Odakyū Odawara Line

Operation

Destinations are from Shinjuku unless otherwise noted. English abbreviations are unofficial.

; Limited Express :Collectively known as "Romancecar" services, an extra seat charge applies for limited express service. Daytime trains run to: ; on the Enoshima Line; on the Hakone Tozan Railway; and on the Central Japan Railway Company Gotemba Line.

; Rapid Express :No extra charge. Services run to and on the Odakyu Enoshima Line. All Rapid Express trains bound for terminate at and continue as Express trains.

; Express :Services run to , with thrice-hourly service between Machida and Odawara.

; Commuter Express :Weekday morning services operate toward Shinjuku from Karakida on the Odakyu Tama Line.

; Semi Express :Most services run to . All services continue on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, with some trains extending onto the JR Joban Line.

; Commuter Semi Express :Weekday morning services run from Hon-Atsugi to the Chiyoda Line.

; Local :Most services run to ; others continue to , with through service to and the Tama and Hakone Tozan lines. Some services also operate between and .

Stations

Notes:

• See the Romancecar article for information on Odakyu Romancecar limited express services.
• Local trains stop at every station.

Legend:

• ● - all trains stop
• ■ - some trains stop
• ｜- all trains pass
• ○ - On Weekdays, Outbound for Isehara Evening Rush Hour only.

History

The Odawara Express Railway Co. opened the entire line on 1 April 1927 in order to allow for the Emperor's family to travel on the line, though as duplication works were not completed until October that year, there was initial timetable and signalling issues. Although primarily intended as a passenger line, gravel began to be hauled in 1930.

In 1942, the company was forcibly merged by the government with Tokyu Corporation and the line was named the Tokyu Odawara Line. Tokyu was broken up in 1948 and the line was transferred to the newly founded Odakyu Electric Railway Co.

Through operation to the Hakone Tozan Railway's Hakone Tozan Line began in 1950 once dual gauge track was commissioned (the Hakone Tozan Line is , the Odawara Line ). A connecting track was laid in 1955 to Matsuda Station on the Gotemba Line of the (then) Japanese National Railways, and limited express service through to the line started. To function as a bypass to central Tokyo, through service on the Eidan Subway (now Tokyo Metro) Chiyoda Line commenced in 1978 via Yoyogi-Uehara.

Increasing traffic volume since the 1970s led to plans being formed in 1985 for a track upgrading project on the Odawara Line, though land acquisition issues stalled major track expansion work until construction began in 2013; the project is being carried out between Yoyogi-Uehara and Mukōgaoka-Yūen, quadrupling the Odawara Line trackage and stacking the tracks underground, allowing for increased express services. Originally a viaduct was planned but this was changed to underground tracks, and work on the tunnel between Setagaya-Daita and Higashi-Kitazawa was completed in 2018.

Former connecting lines

• Setagaya-Daita Station: A gauge line electrified at 1,500 V DC operated to on the Keio Inokashira Line between 1945 and 1952.

References

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

References

1. [http://www.train-media.net/report/1110/odakyu.pdf Odakyu ridership in 2010] ''Train Media (sourced from Odakyu)'' Retrieved May 28, 2012.
2. https://www.odakyu.jp/rail/ (This reference represents all of the "Stations" section.
3. "会社小史・略年表".
4. Ministry of Finance Japan. "Examples of FILP-target Projects: Construction Projects of Private Rail Lines (Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (Construction Account))".
5. Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency. "About JRTT: Urban Railways".
6. (March 14, 2013). "小田急、代々木上原駅～梅ヶ丘駅間の複々線化で工事期間を2018年度まで延長". Automotive Media Response.