The , officially called , is an automated

monorail A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...

in Japan, which operates between

Maihama Station is a railway station in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is most well known for being the main railway access point for the Tokyo Disney Resort. Lines The station is served by the Keiyō Line from , a ...

and the

Tokyo Disney Resort The (local nickname ''TDR'') is a theme park and vacation resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just east of Tokyo. The resort is fully owned and operated by The Oriental Land Company under a licence from The Walt Disney Company, who constru ...

. The system is operated by , the subsidiary of Oriental Land Co., Ltd. that operates the resort. Legally speaking, the line is built as a "railway", just like ordinary

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

s or

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

lines. As such, season tickets are available, and

Pasmo is a rechargeable contactless smart card electronic money system. It is primarily used for public transport in Tokyo, Japan, where it was introduced on 18 March 2007. Pasmo can also be used as a payment card for vending machines and stores. ...

and Suica IC cards can also be used on this line. In reality, the line mostly functions as the gateway attraction of the Disney Resort, and all of the stations are located on the private property of Oriental Land.

Stations

Trains on the loop line travel in one direction only, taking approximately 13 minutes to make one circuit. All trains stop at all stations.

Resort Gateway Station

Tokyo Disneyland Station

Bayside Station

Tokyo DisneySea Station

Officially, it is not possible to leave the resort from this station, but an exit does exist (from DisneySea itself), allowing access to Urayasu Heliport, Urayasu City Clean Center, Urayasu Civil Sports Park, and Urayasu Funeral Hall.

Rolling stock

The line is operated using a fleet of five unclassified 6-car "Resort Liner" monorail trains. Each train is finished in a different colour. Up to four trains operate on the loop at one time, running with a minimum

headway Headway is the distance or duration between vehicles in a transit system measured in space or time. The ''minimum headway'' is the shortest such distance or time achievable by a system without a reduction in the speed of vehicles. The precise defi ...

of approximately 3 minutes. Starting in 2020, the trains will be replaced with new sets featuring the same exterior colours.

History

The line opened to passengers on 27 July 2001, two months before the opening of

Tokyo DisneySea is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, just next to Tokyo. It opened on 4 September 2001, at a cost of 335 billion yen. The Oriental Land Company owns the park, and licenses intellectual prope ...

. The

IC card ticketing system was introduced on the line from 14 March 2009.

Fares

The line charges a flat fare of 260 yen per passenger for any trip. Guests aged 6–11 ride at half fare and under-6s may ride for free (two per paying adult). Passes valid for unlimited rides for one to four days and one, three, and six months are also sold.

Ridership statistics

The annual ridership figures for the line are as shown below.

References

External links

Official website by Oriental Land

Official website by Oriental Land

{{coord missing, Chiba Prefecture Monorails Alweg people movers Monorails in Japan Railway lines in Chiba Prefecture Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Railway lines opened in 2001 Railways of amusement parks in Japan Tokyo Disney Resort