is a Japanese commuter railway and keiretsu holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longest in Japan after Kintetsu. It serves large portions of Saitama Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture and Tochigi Prefecture, as well as northern Tokyo and western Chiba Prefecture. Tobu Railway Company is listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 index.

The Tobu corporate group is also engaged in road transportation (bus/taxi), real estate, and retail. It is the owner of the Tokyo Skytree, the third tallest tower in the world. The company is a member of the Fuyo Group keiretsu.

The name "Tobu" is formed from the kanji for and , the initial area served.

History Tobu is one of the oldest railway companies in Japan. It was established in November 1897 and began operation between Kita-Senju and Kuki in August 1899. The Tojo Railway was founded in 1911 as a separate company, but shared its president and head office with Tobu.

In 1905, Nezu Kaichirō became the president of Tobu Railway and successfully helped to grow the company to one of the largest private rail operators in the Kanto region.

In 1924, Tobu began operating its first electric train on the Isesaki Line between Asakusa (later Narihirabashi, today Tokyo Skytree Station) and Nishiarai.

Tobu was the first railway in the Kanto region to adopt quadruple tracks, on the Kita-Senju to Takenotsuka sector in 1974. Tobu Zoo, a combination of a zoo and an amusement park, opened in 1981.

Railway network

Tobu has two isolated networks which are connected by the Chichibu Railway for ferrying of its rolling stock.

The Tobu Main Line network has a tree topology starting at in Tokyo, with the Isesaki Line as the trunk, and the Tobu Kameido Line, Daishi Line, Tobu Urban Park Line, Tobu Sano Line, Koizumi Line, Tōbu Kiryū Line, and Nikkō Line forming the branches, with further branches into the Tobu Utsunomiya Line and Tobu Kinugawa Lines. It offers surcharged, seat-reserved limited express services from Tokyo to Nikkō and Kinugawa.

The Tojo Line runs northwest from in Tokyo to central and western Saitama Prefecture. A branch, the Ogose Line, runs to from .

Tobu's terminals in Tokyo are at (Main Line express services), (most other Main Line services) and (Tojo Line). The Skytree and Isesaki Lines interoperate with the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line and the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line to serve central, southwestern Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, while the Tojo Line interoperates with the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line, Tokyu Toyoko Line and Minatomirai Line to serve central and southwest Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture.

Main lines Name Symbol Stations Length Tobu Skytree Line – Kameido Line – Daishi Line – Isesaki Line – Sano Line – Koizumi Line – , – Kiryū Line – Nikkō Line – Utsunomiya Line – Kinugawa Line – Tobu Urban Park Line (Noda Line) – –

Tobu Tojo lines Name Symbol Stations Length Tojo Line – Ogose Line –

Rolling stock , Tobu Railway operates a fleet of 1,890 electric multiple unit (EMU) vehicles, the third largest fleet for a private railway operator in Japan after Tokyo Metro (2,728 vehicles) and Kintetsu (1,905).

Express EMUs

300/350 series EMU (introduced 1991, 300 series variant operated until 2017) 200/250 series EMU Ryōmō (introduced 1991) 100 series EMU Spacia (introduced 1990) 634 series EMU Skytree Train (introduced 2012) 500 series 3-car EMUs (introduced in 21 April 2017) N100 series EMU Spacia X (introduced 15 July 2023)

Eight new three-car 500 series EMU trains were introduced on limited express services on lines from Asakusa on 21 April 2017.

Commuter EMUs 8000 series EMU (introduced 1963) 800/850 series EMU 9000 series EMU (introduced 1981) 10000 series EMU (introduced 1983) 20000 series EMU (introduced 1988) 30000 series EMU (introduced 1996) 50000 series EMU (introduced 2005) 60000 series EMU (introduced June 2013) 70000 series EMU (since 7 July 2017) 80000 series EMU (since 8 March 2025) 90000 series (Future)

Steam locomotive Tobu operates steam-hauled tourist services on the Kinugawa Line since 10 August 2017 using JNR Class C11 steam locomotive C11 207 loaned from JR Hokkaido together with JNR Class DE10 diesel locomotive DE10 1099 purchased from JR East, a fleet of six 12 and 14 series coaches purchased from JR Shikoku, and two Yo 8000 brake vans purchased from JR Freight and JR East. Since 2022, it also operates C11 325 that was acquired from the Mooka Line and C11 123 which was restored entirely by the railway.

Withdrawn types

Express EMUs 1700/1720 series 1800 series 5700 series 6000 series 6050 series

Commuter EMUs 2000 series 3000 series 5000 series (1979–2006) 7300 series 7800 series

DMUs KiHa 2000 series

Steam locomotives Tobu B1 Class 4-4-0 (1898)

References

Further reading

External links