Tobu Isesaki Line

The Tobu Isesaki Line (東武伊勢崎線, Tōbu Isesaki-sen) is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway company Tobu Railway, extending from Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen Station in Saitama to Isesaki Station in Gunma Prefecture. The Isesaki Line can refer to the entire section between Asakusa - Isesaki and Oshiage - Hikifune, but from March 2012, the 41.0 km (25.5 mi) section south of Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen was branded as the Tobu Skytree Line in conjunction with the opening of the Tokyo Skytree tower.

Tobu Isesaki Line
TI
Tobu Railway 200 series
Overview
Native name	東武伊勢崎線
Owner	Tobu Railway
Locale	Kantō
Termini	Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen Isesaki
Stations	26
Website	https://www.tobu.co.jp/en/
Service
Type	Commuter rail
Depot(s)	Tatebayashi
Daily ridership	843,495 (2010)[1]
History
Opened	27 August 1899; 125 years ago (1899-08-27)
Technical
Line length	73.5 km (45.7 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC
Operating speed	110 km/h (68 mph)
Route map Legend Station Through trains destination 0.0 Asakusa Tobu Skytree Line Chūō-Rinkan Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line Shibuya Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line Oshiage 41.0 Tōbu Dōbutsu Kōen Tōbu Nikkō Line 43.9 Wado Tohoku Shinkansen 47.7 Kuki Tohoku Main Line (Utsunomiya Line) 52.1 Washinomiya 54.8 Hanasaki 58.5 Kazo 63.1 Minami-Hanyū 66.2 Hanyū Chichibu Main Line Tone River 70.5 Kawamata 72.4 Morinji-mae 74.6 Tatebayashi Tōbu Sano Line, Tōbu Koizumi Line Kuzuu 78.6 Tatara 81.8 Agata 83.9 Fukui 85.1 Tōbu-Izumi 86.8 Ashikagashi 88.5 Yashū-yamabe 91.8 Niragawa Tōbu Koizumi Line 94.7 Ōta Tōbu Kiryū Line Akagi 97.8 Hosoya 101.2 Kizaki 104.1 Serada 106.3 Sakaimachi 110.0 Gōshi 113.3 Shin-Isesaki 114.5 Isesaki Ryōmō Line

Descriptions

Track

single: Tatebayashi − Isesaki 39.9 km (24.8 mi)

double: the rest

Operation

Service patterns

Stops and operated sections are as of 2023, February 15.

Local (普通, Futsū) (announced as Kakueki Teisha (各駅停車) or kakutei (各停) for short) (L)

• Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen − Ōta. Connection with Express. Three per hour, with one between Kuki and Tatebayashi.
• Ōta − Isesaki. One per hour per direction, conductorless.

Section Semi-Express (区間準急, Kukan Junkyū) (SSE)

Between Asakusa and Tōbu-Dōbutsu Kōen, Kuki or Minami-Kurihashi on Nikkō Line.

Semi-Express (準急, Junkyū) (SmE)

Early morning and late night. Down to Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen, Kuki or to Minami-Kurihashi on the Nikkō Line through from Chūō-Rinkan of Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line via Hanzōmon Line. 10 cars.

Section Express (区間急行, Kukan Kyūkō) (SE)

Between Asakusa and Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen, Tatebayashi or Ōta.

Express (急行, Kyūkō) (Ex)

From morning to night. Down to Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen, Kuki (nearly half to Minami-Kurihashi on the Nikkō Line), through from Chūō-Rinkan on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line via Hanzōmon Line. 10 cars.

Limited Express (特急, Tokkyū) (LE)

Stops not shown for now. Charged for seat reservation and rapid service. Mainly through to the Nikkō Line for the Nikko area named Kegon (けごん) and Kinu (きぬ). Some through to Isesaki from Asakusa, sole direct service named Ryōmō (りょうもう). The 70090 Series Services runs through to Ebisu from Kuki, Home liner service named TH Liner.

Stations

• O: Stop
• *1: To/from Asakusa on the Tobu Skytree Line section of the Isesaki Line.
• *2: To/from Chūō-Rinkan on Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line via Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line
• For the section between Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen and Asakusa, see Tobu Skytree Line.

No.	Station		L	SSE	SmE	SE	Ex	Transfers	Location
TS30	Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen	東武動物公園	O	O *1	O *2	O *1	O *2	TS Tobu Skytree Line (through to/from Asakusa) TN Tobu Nikko Line	Miyashiro	Saitama
TI01	Wado	和戸	O	O	O	O	O
TI02	Kuki	久喜	O	O	O	O	O	JU Utsunomiya Line	Kuki
TI03	Washinomiya	鷲宮	O	O		O
TI04	Hanasaki	花崎	O	O		O			Kazo
TI05	Kazo	加須	O	O		O
TI06	Minami-Hanyū	南羽生	O	O		O			Hanyū
TI07	Hanyū	羽生	O	O		O		■Chichibu Main Line
TI08	Kawamata	川俣	O	O		O			Meiwa	Gunma
TI09	Morinji-mae	茂林寺前	O	O		O			Tatebayashi
TI10	Tatebayashi	館林	O	O		O		TI Tobu Sano Line TI Tobu Koizumi Line
TI11	Tatara	多々良	O
TI12	Agata	県	O						Ashikaga	Tochigi
TI13	Fukui	福居	O
TI14	Tōbu-Izumi	東武和泉	O
TI15	Ashikagashi	足利市	O
TI16	Yashū-yamabe	野州山辺	O
TI17	Niragawa	韮川	O						Ōta	Gunma
TI18	Ōta	太田	O					TI Tobu Kiryu Line TI Tobu Koizumi Line
TI19	Hosoya	細谷	O
TI20	Kizaki	木崎	O
TI21	Serada	世良田	O
TI22	Sakaimachi	境町	O						Isesaki
TI23	Gōshi	剛志	O
TI24	Shin-Isesaki	新伊勢崎	O
TI25	Isesaki	伊勢崎	O					■Ryomo Line

Rolling stock

Current

• Tobu 200 series
• Tobu 500 series
• Tobu 10000 series
• Tobu 50000 series
• Tobu 50050 series
• Tobu 70090 series (TH Liner)
• Tokyu 2020 series
• Tokyu 5000 series
• Tokyo Metro 18000 series
• Tokyo Metro 8000 series
• Tokyo Metro 08 series

• 
  Tobu 200 series
• 
  Tobu 10000 series
• 
  Tobu 50050 series
• 
  Tokyu 2020 series
• 
  Tokyu 5000 series
• 
  Tokyu 8500 series
• 
  Tokyo Metro 8000 series

Former

• Tokyu 8500 series (1975-2023)
• Tobu 30000 series

History

Overview of the original Asakusa Station terminus (present-day Tokyo Skytree Station) in 1927

An up express service on the Tobu Isesaki Line formed of a 4-car EMU in March 1940

The first section of the Isesaki Line was opened by the present company in 1899 between Kita-Senju and Kuki utilising steam motive power. In 1902, Tobu extended the line south to have a maritime connection at present Tokyo Skytree (then Azumabashi (吾妻橋), later renamed Asakusa) in downtown Tokyo, and north to Kazo. The following year a further northern extension to Kawamata (then on the south bank of Tone River) was opened. Further northward extension progressed, and in 1910 the line arrived at Isesaki. In 1931, a bridge over the Sumida River was built and present Asakusa Station (then Asakusa Kaminarimon (浅草雷門)) opened as part of the department store building, the entire line being completed.

The Asakusa to Nishiarai section was double-tracked in 1912, and the rest of the line was double-tracked between 1920 and 1927, except for the Hanyu to Kawamata section, which was double-tracked when a second bridge was built over the Tonegawa in 1992.

Electrification was begun in 1924 on the section of Asakusa and Nishiarai, and in 1927 completed as far as Isesaki. The distance of over 100 km (62 mi) was then one of the longest electrified railway lines together with the present Kintetsu Osaka Line and Yamada Lines.

After World War II, the Tobu Lines had no connection to the Yamanote Line or other major lines of the then Japanese National Railways (JNR) to offer efficient transfers to central Tokyo. The sole connection was with the Jōban Line at Kitasenju, which offered poor access to central Tokyo. To solve the inefficiencies of transfers at Kitasenju and notoriously narrow Asakusa, in 1962, the Hibiya Line of the then Teito Rapid Transport Authority (帝都高速度交通営団, Teito Kōsokudo Kōtsū Eidan), known as TRTA, present Tokyo Metro) was built, connecting at Kitasenju.

Further growing traffic required Tobu to build a second through line to Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line in the 1990s. In 2003, the company built new tracks from Hikifune to connect at Oshiage, officially an annex station of Tokyo Skytree.

From the 3 March 2006, timetable revision, less than half of trains originated or terminated at Asakusa, with more trains operating through to Tokyo Metro subway lines.

From 17 March 2012, the section south of Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen was rebranded as the Tobu Skytree Line.

References

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

1. Tobu ridership in 2010 Train Media (sourced from Tobu) Retrieved May 28, 2012.

External links

• Tobu Railway Isesaki Line information page (in Japanese)