Hakone Tozan Line

Hakone Tozan Railway 1000 series trainset "Bernina" at Gōra Station

Hakone Tozan Railway 2000 series trainset "St. Moritz" at Odawara Station, in 2006

The Hakone Tozan Line (箱根登山鉄道線 Hakone Tozan Tetsudō-sen, lit. Hakone Mountain-Climbing Railroad Line) is a mountain railway in Japan operated by the Hakone Tozan Railway. This company belongs to the Odakyu Group, and also owns the Hakone Tozan Cable Car.

The section of the line from Odawara Station to Hakone-Yumoto Station started operations in 1919, with current terminus Gōra reached in 1930. Since 2006, only Odakyū Odawara Line trains run on the previously dual-gauge section from Odawara Station to Hakone-Yumoto Station. From Gora, visitors can continue up the mountain on the Hakone Tozan Cable Car.

The railway is capable of climbing one meter vertically for every 12.5 meters of horizontal distance, a maximum gradient of 8%. The line traverses Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, so the line was carefully designed to limit the impact on scenery. Due to the difficult conditions, the line has three switchbacks used to ascend particularly steep sections.

Description

A 3000 series car on the 8% gradient near Hakone-Yumoto Station

Dual-gauge section at Iriuda Station

• Length: 15.0 km (9.3 mi)
• Gauge:
  • Odawara - Iriuda: 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
  • Iriuda - Hakone-Yumoto: 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)/1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) (dual gauge)
  • Hakone-Yumoto - Gōra: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)
• Stations: 11 (including termini)
• Track: single
• Power:
  • Odawara - Hakone-Yumoto: 1,500 V DC overhead supply
  • Hakone-Yumoto - Gōra: 750 V DC overhead supply
• Block system: Automatic (cab signal/digital) (CTC)

Stations

• Trains: "S" = All stop, "/" = All pass.

Stations/ Signal Stations	Japanese	Distance (km)		Altitude (m)	Stops			Location (in Kanagawa)
					Limited Express	Local	Local
Odawara	小田原		0.0	26	S	S		Odawara
Hakone-Itabashi	箱根板橋	1.7	1.7	27	/	S
Kazamatsuri	風祭	1.5	3.2	48	/	S
Iriuda	入生田	1.0	4.2	66	/	S	(terminus)
Hakone-Yumoto	箱根湯本	1.9	6.1	108	S	S	S	Hakone, Ashigarashimo District
Tōnosawa	塔ノ沢	1.0	7.1	165	(terminus, from/to Shinjuku (some from/to Kita-Senju))	(terminus, from/to Shin-Matsuda)	S
Deyama Switchback	出山信号場	1.2	8.3	234			/
Ōhiradai	大平台	1.6	9.9	349			S
Kami-Ōhiradai Switchback	上大平台信号場	0.5	10.4	359			/
Sennnindai Signal Stop	仙人台信号場	0.8	11.2	410			/
Miyanoshita	宮ノ下	0.9	12.1	448			S
Kowakidani	小涌谷	1.3	13.4	535			S
Chōkoku-no-Mori	彫刻の森	0.9	14.3	551			S
Gōra	強羅	0.7	15.0	553			S

• Transfers:
  • At Odawara Station:
    • Odakyū Odawara Line
    • Tōkaidō Line, Shōnan-Shinjuku Line
    • Tōkaidō Shinkansen
    • Izu-Hakone Railway Daiyūzan Line
  • At Gōra Station:
    • Hakone Tozan Railway - Hakone Tozan Cable Car
• Hakone-Yumoto Station is the terminus for all Hakone Tozan Line trains.
• On the Odawara - Hakone-Yumoto section, Limited Express "Romancecar" and Local trains run through to and from the Odakyu Odawara Line.
  • Odakyu LE, Super Hakone, Hakone and Homeway services run from/to Shinjuku Station.
  • Odakyu LE Metro Hakone runs between Hakone-Yumoto and Kita-Senju Station, on Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line at weekends only.
  • Local trains runs between Odawara and Hakone-Yumoto, partly from/to Shin-Matsuda Station using 4-car Odakyu EMUs.
• Section between Hakone-Yumoto and Gōra is operated by local trains only, using Hakone Tozan 2/3-car EMUs.
  • Trains stop at three signal stops which have no passenger platforms.
  • There are three switchbacks: Deyama, Ōhiradai, and Kami-Ōhiradai.
• Journey time between Odawara - Hakone-Yumoto is approximately 15 minutes, Hakone-Yumoto - Gōra is approximately 40 minutes, Shinjuku - Hakone-Yumoto is approximately an hour and 25–35 minutes by limited express.

Signal stops

There are three signal stops on the Hakone Tozan Line in addition to the regular passenger stations. All of them have a siding track and two of them have switchbacks.

Deyama Switchback

Signal stop with a switchback. 234 m AMSL. 35°13′57″N 139°05′14″E / 35.232402°N 139.087167°E

Kami-Ōhiradai Switchback

Signal stop with a switchback near Ōhiradai station which also has a switchback. 359 m AMSL. 35°14′08″N 139°04′32″E / 35.235604°N 139.075444°E

Sennindai Signal Stop

Signal stop without a switchback. 410 m AMSL. 35°14′18″N 139°04′09″E / 35.238215°N 139.069042°E

• 

  Deyama switchback

• 

  Kami-Ōhiradai switchback

• 

  Sennindai signal stop

Rolling stock

Hakone Tozan Railway (Hakone-Yumoto - Gōra)

• MoHa 1
• MoHa 2
• 1000 series ("Bernina", named after the Rhätische Bahn Line in Switzerland)
• 2000 series ("St. Moritz")
• 3000 series (from November 2014)^[1]
• MoNi 1 (as management car)

All trains are based at Iriuda Depot.

Former

• MoHa 3
• Yu 1 (as goods wagon)

Odakyu Electric Railway (Shinjuku - Odawara - Hakone-Yumoto)

Romancecar EMUs

• Odakyu 7000 series LSE
• Odakyu 10000 series HiSE
• Odakyu 20000 series RSE
• Odakyu 30000 series EXE
• Odakyu 50000 series VSE
• Odakyu 60000 series MSE (also from Kita-Senju)

Commuter EMUs

• Odakyu 1000 series
• Odakyu 5000 series
• Odakyu 8000 series

History

• October 1, 1888: Odawara Horse-drawn Railway opens from Kōzu Station via Odawara Station, to Hakone-Yumoto Station.
• October 31, 1896: Operating company name is changed to Odawara Electric Railway.
• March 21, 1900: Line is electrified (as a tram, 600 V DC).
• June 1, 1919: Line opens between Hakone-Yumoto and Gōra as an electrified (600 V DC) funicular railway.
• December 16, 1920: Tram line closes between Kōzu - Odawara, and connected with the JGR (now JR) Tōkaidō Main Line at Odawara.
• August 16, 1928: Hakone Tozan Railway is founded.
• October 1, 1935: Mainline railway is extended from Hakone-Yumoto to Odawara. Tram line remains between Odawara - Hakone-Itabashi, and is renamed the "Odawara Town Line".
• December 20, 1940: Tram section is renamed "Odawara City Line".
• June 1, 1948: Hakone Tozan Railway becomes part of the Odakyu Group.
• August 1, 1950: Odakyu Electric Railway begins operating Limited Express and Express trains from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto. The line voltage is changed to 1,500 V DC for the dual gauge section between Odawara and Hakone-Yumoto.
• June 1, 1956: Odawara City Line (tram) is abandoned.
• July 14, 1993: Hakone-Yumoto - Gōra section is uprated from 600 to 750 V DC. Operations start using 3-car EMUs.
• March 18, 2006: Hakone Tozan Railway discontinues operation using its own units between Odawara and Hakone-Yumoto. Dual-gauge section reduced to Iriuda - Hakone-Yumoto.
• March 15, 2008: New Odakyu "Romancecar" through service starts from Kita-Senju Station.

Microsoft Train Simulator

This route appears in Microsoft Train Simulator complete with scenarios simulating prototypical operation (Only from Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto).

References

1. 箱根登山鉄道3000形を導入 [Hakone Tozan Railway to introduce 3000 series]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.

External links

• Hakone Tozan Railway Official Site
• Hakone Navi (Odakyu official sightseeing guide, in English)