The Noda Line (野田線), also called the Tobu Urban Park Line (東武アーバンパークライン), is a railway line run by Tobu Railway (東武鉄道). It runs from Ōmiya Station in Saitama City through Kasukabe in Saitama and Kashiwa to Funabashi Station in Funabashi City, Chiba.
History
Chiba Prefecture first planned the line. On 3 August 1910 it applied to the railway ministry for a licence to build a light railway between Noda Town and Chiyoda Village. The first plan was a gauge of 600 mm, but the Noda soy-sauce brewers' group argued that goods wagons could not run directly onto the Jōban Line at Kashiwa. The gauge was changed to 1,067 mm. The line opened as the Chiba Prefectural Railway Noda Line from Noda Station to Kashiwa on 9 May 1911, a length of 14.7 km. Two other companies planned links: the Funabashi Railway for Funabashi to Kashiwa, and the Iwatsuki Electric Railway for Ōmiya to Kasukabe. Both lost their licences in 1918 after disputes and lack of funds. In 1921 the prefecture decided to sell the line. The Hokuso Railway (北総鉄道) was founded in 1922 to run it and to build a new Funabashi to Kashiwa line. It bought the Noda Line in August 1923, and the Funabashi Line opened on 27 December 1923.
In 1926 the company was given a licence on 31 May for a new line from Noda to Ōmiya on the Tohoku Line. Construction began in 1928. The Noda to Shimizu-kōen section opened on 1 September 1929. Kasukabe to a temporary Ōmiya stop opened on 17 November 1929, and this was the company's first electric train service. The company was renamed Sōbu Railway (総武鉄道) on 22 November 1929. Electric trains ran into Ōmiya from 9 December 1929. The line opened in full on 1 October 1930, from Kasukabe to Shimizu-kōen, with through trains from Ōmiya to Kashiwa.
On 28 December 1943 Tobu Railway's shareholders approved a merger with Sōbu Railway. On 1 March 1944 Tobu Railway took over the Sōbu Railway under the Land Transport Business Adjustment Act (陸上交通事業調整法), and the lines became the Tobu Noda Line and Funabashi Line. The Funabashi to Kashiwa section was electrified on 1 March 1947. On 16 April 1948 the Funabashi Line was merged into the Noda Line, so the route from Ōmiya to Funabashi became one line.
Double tracking began on 26 September 1957 between Kita-Ōmiya and Ōmiya-kōen. Shin-Funabashi Station opened on 15 September 1956, and Edogawadai Station on 16 February 1958. The 3000 series began running in May 1965. On 3 October 1967 Ōmiya Station moved to its present site and became a station run by the company alone. On 6 April 1968 the Ōmiya to Kita-Ōmiya section was double-tracked. Ground equipment for automatic train stop (ATS) was installed between Ōmiya and Nanakōdai on 1 April 1970, and from Nanakōdai to Funabashi on 1 October 1970. The 8000 series began running in June 1977, the first air-conditioned car on the line.
On 17 December 1980 the line between Tsukada and Funabashi was raised onto an elevated track under a grade separation project. The route length became 62.7 km, after 62.8 km in January 1979. The last freight train ran on 5 March 1985, and freight service on the whole line ended on 14 March 1985. On 1 December 1992 the large 20 m cars were all air-conditioned, and the line was sped up. Shin-Kamagaya Station opened on 25 November 1999. On 14 October 2001 the Shin-Kamagaya to Makomizawa section was raised onto an elevated track. On 18 October 2004 the 5070 series was withdrawn, and all trains became 8000 series. The maximum speed was raised from 90 km/h to 100 km/h.
On 9 May 2011 the Noda Line marked 100 years since its opening. Station numbering began on 17 March 2012. The 10030 series began on 20 April 2013, and the 60000 series, the first new type since the merger with Tobu Railway, began on 15 June 2013. On 22 March 2014 the first Tobu platform doors were installed at Funabashi Station. On 1 April 2014 the nickname Tobu Urban Park Line was introduced. Express (急行) trains started on 26 March 2016. On 21 April 2017 the limited express Urban Park Liner was introduced, running from Asakusa to Ōmiya and Noda-shi, and from Ōmiya to Unga Station. On 15 December 2019 double tracking between Takayanagi and Mutsumi completed the double track between Kashiwa and Funabashi.
On 14 March 2020 section express trains began running between Ōmiya and Kashiwa, and the Urban Park Liner bound for Noda-shi was extended to Kashiwa. On 16 March 2024 the limited express Urban Park Liner was stopped. On 8 March 2025 five-car trains and the 80000 series began service. On 8 September 2026 facial-recognition ticket gates started at Funabashi and Makomizawa stations.
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Written by an AI from the line's history on Japanese Wikipedia, nothing else, and checked by a program for dates and numbers that are not in those facts. It can still be wrong. Adapted from Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0; this text is shared under the same licence.