The is a subway line in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator

Toei Subway The is one of two subway systems in Tokyo, the other being Tokyo Metro. The Toei Subway lines were originally licensed to the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (the predecessor of Tokyo Metro) but were constructed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government ...

. The line runs between in Ōta and in Sumida. The line is named after the

Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History The ...

district, a cultural center of Tokyo, under which it passes. The Asakusa Line was the first subway line in Japan to offer

through services A through service is a concept of passenger transport that involves a vehicle travelling between lines, networks or operators on a regularly specified schedule, on which the passenger can remain on board without alighting. It may be in form of eith ...

with a

private railway A private railway is a railroad run by a private business entity (usually a corporation but not need be), as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector. Japan In Japan, , commonly simply ''private railway'', refers to a public transit railway o ...

. Today, it has more through services to other lines than any other subway line in Tokyo.

Keikyu (), also known as or, more recently, , is a private railroad that connects inner Tokyo to Kawasaki, Yokohama, Yokosuka and other points on the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture. It also provides rail access to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. mea ...

operates through trains on the

Keikyu Main Line (), also known as or, more recently, , is a private railroad that connects inner Tokyo to Kawasaki, Yokohama, Yokosuka and other points on the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture. It also provides rail access to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. mea ...

to and the

Keikyu Airport Line (), also known as or, more recently, , is a private railroad that connects inner Tokyo to Kawasaki, Yokohama, Yokosuka and other points on the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture. It also provides rail access to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. mea ...

to . The

Keisei Electric Railway The (stylized as K'SEI since 2001) is a major private railway in Chiba Prefecture and Tokyo, Japan. The name ''Keisei'' is the combination of the kanji 京 from and 成 from , which the railway's main line connects. The combination uses diffe ...

operates through trains on the

Keisei Oshiage Line The is a railway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by private railway company Keisei Electric Railway. It connects Oshiage Station in Sumida and Aoto Station in Katsushika. The Oshiage Line passes through areas typical of Tokyo's '' shitamachi' ...

to and the

Keisei Main Line {{Infobox rail line , name = Keisei Main Line , native_name = 京成本線 , native_name_lang = ja , color = 005aaa , logo = {{KSLS, KS, 50 , logo_width = , image = Keisei-Series3000-3042.jpg , image_width = 3 ...

to , and the

Shibayama Railway is a third-sector railway company in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It operates Japan's shortest independent railway line,� ...

runs trains via the Keisei Main Line and the

Shibayama Railway Line is a third-sector railway company in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It operates Japan's shortest independent railway line,� ...

to . Via its through services with Keisei and Keikyu, the Asakusa line is the only train line that offers a direct connection between Tokyo's two main airports. The Asakusa Line is often split into two routes: Oshiage–Sengakuji and Sengakuji–Nishi-magome; only some trains make all station stops on the line, as many trains travel on the Keikyu Main Line south of Sengakuji. On maps and signboards, the line is shown in the color rose (O). Stations carry the letter "A" followed by a two-digit number inside a more reddish vermilion circle ().

Services

* Local (普通 ''futsū'') trains operate between Nishi-Magome and Sengakuji approximately every ten minutes and are timed to connect to Keikyu through service trains at Sengakuji. * Rapid service (快速 ''kaisoku'') trains operate between Nishi-Magome and Keisei Sakura Station approximately every twenty minutes. They make all station stops on the Asakusa Line. * Limited Express (快特 ''kaitoku'') trains operate approximately every twenty minutes. They generally use Keikyu rolling stock and have a southern terminus at

Misakiguchi Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Miura, Kanagawa, Japan, operated by the private railway company Keikyū. Lines Misakiguchi Station is the southern terminus of the Keikyū Kurihama Line, and is located 13.4 km from th ...

Keikyu Kurihama Station (), also known as or, more recently, , is a private railroad that connects inner Tokyo to Kawasaki, Yokohama, Yokosuka and other points on the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture. It also provides rail access to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. mea ...

. They operate as Limited Express trains only on the Keikyu line, and provide local service on the Asakusa Line and Keisei Oshiage Line. Their northern terminus is generally either

Aoto Station is a railway station in Katsushika, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway. The station is served by the Keisei Main Line and the Keisei Oshiage Line. Layout The station has two island platforms on diff ...

Keisei Takasago Station is a railway station in Katsushika, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway and Hokuso Railway. Lines Keisei Takasago Station is served by the following lines. * Keisei Main Line * Keisei Kanamachi Line * ...

, but select trains operate to

Narita International Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...

. * Limited Express (快特 ''kaitoku'') trains operate approximately every twenty minutes and make all stops (local service) on the Asakusa Line, providing Limited Express service on the Keikyu line between Sengakuji and . Their northern terminus is usually either

Inzai-Makinohara Station is a passenger railway station in the city of Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the third-sector railway operator Hokusō Railway. Lines Inzai-Makinohara Station is served by the Hokusō Line and is located 28.5 kilometers from th ...

Inba-Nihon-Idai Station is a junction passenger railway station located in the city of Inzai, Chiba, Japan, operated jointly by the third-sector railway operator Hokusō Railway and the private railway company Keisei Electric Railway. Lines Inba-Nihon-Idai Station i ...

on the Hokuso Railway. * Airport Limited Express (エアポート快特 ''eapōto kaitoku'') trains operate approximately every twenty minutes, and skip certain stations while operating on the Asakusa Line. Their northern terminus alternates between "Access Express" (アクセス特急 ''akusesu tokkyū'') service to

and Limited Express service to either Aoto or Takasago. The total travel time from Haneda Airport to Narita Airport on this train is approximately one hour and 46 minutes.

Station list

* All stations are located in Tokyo. * The ''Airport Limited Express/Access Express'' stops at stations marked "●", skips those marked ", ". All other services stop at every station.

Rolling stock

A variety of rolling stock is in use due to the large number of through service operators on the line, all of which use

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

tracks and 1,500 V DC electrification via

overhead line An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipmen ...

s. Currently, six operators run trains onto the Asakusa Line, the most of any Tokyo subway line, and the line is unique as the only subway line in Tokyo with through services onto standard gauge railways (all other through services are with narrow gauge lines).

Toei

File:Toei-Type5319-8.jpg, A Toei 5300 series EMU File:Toei-Type5525-8.jpg, A Toei 5500 series EMU * Toei 5300 series * Toei 5500 series

Keisei Electric Railway

File:Keisei 3000 Series 3033F 20191002.jpg, A Keisei 3000 series EMU File:Keisei-Series3053.jpg, A Keisei 3050 series EMU File:Keisei-Type3100-3151.jpg, A Keisei 3100 series EMU File:Keisei 3400 series Keisei Main Line 20170921.jpg, A Keisei 3400 series EMU File:Keisei 3600 Series 3658F ltd.exp.jpg, A Keisei 3600 series EMU File:Keisei-Series3700-3701.jpg, A Keisei 3700 series EMU *

Keisei 3000 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway on commuter services in the Tokyo area of Japan since 2003. A total of 19 eight-car sets and 29 six-car sets have been built by ...

Keisei 3050 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway on commuter services in the Tokyo area of Japan since 2003. A total of 19 eight-car sets and 29 six-car sets have been built b ...

Keisei 3100 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway on Narita Sky Access Line services.The top speed of Keisei 3100 series is 120 km/h. Formation the fleet consists of six 8-car s ...

Keisei 3400 series The is a three-door commuter electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway in the Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ...

Keisei 3600 series The is a commuter electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway in the Tokyo area of Japan since 1982. The trains were built to replace the former 210 and 700 series. Operation The Ke ...

Keisei 3700 series The is a commuter electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway in the Tokyo area of Japan since 1991. Operations The 3700 series eight-car sets operate on the Keisei Main Line betwee ...

Keikyu

File:Keikyu-Type600-608-1.jpg, A Keikyu 600 series EMU File:Keikyu-Type1000-176.jpg, A Keikyu N1000 series EMU File:Keikyu 1500 Series EMU 015.JPG, A Keikyu 1500 series EMU *

Keikyu 600 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Keikyu on commuter services in the Tokyo area of Japan. First introduced in 1994, a total of eight 8-car sets and six 4-car sets were built by Tokyu Car ...

Keikyu N1000 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Keikyu on commuter services in the Tokyo area of Japan since 2002.

Keikyu 1500 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by private railway operator Keikyu on commuter services in the Tokyo area of Japan since 1985. Operations The eight-car sets are primarily used on limited-stop "Rapid Limited Express" ...

Hokuso Railway

File:Hokuso-Series7311.jpg, A Hokuso 7300 series EMU File:Hokuso-7500 7502.jpg, A Hokuso 7500 series EMU *

Hokuso 7300 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter train type operated by the Hokuso Railway on the Hokuso Line in Japan since 1992. Design Based on the Keisei 3700 series design, two eight-car sets were introduced in 1992. Four further sets, n ...

Hokuso 7500 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter train type operated by the Hokuso Railway on the Hokuso Line in Japan since 2006. Design The design is based on the Keisei 3000 series. Formation , the fleet consists of three eight-car sets for ...

Chiba New Town Railway

File:Hokuso-Series9101.jpg, A Chiba New Town Railway 9100 series File:Hokuso 9200 series 9201F 20190321.jpg, A Chiba New Town Railway 9200 series EMU File:Chiba-New-Town Series9801.jpg, A Chiba New Town Railway 9800 series * Chiba New Town Railway 9100 series * Chiba New Town Railway 9200 series *

Chiba New Town Railway 9800 series The is a commuter electric multiple unit (EMU) train type owned by the third-sector railway company Chiba New Town Railway and operated by the Hokuso Railway on the Hokuso Line in Japan since 21 March 2017. The sole eight-car trainset, 980 ...

Shibayama Railway

File:Series 3600 of Shibayama Railways.jpg, A Shibayama 3600 series EMU * Shibayama 3600 series

Former rolling stock

* Toei 5000 series * Toei 5200 series *

Keikyu 1000 series The was a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type formerly operated by the private railway operator Keikyu on commuter services in the Tokyo area of Japan from 1959 until June 2010. Operations The trains were used on the Keikyu Main Line, ...

* Keisei 3000 series (original type) * Keisei 3050 series (original type) * Keisei 3100 series * Keisei 3150 series * Keisei 3200 series * Keisei 3300 series *

Keisei 3500 series The is a commuter electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway in the Tokyo area of Japan since 1972. Operations The 3500 series sets operate on the Keisei Main Line. The eight-car ...

* Hokuso 7000 series * Hokuso 7050 series * Hokuso 7150 series * Hokuso 7250 series *

Hokuso 7260 series The was a commuter electric multiple unit (EMU) train type owned and operated by the third-sector railway company Hokuso Railway on the Hokuso Line in Japan from March 2006 until March 2015. The single eight-car train was formed from two for ...

Chiba New Town Railway 9000 series The was a commuter electric multiple unit (EMU) train type formerly owned by the third-sector railway company Chiba New Town Railway and operated by the Hokuso Railway on the Hokuso Line in Japan from 1984 until 20 March 2017. Formation T ...

History

The Toei Asakusa Line was the first subway line constructed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The line number is Line 1, because it was technically the first subway line in Tokyo to be planned in the 1920s as an underground route connecting the

and

via , eventually allowing for through trains between these two railways. In its original plan form, the line would have actually bypassed

Asakusa Station is a railway station in the Asakusa district of Taitō, Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tobu Railway, Tokyo Metro, and Toei Subway. It formed one terminus of the original subway line in Tokyo, now the Ginza Line. Station layout There is a connect ...

entirely. However, the plan was changed to take advantage of the existing

Tobu Isesaki Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway company Tobu Railway, extending from Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen Station in Saitama to Isesaki Station in Gunma Prefecture. The Isesaki Line can refer to the entire section between Asakusa ...

(section now named as the

Tobu Skytree Line The is a section of the Tobu Isesaki line operated by the private railway company Tobu Railway, extending from Asakusa Station in Tokyo to Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen Station in Saitama Prefecture. Some trains from the line continue to the Tokyo Metr ...

) and

Tokyo Metro Ginza Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The official name is . It is 14.3 km long and serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chūō, Chiyoda, and Taitō. It is the oldest subway line in Asia. The line was named af ...

connections at Asakusa. Construction of this line began on August 27, 1956 after years of delays, and the initial 3.2 km segment between Oshiage and Asakusabashi opened on December 4, 1960. The line then opened in stages from north to south: * May 1962: Asakusabashi to Higashi-Nihombashi * September 1962: Higashi-Nihombashi to Ningyōchō * February 1963: Ningyōchō to Higashi-Ginza * December 1963: Higashi-Ginza to Shimbashi * October 1964: Shimbashi to Daimon * June 1968: Daimon to Sengakuji (Through service with Keikyū begins) * November 15, 1968: Sengakuji to Nishi-Magome The line was named Asakusa Line on July 1, 1978. From 1998 to 2002, the Asakusa Line was used as part of a rail connection between Tokyo's two major airports,

Haneda , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

and Narita. While a few trains still run between the airports, the service has greatly diminished in frequency since 2002. In 2005, a research group of government, metropolitan and railway company officials proposed that the Asakusa Line be connected to

Tokyo Station Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is ...

via a spur to the north of Takarachō Station. This would provide Tokyo Station's first direct connection to the Toei subway network. It would also make it possible to reach Haneda Airport in 25 minutes (versus 35 minutes today) and Narita Airport in 40 minutes (versus 57 minutes today). This plan has yet to be finalized or formally adopted. Authorities are re-considering a similar plan as part of the infrastructure improvements for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

; the proposed line would cut travel time to Haneda from 30 minutes to 18 minutes, and to Narita from 55 minutes to 36 minutes, at a total cost of around 400 billion yen.

References

External links

Bureau of Transportation, Tokyo Metropolitan Government
{{Tokyo transit

Railway lines in Tokyo Standard gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1960 1500 V DC railway electrification 1960 establishments in Japan