The ōbuTōjōis a suburban railway line in Japan which runs from Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, Tokyo to Yorii Station in Yorii, Saitama, operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway. Its official name is the , but it is referred to as on Tobu signage and publicity information.
The Tojo Line and Tobu Ogose Line branch are isolated from other Tobu lines, such as the Isesaki Line and Nikko Line; some trains can however be transported between the Tojo Line and the rest of the Tobu network via the track connections with the Chichibu Main Line while on the ATS-Chichibu-type. There was a plan to connect between Nishiarai on the Isesaki Line and Kami-Itabashi on the Tojo Line, but this was never built.
The name of the line comes from the original plan to construct a line linking with (an old province now Gunma Prefecture).
Stations
Abbreviations: L = (some to/from the Fukutoshin Line and Yūrakuchō Line) SE = E = (some to/from the Fukutoshin Line) RE = (some to/from the Fukutoshin Line) KL = TJ = TJ Liner (morning "up" services and evening "down" services) FL = F Liner () to/from the Fukutoshin Line, Tokyu Toyoko Line, and Minatomirai Line The line is operated as two sections: Ikebukuro-Ogawamachi and Ogawamachi-Yorii. There are no through services between the sections.
Notes
Former connecting lines
Kami-Itabashi Station: The Tobu Keishi Line operated to the Grant Heights USAF housing complex (present-day Hikarigaoka) between 1943 and July 1959.
Rolling stock
Past rolling stock
Tobu 3000 series EMUs
Tobu 5000 series EMUs
Tobu 5310 series EMUs (on Flying Tojo limited express services from 1949) Tobu 7300 series EMUs Tobu 7800 series EMUs Tokyo Metro 7000 series 8-car EMUs (between Wakoshi and Shiki, until April 2022) Tokyo Metro 7000 series 10-car EMUs (between Wakoshi and Ogawamachi, until October 2021) Tokyo Metro 07 series EMUs (between Wakōshi and Kawagoeshi, until October 2007)
Rolling stock depots
The main maintenance depot for the line is Shinrin-kōen Depot, to the north of Shinrin-kōen Station. This opened in March 1971, and as of December 2013 has an allocation of 678 vehicles (the entire fleet used on the Tojo Line and Ogose Line). A smaller maintenance depot is also located at Kawagoe, on the south side of Kawagoeshi Station. This was the main maintenance depot from the time the line first opened in 1914 until the larger facility at Shinrin-kōen was built in 1971. Kawagoe Depot still carries out lighter maintenance and inspection duties. A stabling yard is located to the south of Shimo-Itabashi Station. Built in 1935, this is capable of stabling eight 10-car trains, and is used for stabling trains close to Ikebukuro outside the peak hours.
Crew operation
The line is operated by two-person crews (except for the section between Ogawamachi and Yorii, which is one-person operated). Crews report to either Shiki, Kawagoeshi, or Shinrin-kōen stations. Mainline crew changeovers take place in Ikebukuro Station, Wakōshi Station, Kawagoeshi Station, or Shinrin-kōen Station. Changeovers at Wakōshi are only for through trains from Tokyo Metro lines, where Tobu Railway and Tokyo Metro crews change each other. Crews may have to travel by scheduled trains in order to reach a handover point, particularly crews picking up trains in Wakōshi, or Shiki crews. Handovers in Ikebukuro are to facilitate short turnaround times while allowing crews to take brief breaks.
History
On 1 May 1914, the opened the section between Ikebukuro and (located between the present stations of Kawagoeshi and Kasumigaseki). The Tokyo terminus of the line was originally planned to be at , and this is where, even today, the "0 km" post for the line is located (with Ikebukuro Station marked by km post "-1.9"). The section from Shimo-Itabashi to Ikebukuro was initially treated as a light railway extension of the main line. Two years later, the line was extended from Kawagoemachi (now Kawagoeshi) to Sakadomachi (now Sakado), and at the same time, the section between Kawagoemachi and Tanomosawa was abandoned.
In 1920, the Tojo Railway was absorbed into the Tobu Railway, and in 1923, the line was extended from Sakadomachi to Ogawamachi. In 1925, the line was further extended from Ogawamachi to Yorii, completing the present-day Tobu Tojo Line. While the original plan had been to extend the line as far as Gunma Prefecture, the connection at Yorii did at least allow for through operations via the Chichibu Railway.