Enoshima Electric Railway

The Enoshima Electric Railway or Enoshima Dentetsu Line (江ノ島電鉄, Enoshima dentetsu), also known by the abbreviation Eno-den (江ノ電), is a Japanese railway which connects Kamakura Station in Kamakura with Fujisawa Station in Fujisawa, Kanagawa. Stations en route include Hase, the stop closest to Kōtoku-in, the temple with the colossal outdoor statue of Amida Buddha. The railway is fully owned by the Odakyu Group of companies.

Enoshima Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
Overview
Parent companyOdakyu Group
Headquarters4-7 Katasekaigan, Fujisawa City[1]
LocaleFujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
Dates of operationNovember 25, 1900; 124 years ago (1900-11-25)[1]–present
Technical
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification600 V DC, overhead line
Length10.0 km (6.2 miles)
Other
Websitewww.enoden.co.jp
Route map

Left arrowTōkaidō Main LineRight arrow
Left arrowOdakyū Enoshima Line
0.0
Fujisawa (藤沢)
0.6
Ishigami (石上)
1.2
Yanagikōji (柳小路)
1.9
Kugenuma (鵠沼)
2.7
Shōnankaigankōen (湘南海岸公園)
Company Headquarters
3.3
Enoshima (江ノ島)
3.9
Koshigoe (腰越)
4.7
Kamakurakōkōmae (鎌倉高校前)
5.6
Shichirigahama (七里ヶ浜)
6.8
Inamuragasaki (稲村ヶ崎)
7.6
Gokurakuji (極楽寺)
8.3
Hase (長谷)
8.9
Yuigahama (由比ヶ浜)
9.2
Wadazuka (和田塚)
Up arrowYokosuka Line
to Tokyo
10.0
Kamakura (鎌倉)
Down arrowYokosuka Line
Kurihama
A train on the Enoshima Electric Railway

Route and operations

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Enoshima Electric Railway route

The route is 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) long and has a rail gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in). It is single-track; however, five of the route's fifteen stations are equipped with passing loops, allowing for the operation of bi-directional traffic. Included in the route is a short (450-metre (1,480 ft)) section of street running between Koshigoe and Enoshima stations. However, the entire line is governed under the Railway Business Act (鉄道事業法, Tetsudō Jigyō Hō) of the Japanese government, being granted an exception to allow for street running (the only other examples of street-running 'railways' being the Keihan Keishin Line, Keihan Ishiyama-Sakamoto Line and the Kumamoto Electric Railway). Trains are electrically powered from 600 V DC overhead lines. The section from Kamakura Station to Koshigoe is in the city of Kamakura; that from Enoshima to Fujisawa Station is in the city of Fujisawa.

Stations

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Enoshima Station, 2024

The entire line is in Kanagawa Prefecture

No Station Japanese Distance (km) Transfers Location
Between
stations
Total
  Fujisawa 藤沢 0.0 Fujisawa
  Ishigami 石上 0.6 0.6
  Yanagikōji 柳小路 0.6 1.2
  Kugenuma 鵠沼 0.7 1.9
  Shōnankaigankōen 湘南海岸公園 0.8 2.7
  Enoshima 江ノ島 0.6 3.3
  Koshigoe 腰越 0.6 3.9 Kamakura
  Kamakurakōkōmae 鎌倉高校前 0.8 4.7
  Shichirigahama 七里ヶ浜 0.9 5.6
  Inamuragasaki 稲村ヶ崎 1.2 6.8
  Gokurakuji 極楽寺 0.8 7.6
  Hase 長谷 0.7 8.3
  Yuigahama 由比ヶ浜 0.6 8.9
  Wadazuka 和田塚 0.3 9.2
  Kamakura 鎌倉 0.8 10.0

Rolling stock

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As of 1 April 2015, Enoden operates a fleet of 15 two-car electric multiple unit (EMU) train types as shown below.[2][3]

Type Car numbers Manufacturer Date built Notes
300 series 305 355 Toyoko Sharyo May 1960 Rebuilt from former Keio DeHa 2000.
1000 series 1001 1051 Tokyu Car November 1979
1002 1052 November 1979
1100 series 1101 1151 December 1981
1200 series 1201 1251 December 1983
1500 series 1501 1551 November 1979
1502 1552 November 1979
2000 series 2001 2051 March 1990
2002 2052 March 1991
2003 2053 July 1991
10 series 10 50 March 1997
20 series 21 61 March 2002 Used running gear from former 500 series.
22 62 March 2003
500 series 501 551 March 2006
502 552 March 2008

Former rolling stock

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  • 500 series

Buses

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Enoden operates buses from stations like Kamakura

Enoden also operates bus service in the area.

History

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The original Enoshima Electric Railway opened the line on 1 September 1902.[4]

The company subsequently went through a series of ownership changes: Yokohama Electric Railway Co. in 1911, Tokyo Electric Power Co. in 1921, (second) Enoshima Electric Railway Co. in 1926, Tokyu Corporation in 1938, Enoshima Kamakura Tourist Co. in 1949, and Odakyu Electric Railway Co. in 1953. The (third) Enoshima Electric Railway Co. was formed on 1 September 1981 as a subsidiary of Odakyu.[4]

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Gokurakuji Station is one of the settings for the 2015 film Our Little Sister.[5][unreliable source?]

Japanese alternative rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation's fifth studio album, Surf Bungaku Kamakura (released 2008), had each track named after a stop on the railway line starting with Fujisawa and ending with Kamakura. The band has since announced a continuation of this album for the rest of the stations that did not originally have a song, starting withYanagikōji Parallel Universe releasing as a B-side track in 2022.

Anime

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The Enoshima Electric Railway and its rolling stock painted in the company's green-and-yellow colours have made numerous appearances in Japanese animated series, including those adapted from manga and light novel series such as:[6]

Video games

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References

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This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

  1. ^ a b "Company Information". Enoshima Electric Railway Ltd. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ 私鉄車両編成表 2015 [Private Railway Rolling Stock Formations - 2015] (in Japanese). Japan: Kotsu Shimbunsha. 23 July 2015. p. 83. ISBN 978-4-330-58415-7.
  3. ^ 路面電車年鑑2015 [Tramcar Annual 2015] (in Japanese). Japan: Ikaros Publishing. 20 January 2015. p. 48. ISBN 978-4863209527.
  4. ^ a b Terada, Hirokazu (19 January 2013). データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways] (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing. p. 79. ISBN 978-4-7770-1336-4.
  5. ^ "Go To the Shooting Locations of Our Little Sister and Experience Where the Sisters Lived Their Daily Lives! - GOOUME JP". GOOUME_JP. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Anime, movie and drama location on Enoshima and Kamakura". 30 January 2024.

Further reading

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  • Fukaya, Kenji (2015). 江ノ電 10kmの奇跡 [Enoden - The 10 km Miracle] (in Japanese). Japan: Toyo Keizai Inc. ISBN 9784492502761.
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