Keiō Takao Line

Infobox rail line
name=Takao Line (高尾線)


caption=Takao to Takaosanguchi
start=Kitano
end=Takaosanguchi
station=7
open=1967
operator=Keio Electric Railway
linelength=8.6km
gauge=1,372mm
type=Railway
owner=Keio Electric Railway The Nihongo|Takao line|高尾線|Takao Sen is a railway line of a Japanese private railway operator, the Keio Corporation. The line runs between Kitano Station on the Keiō Line, to Takaosanguchi Station, and offers an access to a popular gate for climbing Mount Takao at the terminal. It runs on 1,372mm gauge, voltage is 1,500 V DC.

Most trains are operated through to/from Shinjuku terminal on the Keiō Line.

Rapid service

On the Takao Line, Keiō operates four types of rapid services together with Local trains through to the Keiō Main Line.
* (L)
* (CR)
* (Ex)
* (SSE)
* (SE)

tations

All stations are in Hachiōji, Tokyo.

History

Goryō Line

On March 20, 1930, Keiō Electric Tramway opened the Goryō Line, an about 6.3 km branch of the Keiō Line, between Kitano Station and Goryōmae Station. The terminus, Goryōmae, was a gateway for the tomb of Emperor Taishō.

The line had three intermediate stations: Katakura, Yamada and Yokoyama. Yokoyama Station and Goryōmae Station were renamed to Musashi-Yokoyama Station and Tamagoryōmae Station respectively in 1937. The line was single track and had a crossing loop at Yokoyama Station. In weekdays, the line operated in 30 or 40 minutes' intervals while in weekends it operated through trains to Yotsuya-Shinjuku Station, the Tokyo terminal of Keiō at that time, in 20 minutes' intervals. [cite journal
author = Iijima, Masashi
year = 2003
month = July
title = Musashi Chūō Denki Tetsudō to Goryōsen ni tsuite
journal = The Railway Pictorial
volume = 734
pages = p. 127
publisher = Denkisha Kenkyūkai
issue = July 2003 Extra
location = Tokyo
language = Japanese ]

Keiō Electric Tramway was merged into Tokyō Kyūko Dentetsu (present-day Tokyu Corporation) in 1944. The new operator suspended the operation of the Goryō Line on January 21, 1945 as one of "not needed or not pressing" lines, which were subject of the collection of metal for the war effort.

In 1948, Keiō Teito Electric Railway (present-day Keio Corporation) was established and succeeded the former operation of Keiō Electric Tramway including the suspended Goryō Line.

Takao Line

During the economic boom in 1960s, Keiō decided to build a new line to Mount Takao utilizing a part of the still suspended Goryō Line. About 3.7 km from Kitano (to a point in Yamatamachi, Hachiōji) was to be reused and the remaining 2.6 km was officially closed in 1964.

Keiō opened the Takao Line on October 1, 1967. Among the former Goryō Line stations, Katakura Station (newly named Keiō-Takakura Station) and Yamada Station were revived.

References