Urban Park Line (Formally Noda Line) upgraded to elevated rail - Japan

Beta Ray Bill

Before any one says it. I know that Urban Park Line serves around 400,000 people per day and the Dart serves around 100,000. I'm not drawing comparisons but there has been talk of Track upgrades recently, so I do think the way this was done was relevant.

So I visited Japan in 2007 and commuted daily from Kashiwa to Noda. We used what was then called the Noda line. It was double and single track.

I thinking about going back and was looking at google maps only to discover that large sections of the Line have been upgraded from surface to to elevated rail.

I'm trying to find info on the project but I cannot really find anything. (would be grateful is someone had details)

It looks like they built the new track beside the existing line (using man hole cover as a reference). That would allow for minimal disruption.

2022:

https://goo.gl/maps/SnfMMrNd7y5itWMdA

2019:

https://goo.gl/maps/mVpUWXKz2YPN36ik7

TranslatorPS

Before anything else, for context here's the track plan >> https://www.haisenryakuzu.net/documents/pr/tobu/noda/

The Noda Line elevations (I refuse to call it with the UPL monicker much like I refuse to use the Skytree Line monicker for Isesaki Line) are being built in a sort of 1:1 manner, which is most curious. Tōbu essentially determined that double-tracking the line in the newly elevated sections wouldn't be worth it on their own, basically requesting the local governments to pitch in, but those refused, so they're now more or less stuck with the existing passing loop pattern, which is all the more hilarious considering that despite the single-tracking from Kasukabe to Unga, there are passing loops at every single station. Despite that, they still operate an f-10 service on the single track.

Having said that, they went to great lengths to double-track the remaining sections in the southern third of the line between Kashiwa and Funabashi, which enabled Tōbu to run a full-line Express service... which unfortunately, thanks to the single-tracking in the middle third, still serves every station from Kasukabe to Unga. Because the Express serves every station there now, this has resulted in a rather interesting service pattern: Express trains run the entire line, and Local trains run in four basic patterns: Ōmiya/Kashiwa, Kashiwa/Funabashi, Ōmiya/Kasukabe, and Unga/Kashiwa, the last two existing solely to provide a local service for each Express train skipping the stations there. With the main depot at Nanakōdai, there are of course trains terminating there, but only as needed.

All of these works are undertaken either to the side of the existing line or otherwise during night so as to not impact a single passenger service. A similar manner of works took place to elevate the Takenoshita station on the Isesaki Line, working only one track at a time – although Takenoshita is the more complex case because they had to maintain depot access there too. This is rather typical of Japanese rail works – they churn out massive manhours not through prolonged line possesions, but rather by throwing hundreds of men to do a specified task within the 4 hours or so of no service. It is unfortunately one of the reasons why night rail service just doesn't exist in Japan – there just wouldn't be any time left to maintain the tracks without disrupting the service.

Twitter's @okiraku_goraku has reported on the changes, but his Noda Line reports may be a little hard to find as he travels all over the country.