichirō was a Japanese businessman, national politician and philanthropist. Early life and career Born into an established merchant family in Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Yamanashi Prefecture, he moved to Tokyo in 1897, and became independently wea ...

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. In 1924, Tobu began operating its first electric train on the Isesaki Line between Asakusa (later Narihirabashi, today

Tokyo Skytree Station is a railway station on the Tobu Skytree Line in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway. It is adjacent to the Tokyo Skytree and Skytree Town redevelopment, and was formerly known as Narihirabashi Station. ...

) and Nishiarai. Tobu was the first railway in the

Kanto region 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 ''Pokém ...

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, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

topology Topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of a Mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformat ...

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 Chūō-Sōbu Line. ...

, 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 longes ...

, 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 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 Tobu Nikko Lin ...

s. It offers surcharged, seat-reserved limited express services from Tokyo to

Nikkō is a Cities of Japan, city in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city's population was 80,239, in 36,531 households. The population density was 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Nikkō is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

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, Tokyo, Chiyoda's Yurakucho district, under which it passes. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is shown using t ...

Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital and most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is one of the most populous urban areas in the world. The Greater Tokyo Area, whic ...

and the

Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line The is a major commuter line operated by the private railway operator Tokyu Corporation and connecting south-western suburbs of Tokyo and neighbouring Kanagawa Prefecture, with its western terminus of , to a major railway junction of western dow ...

to serve central, southwestern Tokyo and

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 ...

, 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 carried 362,654 ...

Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital and most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is one of the most populous urban areas in the world. The Greater Tokyo Area, which ...

Tokyu Toyoko Line 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 ...

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-Ch� ...

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 o ...

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

Tokyo Metro The Tokyo Metro () is a major rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the #Organization, Tokyo Metro Co. With an average daily ridership of 6.52 million passengers (as of 2023), the Tokyo Metro is the larger of the Tokyo subway, two s ...

(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) * 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. 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 File:Tobu_Series-N100-N101.jpg, 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) 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 The is a type of steam locomotive built by the Japanese Government Railways and the Japanese National Railways from 1932 to 1947. A total of 381 Class C11 locomotives were built and designed by Hideo Shima. Overview The Class C11 was based o ...

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 by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart c ...

together with JNR Class DE10 diesel locomotive DE10 1099 purchased from

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 ...

, 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 of Japan, prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Jap ...

, and two Yo 8000 brake vans purchased from

JR Freight , or , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It provides transportation of cargo nationwide throughout Japan. Its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo near Shinjuku Station. The Japan Railways Group was foun ...

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 Companies in the Nikkei 225 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