Odakyu Electric Railway

Odakyu Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (小田急電鉄株式会社, Odakyū Dentetsu Kabushiki-gaisha), or OER, is a major railway company based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for its Romancecar series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone.

The Odakyu Electric Railway forms the core of the Odakyu Group, which comprises 102 companies (as of August 1, 2012) and includes the Enoshima Electric Railway, Hakone Tozan Railway, Odakyu Bus, Odakyu Department Store, and Hyatt Regency Tokyo hotel.

History

The 83 km line from Shinjuku to Odawara opened for service on April 1, 1927. Unlike the Odawara line, rarely were pre-WWII Japanese private railways constructed with double-track and fully electrified from the first day of operation. Two years later, April 1, 1929, the Enoshima Line was added.

The original full name of the railroad was Odawara Express Railway Co., Ltd. (小田原急行鉄道株式会社, Odawara Kyūkō Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha), but this was often shortened to Odawara Kyūkō (小田原急行, "Odawara Express"). The abbreviation Odakyu was made popular by the title song of the 1929 movie Tokyo Kōshinkyoku and eventually became the official name of the railroad on March 1, 1941.