Type Commuter rail Opened 1927 Stations 47 | Line length 82.5 km (51.3 mi) | |
 | ||
Daily ridership 1,493,451 (daily, 2010) Locale | ||
The Odakyu Odawara Line (小田急小田原線, Odakyū-Odawara-sen) is the main line of Japanese private railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway. It extends 82.5 km from Shinjuku in central Tokyo through the southwest suburbs to the city of Odawara, the gateway to Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture. It is a busy commuter line and is also known for its "Romancecar" limited express services. From Yoyogi-Uehara Station some trains continue onto the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line and beyond to the East Japan Railway Company Joban Line.
Contents
Operation
Destinations are from Shinjuku unless noted. English abbreviations are tentative for this article.
Stations
Notes:
Legend:
History
The Odawara Express Railway Co. opened the entire line on April 1, 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 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in), the Odawara Line 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)). In 1955, a connection was established to Matsuda Station on the Gotemba Line, which was part of the Japanese National Railways at the time, initiating limited express service through the line. To serve as an alternative route bypassing central Tokyo, through service commenced on the Eidan Subway (currently known as Tokyo Metro) Chiyoda Line 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 is ongoing. In March 2013, Odakyū announced that the construction is projected to continue until 2018.