Hakone Tozan Line

Hakone Tozan Line
OH
Hakone Tozan Railway 1000 series trainset "Bernina" at Gōra Station
Overview
Native name箱根登山鉄道線
OwnerOdakyu Group
LocaleKanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Termini
Stations11
Service
Operator(s)Odakyu Hakone
Depot(s)Iriuda
History
Opened1 June 1974; 50 years ago (1974-06-01)
Technical
Line length15.0 km (9.3 mi)
Number of tracks1
Track gaugepartly 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge and 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Minimum radius555 ft (169 m)
Electrification750 V and 1,500 V DC (Overhead catenary)
SignallingAutomatic closed block
Train protection systemD-ATS-P
Highest elevation553 m (1,814 ft)
Maximum incline8%
Route map

OH62 Sōunzan
OH61 Kami-Gōra
OH60 Naka-Gōra
Hakone Tozan
Cable Car
OH59 Kōen-Kami
OH58 Kōen-Shimo
OH57 Gōra
OH56 Chōkoku-no-Mori
OH55 Kowakidani
OH54 Miyanoshita
Sennindai Signal Stop
Kami-Ōhiradai Switchback
OH53 Ōhiradai
Demaya Switchback
OH52 Tōnosawa
OH51 Hakone-Yumoto
OH50 Iriuda
Iriuda depot
OH49 Kazamatsuri
OH48 Hakone-Itabashi
OH47 Odawara
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 Odakyu Hakone, a Odakyu Group company that also owns the Hakone Tozan Cable Car.

The section of the line from Odawara Station to Hakone-Yumoto Station began operating in 1919, with the current terminus of Gōra being reached in 1930. Since 2006, only Odakyū Odawara Line trains run on the section from Odawara Station to Hakone-Yumoto Station, as that section was converted from dual-gauge (standard and narrow) to just narrow-gauge. From Gora, travelers can continue up the mountain on the Hakone Tozan Cable Car.

The railway is capable of climbing one meter vertically for every 12.5 metres (41 feet) of horizontal distance, with a maximum gradient of 8%. The line traverses Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, so the line was carefully designed to limit the impact on the scenery. Due to the difficult topography, the line has three switchbacks used to ascend particularly steep sections.

The section of the line between Hakone-Yumoto and Gora was suspended in October 2019 due to heavy damage caused by Typhoon Hagibis.[1] On 9 July 2020, after repairs had been completed, test trains began running over the line and full service was restored two weeks later on 23 July.[2][3]

  1. ^ Kinoshita, Shotaro (18 October 2019). "Famous Japan mountain railway to take months to recover after Typhoon Hagibis: operator". mainichi.jp. The Mainichi. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  2. ^ Murano, Eiichi (9 July 2020). "Test runs begin to resume trains along Hakone mountain route". asahi.com. The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Traversing Hakone's "Golden Course" by Land, Air, and Water". nippon.com. 2020-08-14. Retrieved 2023-09-17.