Setagaya Line

The Setagaya Line was opened by the Tamagawa Electric Railway (玉川電気鉄道, Tamagawa Denki Tetsudō; "Tamaden") in 1923, running on surface streets between Shibuya and the Tama River. Since the railway merged with Tokyu in 1938, the balance of the line closed in 1969, leaving this isolated section as the sole Tokyu line to use 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in) gauge.

The Setagaya Line and the Toden Arakawa Line (the only surviving line of the former Tokyo Toden network) are the only railway lines in Tokyo proper to be legally classified as tramways (軌道, kidō).

The line had its own smart card system called Setamaru, which cannot be used on other Tokyu lines. Since March 2007, the PASMO contactless card has also been accepted on the Setagaya and other Tokyu lines. The smart card system was abolished and merged with PASMO in 2012.

On the line, there is a pair of themed trains in operation, called the “Kofuku-no-Manekineko Densha” (the beckoning cat of good fortune train), to honour the Gotoku-ji temple, that is located between the Yamashita and the Miyanosaka stops.

The line was opened in 1925 as a branch line of the Tōkyū Tamagawa Line. Most of the Tamagawa line was closed and replaced by subways in 1969, although the line was renamed to Setagaya Line and kept in service. Although most of the line was closed due to it running on roads, causing traffic congestions, Setagaya line barely had any sections running on roads, contributing to it staying open. The line was separated from other lines owned by Tokyu until the Den-en-toshi Line opened in 1977.

Trains service the line from 4am to 0am, with an interval of 5-20 minutes. All trains stop at all stations.

Stations

All stations are located in Setagaya.

Ridership

Reference: