Toden Arakawa Line

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Toden Arakawa Line
Tokyo Sakura Tram symbol.svg
Toei 8809 Arakawa-shako-mae 2014-09-08.jpg
A Toei 8800 series tram at Arakawa-shakomae in September 2014
Overview
Other name(s)Tokyo Sakura Tram
Native name都電荒川線
Owner Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei)
LocaleTokyo
Termini
Stations30
Service
Type Tram / light rail
History
Opened1911;114 years ago (1911)
(Ōji Electric Tram Company, Otsuka-ekimae – Asukayama)
1974;51 years ago (1974)
(Arakawa Line)
Technical
Line length12.2 km (7.6 mi)
Track gauge 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in)
Electrification Overhead line,  600 V DC

The Toden Arakawa Line [a] , branded as the Tokyo Sakura Tram, [b] [1] is a hybrid tram/light rail line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). The line is the sole survivor of Tokyo's once-extensive Tokyo Toden tram system and one of the only two light rail lines in Tokyo, besides the Setagaya Line.

Contents

Station list

Map TodenArakawaline linemap English.jpg
Map

All stations are located in Tokyo.

No.StationJapaneseDistance (km)TransfersLocation
Between
stations		Total
SA01 Minowabashi 三ノ輪橋-0.0H Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (Minowa: H-20) Arakawa
SA02 Arakawa-itchūmae 荒川一中前0.30.3 
SA03 Arakawa-kuyakushomae 荒川区役所前0.30.6 
SA04 Arakawa-nichōme 荒川二丁目0.41.0 
SA05 Arakawa-nanachōme 荒川七丁目0.41.4 
SA06 Machiya-ekimae 町屋駅前0.41.8
SA07 Machiya-nichōme 町屋二丁目0.42.2 
SA08 Higashi-ogu-sanchōme 東尾久三丁目0.32.5 
SA09 Kumanomae 熊野前0.63.1NT Nippori-Toneri Liner (NT04)
SA10 Miyanomae 宮ノ前0.43.5 
SA11 Odai 小台0.33.8 
SA12 Arakawa-yūenchimae 荒川遊園地前0.34.1 
SA13 Arakawa-shakomae 荒川車庫前0.54.6 
SA14 Kajiwara 梶原0.45.0  Kita
SA15 Sakaechō 栄町0.55.5 
SA16 Ōji-ekimae 王子駅前0.56.0
SA17 Asukayama 飛鳥山0.56.5 
SA18 Takinogawa-itchōme 滝野川一丁目0.46.9 
SA19 Nishigahara-yonchōme 西ヶ原四丁目0.47.3 
SA20 Shin-kōshinzuka 新庚申塚0.47.7I Toei Mita Line (Nishi-sugamo: I-16) Toshima
SA21 Kōshinzuka 庚申塚0.27.9 
SA22 Sugamoshinden 巣鴨新田0.58.4 
SA23 Ōtsuka-ekimae 大塚駅前0.58.9JY Yamanote Line (Ōtsuka: JY12)
SA24 Mukōhara 向原0.59.4 
SA25 Higashi-ikebukuro-yonchōme 東池袋四丁目0.610.0Y Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line (Higashi-ikebukuro: Y-10)
SA26 Toden-zōshigaya 都電雑司ヶ谷0.210.2 
SA27 Kishibojimmae 鬼子母神前0.510.7F Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line (Zoshigaya: F-10)
SA28 Gakushūinshita 学習院下0.511.2 
SA29 Omokagebashi 面影橋0.511.7  Shinjuku
SA30 Waseda 早稲田0.512.2 

    Rolling stock

    Former rolling stock

    History

    A tram near Asukayama Station in 1985. 1985toden.png
    A tram near Asukayama Station in 1985.

    The line was originally constructed by the Ōji Electric Tram Company (王子電気軌道, Ōji-denki-kidō) as a part of their extensive network, with the oldest section still operating today opened in 1913. The line was at threat of being shut down along with the rest of Tokyo's streetcar system in the 1960s, but concerted opposition from residents prevented this and parts of lines 27 (Minowabashi-Akabane) and 32 (Arakawa-Waseda) were merged to form the line as it is today. The line was sold to the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation in 1974, which renamed it the Toden Arakawa Line.

    The Toden Arakawa Line operates between the terminals at Minowabashi Station and Waseda Station. It runs along Meiji Street between Asuka-yama Station and Oji Eki-mae Station. Otherwise, it operates on its own tracks. Presently, single driver-operated cars make the 12.2 km (7.6 mi) trip in 50 minutes. The gauge is 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in). The line is fully double-track, and draws 600 V electrical supply.

    Two Toden Arakawa trams (one in revenue earning service, the other undergoing brake testing) collided on 13 June 2006 near the Minowabashi terminus, injuring 27 people.

    Sights

    A Toden Arakawa line tram, near Kishibojinmae Station Toden Arakawa Tram Near Kishibojinmae Station.jpg
    A Toden Arakawa line tram, near Kishibojinmae Station

    The Toden Arakawa Line operates in northern and eastern Tokyo outside the main tourist areas. The terminus at Minowabashi is near the historical site of Edo's red-light district Yoshiwara which features a completely covered shopping street, several blocks long, in the once common "Ameyoko" style (a shōtengai).

    In literature

    In Haruki Murakami's novel Norwegian Wood , protagonist Toru Watanabe takes the line to near Ōtsuka Station: "I sat in the last seat and watched the ancient houses passing close to the window. The tram almost touched the overhanging eaves.... The tram snaked its way through this private back-alley world." [6]

    Notes

    1. ↑ Japanese: 都電荒川線, Hepburn: Toden Arakawa-sen
    2. ↑ 東京さくらトラム, Tōkyō Sakura Toramu

    References

    1. ↑ 都電荒川線の愛称を決定しました！ (in Japanese). Japan: Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
    2. ↑ 都電荒川線で7701号車が営業運転を開始 [Car 7701 enters service on Toden Arakawa Line]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
    3. ↑ 都電荒川線で8900形が営業運転を開始 [8900 series enter service on Toden Arakawa Line]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
    4. ↑ さようなら都電荒川線7000形 60年余の運行の歴史に幕 [farewell to Toden Arakawa Line 7000 series – closing the curtain on 60 years of service]. Nifty News (in Japanese). Japan: Nifty Corporation. 12 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
    5. ↑ 都電荒川線7500形 3月13日引退 [Toden Arakawa Line 7500 series to be withdrawn on 13 March]. Tetsudo.com (in Japanese). Japan: Asahi Interactive Inc. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
    6. ↑ p. 84, Vintage Books edition.
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