Monday 20 March 2017

Two Kinds of Sceneries on the Enoden Line

EMU Enoden 10 series travels on the shared track near Koshigoe Station

Enoden, Enoshima Electric Railway, is a local line in Kanagawa Prefecture. It was opened in 1902 as a route to the famous sightseeing spots such as beautiful Enoshima Island and historical Kamakura City. Connecting Fujisawa and Kamakura, its route length is 10 km. The track is 1,067 mm-size single. The electric system is 600 V DC overhead. Trains are operated frequently, every 12 minutes during daytime, but it is always crowded with sightseers, local people, and students. The number of foreign passengers has increased drastically in the past several years.

Enoden is quite a unique railway, since passengers can enjoy two kinds of contrasting sceneries on its short route. One is crowded, and the other one is magnificent. They are exactly contrary to each other.

The former scenery is found on the section between Enoshima and Koshigoe stations. The track is shared with a busy public road there. Passengers can see the train weaving its way through the crowded automobiles. It is a quite thrilling scene. People's lives along the track are also seen closely.

The latter is found on the section between Koshigoe and Kamakura-koko-mae (Kamakura high school) stations. The train runs fast in the breeze on the exclusive track along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Passengers can enjoy the magnificent scenery of the beautiful ocean. Enoshima Island is also beautiful and a good accent there.

Enoden, it is a cost-effective railway for passengers, who would like to enjoy a variety of sceneries from the train windows.

EMU Enoden 1000 series travels on the coast near Kamakura-koko-mae Station.