Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line

Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line
Tokyu 5000 series EMU
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
Locale	Kantō Region
Termini	Shibuya Chūō-Rinkan
Operation
Opened	11 October 1963
Owner	Tokyu Corporation
Technical
Line length	31.5 km
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC overhead catenary

Route diagram

Legend Minami-Kurihashi Tōbu Nikkō Line Kuki Tōbu Isesaki Line Oshiage Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line Tokyo Metro Ginza Line Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line Tōkyū Tōyoko Line Saikyō, Shōnan-Shinjuku lines 0.0 Shibuya Yamanote Line Keiō Inokashira Line Tamagawa Line (closed tramway) 1.9 Ikejiri-Ōhashi Tamagawa Line (Tramway) 3.3 Sangen-Jaya Tōkyū Setagaya Line 4.8 Komazawa-Daigaku 6.3 Sakura-Shimmachi 7.6 Yōga Tōkyū Ōimachi Line 9.4 Futako-Tamagawa Tama River /Tokyo - Kanagawa 10.1 Futako-Shinchi Ōimachi Line extension in 2009 10.7 Takatsu Nambu Line (Musashi-Mizonokuchi) 11.4 Mizonokuchi 12.2 Kajigaya 13.7 Miyazakidai 14.7 Miyamaedaira 15.7 Saginuma Saginuma depot of Tokyo Metro 17.1 Tama-Plaza Yokohama Subway: Blue Line 18.2 Azamino 19.3 Eda 20.6 Ichigao 22.1 Fujigaoka 23.1 Aobadai 24.5 Tana Yokohama Line 25.6 Nagatsuta Yokohama Minatomirai Railway:   Kodomonokuni Line Nagatsuta depot 26.8 Tsukushino 28.0 Suzukakedai 29.2 Minami-Machida 30.3 Tsukimino 31.5 Chūō-Rinkan Odakyū Enoshima Line

View of riverbank and Futako-Tamagawa Station

The Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line (東急田園都市線, Tōkyū Den'entoshi-sen^?) is a major commuter line operated by Tokyu Corporation and connecting south-western suburbs of Tokyo and neighbouring Kanagawa Prefecture, with its western terminus of Chūō-Rinkan, to a major railway junction of western downtown Tokyo, Shibuya. At Shibuya, nearly all the trains continue on the Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line.

History

Prewar predecessors

On March 6, 1907, the Tamagawa Electric Railway (玉川電気鉄道, Tamagawa Denki Tetsudō^?, Tamaden) opened the first section of the Tamagawa Line (玉川線, Tamagawa sen^?) tramway (not to be confused with today's Tōkyū Tamagawa Line (東急多摩川線, Tōkyū Tamagawa sen^?)) between Shibuya and what is now Futako-Tamagawa. Two branch lines opened from the Tamagawa Line: the Kinuta Line (砧線, Kinuta sen^?) (March 1, 1924) from Futako-Tamagawa to Kinuta, and the Setagaya Line (January 18, 1925) from Sangenjaya.

Tamaden was acquired by the Tokyo Yokohama Electric Railway (東京横浜電気鉄道, Tokyo Yokohama Denki Tetsudō^?) (now Tokyu) on April 1, 1938. In addition to its principal Tokyo-Yokohama line, TYER also operated the Mizonokuchi Line (溝の口線, Misonokuchi sen^?) from Futako-Tamagawa (called Futako-Tamagawa-en) to Mizonokuchi from July 15, 1927. The Tamagawa Line provided a further connection past Futako-Tamagawa to Shibuya. On July 1, 1943, this section was integrated with the Ōimachi Line running from Ōimachi in southwest Tokyo to Futako-Tamagawa-en.

Tama Den-En-Toshi Plan

Before 1945, the Tama Hills southwest of Mizonokuchi were largely forested, occupied by small villages along the Ōyama Route (now Route 246) and training bases for the Imperial Japanese Army. After World War II, many farmers migrated to the area.

In 1953, at which time about 20,000 people lived in the area, Tokyu Group president Keita Gotō unveiled a "new town" planning scheme called the South-Western Area Development Plan. He envisioned new railway and freeway infrastructure (the latter being realized as the Tōmei Expressway) and large, clean houses for commuters working in Tokyo. Tokyu started accepting new residents in this Tama Den-En-Toshi ("Garden City") Plan area in 1959.

In accordance with this plan, the Ōimachi Line was renamed the Den-en-toshi Line on October 11, 1963 and officially extended to Nagatsuta on April 1, 1968.

From the 1970s onward, the population of the area increased rapidly. The towns were viewed as cultural and sophisticated, and attracted many new residents. While Tokyu Group's housing construction project is almost complete, other developers still push forward with the construction of apartmants and houses. There are now about 550,000 residences along the line, excluding the section from Shibuya to Mizonokuchi which was already urbanized prior to the plan. This makes the area the largest "new town" developed by the Japanese private sector.

Development of the line

On May 11, 1969, the former Tamagawa Line and Kinuta Line were closed for the construction of a new underground Shin-Tamagawa Line along with the Route 3 of Shuto Expressway. Tokyu provided substitute bus service during the interim. The new line began service on April 7, 1977 between Shibuya and Futako-Tamagawa: through service with the Den-en-toshi Line began on November 16, 1977.

On August 12, 1979, the section from Ōimachi to Futako-Tamagawa was separated and named the Ōimachi Line again, thus restoring its original name and route. This coincided with the inauguration of through services from the Den-en-toshi Line via the Hanzōmon Line of the then Teito Rapid Transit Authority (帝都高速度交通営団, Teito Kōsokudo Kōtsū Eidan^?, Eidan or TRTA) and the Shin-Tamagawa Line.

The line was completed in its present form on April 9, 1984, when sections between Tsukimino and Chūō-Rinkan were opened. The Shin-Tamagawa Line officially became part of the Den-en-toshi Line on August 6, 2000.

Through service was extended beyond Suitengūmae to Oshiage on March 19, 2003, allowing through service with the Isesaki Line and Nikkō Line of Tōbu Railway.

Tōkyū plans to expand the line to four tracks from Futako-Tamagawa to Mizonokuchi. Almost all trains of the Ōimachi line are planned to run through this section to Mizonokuchi. The corporation has already announced that it will begin this service on June 2009, postponed from fiscal 2007. Ōimachi line express trains, which are 6-car sets, will then run between Ōimachi and Mizonokuchi.^[1]

Operation

Nearly all trains on the Den-en-toshi Line are operated through to/from the Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line using Tōkyū, Tokyo Metro, and Tōbu Railway 10-car EMUs. Around half of them continue beyond Oshiage, the terminus of the Hanzōmon Line, to the Tōbu Isesaki Line (Kuki Station) and Tōbu Nikkō Line (Minami-Kurihashi Station).

Rapid service

Tōkyū operates two types of rapid services as well as Locals.

Local (普通, Futsū^?) (L)

Stop at all stations. Eight service per hour per direction in day time.

Semi-Express (準急, Junkyū^?) (SE)

Only upward trains in weekday morning, to reduce congestion of passenges around Shibuya of rapid trains and to reduce delays with equalizing the speed of the trains.

Express (急行, Kyūkō^?) (Ex)

Four trains per hour per direction in day time.

Through trains to Ōimachi Line

A few trains are operated through to/from the Tōkyū Ōimachi Line to utilize forwardings to/from Saginuma depot, up to Ōimachi in the mornings, and down to Saginuma in the late evenings. These formations are 5-car sets, unlike the 10-car trains normally used on the line. A few express trains in holidays also serve from Chūō-Rinkan in the mornings, down in the evenings.

Stations

Name	in Japanese	km	L	SE	Ex	Connections	Location
Trains continue to ○Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line
Shibuya	渋谷	0.0	S	S	S	Tōkyū Tōyoko Line Yamanote Line Saikyō Line Shōnan-Shinjuku Line Keiō Inokashira Line ○Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line (Z-01, run through) ○Tokyo Metro Ginza Line (G-01, see below) ○Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line (F-16)	Shibuya	Tokyo
Ikejiri-Ōhashi	池尻大橋	1.9	S	S			Meguro, Setagaya
Sangen-Jaya	三軒茶屋	3.3	S	S	S	Tōkyū Setagaya Line	Setagaya
Komazawa-Daigaku	駒沢大学	4.8	S	S
Sakura-Shimmachi	桜新町	6.3	S	S
Yōga	用賀	7.6	S	S
Futako-Tamagawa	二子玉川	9.4	S	S	S	Tōkyū Ōimachi Line
Futako-Shinchi	二子新地	10.1	S				Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki	Kanagawa
Takatsu	高津	10.7	S
Mizonokuchi	溝の口	11.4	S	S	S	Nambu Line (Musashi-Mizonokuchi)
Kajigaya	梶が谷	12.2	S
Miyazakidai	宮崎台	13.7	S				Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki
Miyamaedaira	宮前平	14.7	S
Saginuma	鷺沼	15.7	S	S	S
Tama-Plaza	たまプラーザ	17.1	S	S	S		Aoba-ku, Yokohama
Azamino	あざみ野	18.2	S	S	S	Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Line
Eda	江田	19.3	S
Ichigao	市が尾	20.6	S
Fujigaoka	藤が丘	22.1	S
Aobadai	青葉台	23.1	S	S	S
Tana	田奈	24.5	S
Nagatsuta	長津田	25.6	S	S	S	Kodomonokuni Line Yokohama Line	Midori-ku, Yokohama
Tsukushino	つくし野	26.8	S				Machida	Tokyo
Suzukakedai	すずかけ台	28.0	S
Minami-Machida	南町田	29.2	S		S1
Tsukimino	つきみ野	30.3	S				Yamato	Kanagawa
Chūō-Rinkan	中央林間	31.5	S	S	S	Odakyū Enoshima Line

Note:

• Shibuya (Ginza Line): Tokyu and Tokyo Metro recommend to transfer at Omotesandō Station on Hanzōmon Line.
• S¹: Minami-Machida is served by express trains on Saturdays and public holidays.

Rolling stock

Type	Image	Top speed (km/h)
Tokyo Metro 08 series		120
Tokyo Metro 8000 series		100
Tokyu 2000 series		120
Tokyu 5000 series		120
Tokyu 8500 series		120
Tokyu 8590 series		120
Tōbu 30000 series		120
Tōbu 50050 series		120

References

1. ^ 大井町線の急行運転 accessed March 26, 2008

Coordinates: 35°31′55″N 139°29′40″E / 35.53194°N 139.49444°E / 35.53194; 139.49444