Tobu Railway Co., Ltd.

Native name	東武鉄道株式会社
Romanized name	Tōbu Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha
Company type	PublicKK
Traded as	TYO:9001 Nikkei 225 component
Industry	Rail-focusedconglomerate
Founded	1 November 1897; 128 years ago (1897-11-01)
Headquarters	Tobu-kan, 18-12 Oshiage 2-chome, Sumida-ku, Tokyo (Registered inTokyo Skytree East Tower, 1-2 Oshiage 1-chome, Sumida-ku, Tokyo) , Japan
Area served	Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi
Key people	Nezu Kaichirō (formerRepresentative Director) Yoshizomi Nezu [jp](Chairman)[1] Yutaka Tsuzuki(President)[2] (Representative Director)
Services	Passenger railway
Total assets	¥1.3 trillion
Owner	Investment trusts (JTSB 6.13%,TMTBJ 4.19%) Fukoku Life (2.47%) SSBTC Treaty 505234 (2.26%) Mizuho Bank (2.20%)
Number of employees	3,470 (As of March 2022[update])
Subsidiaries	Various, including the operating company ofTokyo Skytree,Tobu Bus,Asahi Motor
Website	www.tobu.co.jp

TheTobu Railway Company, Ltd. (東武鉄道株式会社,Tōbu Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha) is a Japanesecommuter railway andkeiretsuholding company in theGreater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in theKantō region. Excluding theJapan Railways Group companies, Tobu's 463.3 km (287.9 mi) rail system is the second longest in Japan afterKintetsu. It serves large portions ofSaitama Prefecture,Gunma Prefecture andTochigi Prefecture, as well as northernTokyo and westernChiba Prefecture. The Tobu Railway Company is listed in the First Section of theTokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of theNikkei 225 index.

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

The name "Tobu" is formed from thekanji for east (東) andMusashi (武蔵), the initial area served.

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.^[3]

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.^[4]

In 1924, Tobu began operating its first electric train on theIsesaki Line between Asakusa (later Narihirabashi, todayTokyo Skytree Station) andNishiarai.

Tobu was the first railway in theKanto region to adopt quadruple tracks, on the Kita-Senju to Takenotsuka sector in 1974.^[5] TheTobu Dobutsu Koen (Tobu Animal Park) opened in 1981.^[6]

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

The Tobu Main Line network has atreetopology starting atAsakusa in Tokyo, with theIsesaki Line as the trunk, and theTobu Kameido Line,Daishi Line,Tobu Urban Park Line,Tobu Sano Line,Koizumi Line,Tōbu Kiryū Line, andNikkō Line forming the branches, with further branches into theTobu Utsunomiya Line andTobu Kinugawa Lines. It offers surcharged, seat-reserved limited express services from Tokyo toNikkō and Kinugawa.

TheTojo Line runs northwest fromIkebukuro in Tokyo to central and westernSaitama Prefecture. A branch, theOgose Line, runs toOgose fromSakado.

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

Name	Symbol	Stations	Length
Skytree Line		Asakusa –Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen	41.0 km (25.5 mi)
Kameido Line		Kameido –Hikifune	3.4 km (2.1 mi)
Daishi Line		Nishiarai –Daishimae	1.0 km (0.62 mi)
Isesaki Line		Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen –Isesaki	73.5 km (45.7 mi)
Sano Line		Tatebayashi –Kuzū	22.1 km (13.7 mi)
Koizumi Line		Tatebayashi –Nishi-Koizumi,Ōta –Higashi-Koizumi	12.0 km (7.5 mi)
Kiryū Line		Ōta –Akagi	20.3 km (12.6 mi)
Nikkō Line		Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen –Tōbu Nikkō	94.5 km (58.7 mi)
Utsunomiya Line		Shin-Tochigi –Tōbu Utsunomiya	24.3 km (15.1 mi)
Kinugawa Line		Shimo-Imaichi –Shin-Fujiwara	16.2 km (10.1 mi)
Urban Park Line(Formerly Noda Line)		Ōmiya –Kasukabe –Funabashi	62.7 km (39.0 mi)

Name	Symbol	Stations	Length
Tojo Line		Ikebukuro –Yorii	75.0 km (46.6 mi)
Ogose Line		Sakado –Ogose	10.9 km (6.8 mi)

As of 1 April 2016^[update], Tobu Railway operates a fleet of 1,890electric multiple unit (EMU) vehicles, the third largest fleet for a private railway operator in Japan afterTokyo Metro (2,728 vehicles) andKintetsu (1,905).^[7]

• 300/350 series EMU (introduced 1991, 300 series variant operated until 2017)
• 200/250 series EMURyōmō (introduced 1991)
• 100 series EMUSpacia (introduced 1990)
• 634 series EMUSkytree Train (introduced 2012)
• 500 series 3-car EMUs (introduced in April 2017)
• N100 series EMUSpacia X (introduced July 2023)

Eight new three-car500 series EMU trains were introduced on limited express services on lines from Asakusa on 21 April 2017.^[8]

• 
  100 series
• 
  200 series
• 
  350 seriesKirifuri limited express
• 
  634 seriesSkytree Train
• 
  A 500 series EMU in April 2017
• 
  N100 seriesSpacia X

• 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)^[9]
• 80000 series EMU (since 8 March 2025)
• 90000 series (Future)

• 
  8000 series
• 
  9000 series
• 
  10000 series
• 
  20000 series
• 
  30000 series
• 
  50000 series
• 
  60000 series
• 
  70000 series

Tobu plans to operate steam-hauled tourist services on the Kinugawa Line from 10 August 2017 usingJNR Class C11 steam locomotive C11 207 loaned fromJR Hokkaido together withJNR Class DE10 diesel locomotive DE10 1099 purchased fromJR East, a fleet of six 12 and 14 series coaches purchased fromJR Shikoku, and two Yo 8000 brake vans purchased fromJR Freight and JR East.^[10]

• 1700/1720 series
• 1800 series
• 5700 series
• 6000 series
• 6050 series

• 
  1720 series
• 
  5700 series
• 
  6000 series
• 
  6050 series

• 2000 series
• 3000 series
• 5000 series (1979–2006)
• 7300 series
• 7800 series

• 
  2000 series
• 
  3000 series
• 
  5000 series
• 
  7300 series
• 
  7800 series

• KiHa 2000 series

• 
  Preserved KiHa 2000 series DMU

• Tobu B1 Class 4-4-0 (1898)

• 
  Preserved Tobu Railway B1 Class 4-4-0

• Small, Charles S. (January 1966). "Smoke Over Sano: An illustrious breed slowly vanishes far from home".Railway Magazine. Vol. 112, no. 777. pp. 13–15.
• Terada, Hirokazu (July 2002).データブック日本の私鉄: 全国私鉄149社局掲載データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways]. Japan: Neko Publishing. pp. 56–57.ISBN 978-4-87366-874-1.

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• Japanese companies established in 1897
• Fuyo Group
• Railway companies established in 1897

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