Toden Arakawa Line

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.

Toden Arakawa Line
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)
Locale	Tokyo
Termini	Waseda Minowabashi
Stations	30
Service
Type	Tram / light rail
History
Opened	1911; 114 years ago (1911) (Ōji Electric Tram Company, Otsuka-ekimae – Asukayama) 1974; 51 years ago (1974) (Arakawa Line)
Technical
Line length	12.2 km (7.6 mi)
Track gauge	1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in)
Electrification	Overhead line, 600 V DC

Station list

Map

All stations are located in Tokyo.

No.	Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Transfers	Location
			Between stations	Total
SA01	Minowabashi	三ノ輪橋	-	0.0	H Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (Minowa: H-20)	Arakawa
SA02	Arakawa-itchūmae	荒川一中前	0.3	0.3
SA03	Arakawa-kuyakushomae	荒川区役所前	0.3	0.6
SA04	Arakawa-nichōme	荒川二丁目	0.4	1.0
SA05	Arakawa-nanachōme	荒川七丁目	0.4	1.4
SA06	Machiya-ekimae	町屋駅前	0.4	1.8	KS Keisei Main Line (Machiya: KS04) C Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line (Machiya: C-17)
SA07	Machiya-nichōme	町屋二丁目	0.4	2.2
SA08	Higashi-ogu-sanchōme	東尾久三丁目	0.3	2.5
SA09	Kumanomae	熊野前	0.6	3.1	NT Nippori-Toneri Liner (NT04)
SA10	Miyanomae	宮ノ前	0.4	3.5
SA11	Odai	小台	0.3	3.8
SA12	Arakawa-yūenchimae	荒川遊園地前	0.3	4.1
SA13	Arakawa-shakomae	荒川車庫前	0.5	4.6
SA14	Kajiwara	梶原	0.4	5.0		Kita
SA15	Sakaechō	栄町	0.5	5.5
SA16	Ōji-ekimae	王子駅前	0.5	6.0	JK Keihin-Tōhoku Line (Ōji: JK36) N Tokyo Metro Namboku Line (Oji: N-16)
SA17	Asukayama	飛鳥山	0.5	6.5
SA18	Takinogawa-itchōme	滝野川一丁目	0.4	6.9
SA19	Nishigahara-yonchōme	西ヶ原四丁目	0.4	7.3
SA20	Shin-kōshinzuka	新庚申塚	0.4	7.7	I Toei Mita Line (Nishi-sugamo: I-16)	Toshima
SA21	Kōshinzuka	庚申塚	0.2	7.9
SA22	Sugamoshinden	巣鴨新田	0.5	8.4
SA23	Ōtsuka-ekimae	大塚駅前	0.5	8.9	JY Yamanote Line (Ōtsuka: JY12)
SA24	Mukōhara	向原	0.5	9.4
SA25	Higashi-ikebukuro-yonchōme	東池袋四丁目	0.6	10.0	Y Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line (Higashi-ikebukuro: Y-10)
SA26	Toden-zōshigaya	都電雑司ヶ谷	0.2	10.2
SA27	Kishibojimmae	鬼子母神前	0.5	10.7	F Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line (Zoshigaya: F-10)
SA28	Gakushūinshita	学習院下	0.5	11.2
SA29	Omokagebashi	面影橋	0.5	11.7		Shinjuku
SA30	Waseda	早稲田	0.5	12.2

Rolling stock

• 7700 series (since 31 May 2016)^[2]
• 8500 series
• 8800 series
• 8900 series (since 18 September 2015)^[3]
• 9000 series

• 
  7700 series tram 7701 in July 2016
• 
  8500 series tram 8502 in June 2003
• 
  8800 series tram 8804 in September 2010
• 
  8900 series tram 8901 in September 2015
• 
  9000 series trams 9001 and 9002 in February 2009

Former rolling stock

• 7000 series (1955 until 10 June 2017)^[4]
• 7500 series

• 
  7000 series tram 7015 in June 2009
• 
  7500 series tram 7520 in March 2011

History

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

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."^[5]

Notes

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