Hakone Tozan Line

Hakone Tozan Line
Hakone Tozan Railway 1000 series trainset "Bernina" at Gōra Station
Overview
Native name	箱根登山鉄道線
Owner	Odakyu Group
Locale	Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Termini	Odawara Gōra
Stations	11
Service
Operator(s)	Odakyu Hakone
Depot(s)	Iriuda
History
Opened	1 June 1919; 106 years ago (1919-06-01)
Technical
Line length	15.0 km (9.3 mi)
Number of tracks	1, with passing loops
Track gauge	Gōra–Iriuda: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge Hakone-Yumoto–Odawara: 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Minimum radius	169 m (555 ft)
Electrification	Overhead line: Gōra–Iriuda: 750 V DC Hakone-Yumoto–Odawara: 1,500 V DC
Signalling	Automatic closed block
Train protection system	D-ATS-P
Highest elevation	553 m (1,814 ft)
Maximum incline	8%
Route map Legend km Odakyū Odawara Line 0 OH47 Odawara JT 1.7 OH48 Hakone-Itabashi 3.2 OH49 Kazamatsuri Iriuda depot 4.2 OH50 Iriuda 6.1 OH51 Hakone-Yumoto 7.1 OH52 Tōnosawa 8.3 Deyama switchback 9.9 OH53 Ōhiradai 10.4 Kami-Ōhiradai switchback 11.2 Sennindai signal stop 12.1 OH54 Miyanoshita 13.4 OH55 Kowakidani 14.3 OH56 Chōkoku-no-Mori 15.0 OH57 Gōra OH Hakone Tozan Cable Car This diagram: view talk edit

The Hakone Tozan Line (Japanese: 箱根登山鉄道線, Hepburn: Hakone Tozan Tetsudō-sen; lit. 'Hakone Mountain-Climbing Railroad Line') is a mountain railway in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by Odakyu Hakone, an Odakyu Group company that also operates the Hakone Tozan Cable Car, Hakone Ropeway and Hakone Sightseeing Cruise.

Although presented as a single railway line, the Hakone Tozan Line operates as two distinct sections with different technical and operational characteristics. The lower section, between Odawara and Hakone-Yumoto stations, is operated exclusively by through trains of the Odakyū Odawara Line using conventional Japanese narrow-gauge rolling stock. The upper mountain section, between Hakone-Yumoto and Gōra station, is operated by Hakone Tozan Railway trains built to standard gauge and specially designed for steep gradients and sharp curves. Passengers must change trains at Hakone-Yumoto.

History

The origins of the Hakone Tozan Line date to October 1, 1888, when the Odawara Horse-drawn Railway opened a line from Kōzu Station via Odawara Station to Hakone-Yumoto Station. The operating company was renamed Odawara Electric Railway on October 31, 1896, and the line was electrified on March 21, 1900, operating as a tramway at 600 V DC.

Mountain railway operations began on June 1, 1919, when an electrified (600 V DC) line opened between Hakone-Yumoto and Gōra Station, enabling rail access deeper into the Hakone mountains. On December 16, 1920, the tramway section between Kōzu and Odawara was closed, with the line instead connecting to the Japanese Government Railways (now JR) Tōkaidō Main Line at Odawara. Hakone Tozan Railway was formally established as a company on August 16, 1928.

On October 1, 1935, the mainline railway was extended from Hakone-Yumoto to Odawara, while the remaining tram section between Odawara and Hakone-Itabashi Station was retained as the Odawara Town Line. This tram section was renamed the Odawara City Line on December 20, 1940, and was ultimately abandoned on June 1, 1956. Hakone Tozan Railway became part of the Odakyu Group on June 1, 1948.

Through services between Tokyo and Hakone were introduced on August 1, 1950, when Odakyu Electric Railway began operating Limited Express and Express trains from Shinjuku Station to Hakone-Yumoto. To accommodate through operation alongside mountain railway rolling stock, the Odawara–Hakone-Yumoto section was converted to dual gauge, and its electrification voltage was increased to 1,500 V DC.

Modernization of the mountain section continued on July 14, 1993, when the Hakone-Yumoto–Gōra segment was uprated from 600 to 750 V DC, enabling operation with longer three-car electric multiple units. A major operational change occurred on March 18, 2006, when Hakone Tozan Railway discontinued the use of its own rolling stock between Odawara and Hakone-Yumoto. Most of the dual-gauge track was removed at that time, leaving only the short section between Iriuda Station and Hakone-Yumoto to allow standard-gauge mountain trains access to Iriuda Depot. On March 15, 2008, a new Odakyu "Romancecar" through service to Kita-Senju Station was introduced.

The mountain section between Hakone-Yumoto and Gōra was closed on October 12, 2019, after severe damage caused by Typhoon Hagibis, which triggered landslides and washed away track ballast.^[1] In November 2019, the operator announced that repairs would extend into 2020. Test trains resumed on July 9, 2020, and full passenger service was restored on July 23.^[2][3]

On April 1, 2024, the operating company was renamed from Hakone Tozan Railway Co., Ltd. to Odakyu Hakone Co., Ltd., reflecting a broader reorganization within the Odakyu Group.^[4]

Operations

The 15.0-kilometre (9.3 mi) line climbs 527 metres (1,729 ft) from Odawara to Gōra while traversing Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Its alignment and infrastructure were designed to minimize environmental impact while accommodating difficult topography. The line is mostly single-track with passing loops at stations and switchbacks.

The Hakone Tozan Line consists of two operational sections:

Odawara–Hakone-Yumoto

This section is electrified at 1,500 V DC and uses 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) track. All services are operated by Odakyu Electric Railway as part of the Odakyū Odawara Line. Limited Express "Romancecar" and local services run through to and from Odawara, with some Limited Express services continuing to Shinjuku Station and, on weekends, to Kita-Senju Station via the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line. Journey time between Odawara and Hakone-Yumoto is approximately 15 minutes.

Hakone-Yumoto–Gōra

The mountain section is electrified at 750 V DC and laid to standard gauge. It is operated exclusively by Hakone Tozan Railway trains designed for mountainous terrain, including steep gradients up to 8% and tight curves with a minimum radius of 169 metres (555 ft). The section includes three switchbacks and takes approximately 40 minutes to traverse.

Stations

All stations are located in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Legend:

• ● - all trains stop
• ｜- all trains pass

No.	Station	Distance		Elevation	Stops			Transfers	Location
		Between stations	Total		Limited express	Local	Local
OH47	Odawara	0	0	26 m (85 ft)	●	●		Odakyū Odawara Line (through service) JT Tōkaidō Line (JT16) Tokaido Shinkansen Izu-Hakone Railway Daiyūzan Line (ID01)	Odawara
OH48	Hakone-Itabashi	1.7 km (1.1 mi)	1.7 km (1.1 mi)	27 m (89 ft)	|	●
OH49	Kazamatsuri	1.5 km (0.93 mi)	3.2 km (2.0 mi)	48 m (157 ft)	|	●
OH50	Iriuda	1.0 km (0.62 mi)	4.2 km (2.6 mi)	66 m (217 ft)	|	●
OH51	Hakone-Yumoto	1.9 km (1.2 mi)	6.1 km (3.8 mi)	108 m (354 ft)	●	●	●		Hakone, Ashigarashimo District
OH52	Tōnosawa	1.0 km (0.62 mi)	7.1 km (4.4 mi)	165 m (541 ft)			●
–	Deyama switchback	1.2 km (0.75 mi)	8.3 km (5.2 mi)	234 m (768 ft)			|
OH53	Ōhiradai	1.6 km (0.99 mi)	9.9 km (6.2 mi)	349 m (1,145 ft)			●
–	Kami-Ōhiradai switchback	0.5 km (0.31 mi)	10.4 km (6.5 mi)	359 m (1,178 ft)			|
–	Sennindai signal stop	0.8 km (0.50 mi)	11.2 km (7.0 mi)	410 m (1,350 ft)			|
OH54	Miyanoshita	0.9 km (0.56 mi)	12.1 km (7.5 mi)	448 m (1,470 ft)			●
OH55	Kowakidani	1.3 km (0.81 mi)	13.4 km (8.3 mi)	535 m (1,755 ft)			●
OH56	Chōkoku-no-Mori	0.9 km (0.56 mi)	14.3 km (8.9 mi)	551 m (1,808 ft)			●
OH57	Gōra	0.7 km (0.43 mi)	15.0 km (9.3 mi)	553 m (1,814 ft)			●	OH Hakone Tozan Cable Car

Signal stops

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

Deyama switchback

Signal stop with a switchback. Located at 234 metres (768 ft) above mean sea level (AMSL). Coordinates: 35°13′57″N 139°05′14″E / 35.232402°N 139.087167°E / 35.232402; 139.087167

Kami-Ōhiradai switchback

Signal stop with a switchback near Ōhiradai station which also has a switchback. Located at 359 metres (1,178 ft) AMSL. Coordinates: 35°14′08″N 139°04′32″E / 35.235604°N 139.075444°E / 35.235604; 139.075444

Sennindai signal stop

Signal stop without a switchback. Located at 410 metres (1,350 ft) AMSL. Coordinates: 35°14′18″N 139°04′09″E / 35.238215°N 139.069042°E / 35.238215; 139.069042

• 
  Deyama switchback
• 
  Kami-Ōhiradai switchback
• 
  Sennindai signal stop

Rolling stock

Hakone Tozan Railway (Hakone-Yumoto - Gōra)

MoNi 1 car at Gōra station in January 2010.

• MoHa 1 (formerly ChiKi 1, since 1919)
• MoHa 2 (formerly ChiKi 2, since 1927)
• 1000 series ("Bernina", named after the Rhätische Bahn railway of the same name in Switzerland)
• 2000 series ("St. Moritz", after the Swiss resort town and Bernina Railway terminus)
• 3000 series (since November 2014)^[5]
• 3100 series two-car EMU (since May 2017)^[6]
• MoNi 1 (non-revenue car, since 1975)

All trains are based at Iriuda Depot.

Planned

• 4000 series three-car EMU (planned for 2028)^[7]

Former

Yu 1 goods wagon at Gōra station in 1992.

• MoHa 3 (withdrawn in 1997)
• Mu 1 (goods wagon, withdrawn in 1952/1992)
• Yu 1 (goods wagon, withdrawn in 1976)

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^[8]
• Odakyu 5000 series
• Odakyu 8000 series

References

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.
4. Odakyu Hakone Holdings Co., Ltd. (24 January 2024). "小田急箱根グループの組織再編に関するお知らせ" [Notice regarding reorganization of Odakyu Hakone Group] (PDF) (in Japanese).
5. 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. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
6. 箱根登山鉄道，3100形を導入 [Hakone Tozan Railway to introduce 3100 series]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 6 December 2016. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
7. これが新たな「登山電車」!? 100歳越え電車の後継、2028年度デビュー 座席もいろいろ！ 小田急箱根 [Is this the new "mountain climbing train"?! Odakyu Hakone announces successor to the 100-year-old train will debut in 2028 with a variety of seats!]. Traffic News (in Japanese). Japan: Mediavague. 2025-12-23. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
8. "地下鉄に乗り入れなくなった関東大手私鉄車両 想定しながら乗り入れてない車両まで6選" [6 major private railway vehicles in Kanto that can no longer enter the subway]. Traffic News (in Japanese). 2021-03-20. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-04-12.

External links

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