The Tobu Nikko Line (日光線) is a railway line run by Tobu Railway (東武鉄道). It runs from Tobu-Dobutsukoen Station in Miyashiro town, Saitama, to Tobu-Nikko Station in Nikko city, Tochigi, and branches from the Tobu Skytree Line (伊勢崎線) at Tobu-Dobutsukoen.
History
Plans for a private railway from central Tokyo to Nikko began around the end of the Meiji era. Two groups tried to build one: Tobu Railway (東武鉄道) and the Chuo Railway (中央鉄道), which was later renamed the Musashi Railway (武州鉄道). Tobu's first plan, in the early Taisho era, aimed to extend from Kuzu Station on the Sano Line (佐野線) toward Nikko. That route crossed mountains, so Tobu chose a branch north from Sugito Station instead. Sugito Station was renamed Tobu-Dobutsukoen Station in 1981. The Chuo Railway planned a route from Kitasenju Station through Hatogaya and Iwatsuki. A route from Okuwa, near Hanazaki Station, to Fujioka was also considered for a time, but it ran through a thinly populated area. One account says the line used Satte, Kurihashi and Koga instead, old post towns on the Nikko road with more people. Railway licences were then issued in steps. On 30 September 1912 a licence covered a section from Kuzu Town to Kikusawa village, both in Tochigi. On 18 December 1919 a licence covered Kanuma Town to Nikko Town. On 19 July 1923 a licence covered a section from Hyakuma village in Saitama to Ienaka village in Tochigi. The 1912 and 1919 licences together matched the full length of today's Nikko Line. On 5 May 1924 the licence for the section from Tanuma Town to Ienaka village was cancelled.
Tobu started building in 1923. Its new line branched from its existing line, so it needed less new track. Tobu had grown into a core firm of the Nezu group, which gave it the money to pay for construction. The Chuo Railway, later the Musashi Railway, had to build its whole line from zero. It began work at Ayase village, now Hasuda, and opened the Hasuda to Iwatsuki section in 1924. Tobu opened the whole line during 1929. Sugito to Shin-Kanuma opened on 1 April 1929. Shin-Kanuma to Shimo-Imaichi opened on 7 July, and Shimo-Imaichi to Tobu-Nikko opened on 1 October. Yagyu and Myojin stations opened on 1 November 1929. From the start the line was double track and electrified. Trains ran through from the first Asakusa Station (now Tokyo Skytree Station) on the Tobu Skytree Line. The line ran electric trains over 100 km. Japanese Wikipedia says this was among the few such long electric runs in the 1930s and 1940s.
In 1939 a train derailed in Nikko town on 12 October and fell into a riverbed. 18 people died and 87 were hurt. During the Second World War the line was treated as a non-essential route to tourist places. The part north of Aiba Station became single track from 19 January 1943 to 21 June 1945. Some of its equipment was reportedly moved to the Koizumi and Kumagaya lines. On 8 August 1945 Tobu-Noguchi Station opened to carry workers to war factories. It closed that same month after the war ended. After the war, double track was restored in stages. Shimo-Imaichi to Tobu-Nikko came first, on 15 September 1955. Myojin to Shimo-Imaichi followed on 24 March 1956. In 1963 two more sections were restored: Shimo-Oshiro to Myojin on 22 June, and Itahana to Shimo-Oshiro on 21 September. Kita-Kanuma to Itahana was restored on 1 May 1964. Shin-Kanuma to Kita-Kanuma followed on 18 September 1965. On 20 July 1973 the section from Aiba to Shin-Kanuma was restored, which made the whole line double track again.
The National Railways (国鉄) Nikko Line had opened before Tobu's line, and the two lines competed for traffic between Tokyo and Nikko. From the opening into the 1950s, Tobu ran 5700 series and 1720 series DRC limited express trains. The National Railways used Kiha 55 series and 157 series trains. In 1958 Tobu started a sightseeing semi-rapid (準快速) service, using 5310 and 3210 series cars. The name lasted until 6000 series trains took over rapid service. On 1 March 1964 the 6000 series began running as rapid trains. Reserved seats were added to some rapid trains on 31 May 1964, and they were dropped in 1976. At Tobu-Nikko Station passengers once changed to the Nikko tram line (日光軌道線). The tram ended on 25 February 1968. The cable car from Umagaeshi Station up to Akechi-daira ended on 1 April 1970. Only the Akechidaira Ropeway (明智平ロープウェイ) still runs. In 1982 the National Railways ended regular express trains on the Nikko Line. After the bubble economy collapsed in 1991 and overseas trips became common, fewer tourists visited, and traffic to Nikko and Kinugawa stopped growing.
On 26 August 1986, Sugito-Takanodai Station and Minami-Kurihashi Station opened. On 9 October 1986 the Yagan Railway (野岩鉄道) Aizu-Kinugawa Line opened, and some rapid trains were extended to Aizu-Takayama Station. On 12 October 1990 the Aizu Railway (会津鉄道) Aizu Line was electrified, and rapid trains were extended to Aizu-Tajima Station. Limited express trains began running at 120 km/h on 21 September 1992. On 25 March 1997 Itakura Toyo Daigaku-mae Station opened. It was the first station on the line in Gunma Prefecture. On 11 May 2000 Tochigi Station was moved onto an elevated structure. On 19 March 2003 through services began with the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line (半蔵門線) and the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line, between Chuo-Rinkan and Minami-Kurihashi. On 18 March 2006 a connecting track at Kurihashi with the JR Utsunomiya Line let limited express trains run from JR Shinjuku Station to Tobu-Nikko and Kinugawa-Onsen. JR East began these through services. On the same day, all paid trains were made limited express services, and other train types were renamed.
On 11 March 2011 the Tohoku earthquake (東北地方太平洋沖地震) stopped services with the Hibiya Line, the Hanzomon Line and the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line, along with the Aizu lines and limited express trains. On 14 March, rolling blackouts ordered by Tokyo Electric Power to cover a power shortage stopped these services again. Services came back in stages. The Aizu lines resumed on 20 March, the Spacia Kinu limited express on 22 March, the Hibiya Line on 28 March, and the Hanzomon and Den-en-toshi lines on 2 April. On 11 April a large earthquake, thought to be an aftershock, stopped them again. JR-through limited express trains resumed on 29 April. On 4 June, 253 series trains replaced 485 series on the JR-through express trains, and two sets were added. On 27 June, a power-use order cut some weekday daytime local trains between Minami-Kurihashi and Shin-Tochigi. Station numbering was introduced on 17 March 2012. One round trip of the AIZU Mountain Express rapid train ran through to Tobu-Nikko. On 22 May 2012 daytime cuts were lifted when Tokyo Skytree Town opened. On 16 March 2013 the Hibiya Line through service was extended to Minami-Kurihashi. On 10 September 2015 heavy rain in Kanto and Tohoku brought soil into the yard at Shimo-Oshiro Station and washed soil away between Shin-Kanuma and Kita-Kanuma. Services between Minami-Kurihashi and Tobu-Nikko were suspended. Sections resumed on 11 September, and the whole line resumed on 18 September. On 21 April 2017 the timetable changed, and Liberty limited express services began: Liberty Kegon, Liberty Kinu and Liberty Aizu. Rapid and section rapid trains were dropped across the line. Express and section express services were added north of Minami-Kurihashi. At Minami-Kurihashi, ordinary trains that need no extra fare were split into separate services. On 12 October 2019, Typhoon No. 19 (令和元年東日本台風) suspended the whole line. Track ballast washed out near Shizuwa Station and between Shin-Ohirashimo and Tochigi. An embankment collapsed at Kurokawa Bridge between Kita-Kanuma and Itahana. Services resumed in stages from 13 October. The line was fully open on 24 October, including JR-through limited express trains.
On 6 June 2020 a timetable change ended the Shimotsuke limited express and added more through trains from Minami-Kurihashi to Tobu-Utsunomiya. One-man operation (ワンマン運転) with 20400 series trains began between Minami-Kurihashi and Tochigi. On 12 March 2022 one-man operation with 20400 series trains began between Shin-Tochigi and Tobu-Nikko. Section express trains north of Minami-Kurihashi were removed and became ordinary trains. The AIZU Mountain Express no longer ran through to Tobu-Nikko. Hibiya Line through services were limited to the morning and evening rush, while more daytime trains ran through to the Hanzomon Line. On 20 August 2026, a Spacia X train hit four men aged 53 to 67 who were cutting grass as the train entered Shin-Kanuma Station. All four were taken to hospital, and all four were confirmed dead.
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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.