() is a private railway operator 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, and the central firm of the that is involved in

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

and other industries. The name is derived from taking one character each from the places through which the railway runs: and . The Keio railway network connects the western suburbs of Tokyo (

Chōfu is a city in the western side of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 238,087, and a population density of 11,000 per km². the total area of the city is . Geography Chōfu is approximately in the south-center of ...

, Fuchū,

Hachiōji is a Cities of Japan, city located in the Western Tokyo, western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 561,344, and a population density of 3000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography ...

Hino Hino may refer to: Places Estonia * Hino, Põlva County * Hino, Võru County ** Lake Hino Japan * Hino, Shiga * Hino, Tokyo * Hino, Tottori ** Hino District, Tottori ** Hino River Transportation * Hino Motors, a Japanese truck manufacturer o ...

Inagi file:Inagi City Hall.jpg, 270px, Inagi City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 92,585 in 41,592 households, and a population density of 5200 persons ...

, Tama) and

Sagamihara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 723,470, with 334,812 households, and a population density of 1,220 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Sagamihara is the third-most-populous city ...

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

with central Tokyo at

Shinjuku Station is a major railway station in the Shinjuku and Shibuya wards in Tokyo, Japan. In Shinjuku, it is part of the Nishi-Shinjuku and Shinjuku districts. In Shibuya, it is located in the Yoyogi and Sendagaya districts. It is the world's busiest rai ...

Lines

The Keio network is based around the central

Keiō Line The is a 37.9-km railway line in western Tokyo, Japan, owned by the private railway operator Keiō Corporation. It connects Shinjuku, Tokyo, with the suburban city of Hachiōji. The Keiō Line is part of a network with interchanges and throug ...

, , 32 stations. The Keio Inokashira Line does not share track with the Main Line. It intersects with the Keio Line at

Meidaimae Station is a railway station in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keio Corporation. Lines Meidaimae Station is served by the Keio Line from in Tokyo, and by the 12.7 km Keio Inokashira Line from in Tokyo to . On th ...

History

The company's earliest predecessor was the founded in 1905. In 1906 the company was reorganized as the , and in 1910 was renamed yet again to . It began operating its first stretch of

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

between Sasazuka and Chōfu in 1913. By 1923, Keiō had completed its main railway line (now the

) between

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

and

. Track along the Fuchū – Hachiōji section was originally laid in 1,067 mm

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...

by the ; it was later changed to match the rest of the line's 1,372 mm gauge. The Inokashira Line began operating in 1933 as a completely separate company, . This company had also planned to link with Suzaki (now

Kōtō is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward located in Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Kōtō City in English. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 488,632, and a population density of 12,170 pers ...

ward), though this never materialized. In 1940, Teito merged with the

Odakyu Electric Railway , commonly known as Odakyū, 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 Company fo ...

, and in 1942 the combined companies were merged by government order into (now

Tokyu Corporation The is a Japanese multinational ''keiretsu'' ( conglomerate) holding company headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. Its main operation is , a wholly owned subsidiary operating railways in the Greater Tokyo Area. History The oldest predecessor ...

In 1947, the shareholders of Tokyu voted to spin off the Keio and Inokashira lines into a new company, . The Teito name was dropped in 1998 in favor of , though "KTR" placards and insignia can still be seen occasionally. The company's English name was changed to Keio Corporation on June 29, 2005.

Priority seats

Keiō was among the first railway companies to introduce priority seats on its trains. Priority seats are those reserved for the physically handicapped, elderly, pregnant women, and people with infants. These special seats, which were initially called "Silver seats" but renamed in 1993, were inaugurated on

Respect for the Aged Day is a public holiday in Japan celebrated annually to honor elderly citizens. It started in 1966 as a national holiday and was held on every September 15. Since 2003, Respect for the Aged Day is held on the third Monday of September due to the Ha ...

on September 15, 1973.

Rolling stock

All Keio trains have longitudinal (commuter-style) seating.

gauge lines

7000 series 7000 series may refer to: Japanese trains * Chichibu Railway 7000 series electric multiple unit (EMU) * Echizen Railway 7000 series EMU * Hankyu 7000 series EMU * Hokushin Kyuko Electric Railway 7000 series EMU operating for the Kobe Municipal S ...

(since 1984) * 8000 series (since 1992) * 9000 series (since 2001) * 5000 series (2nd generation) (since 2017) The first of a fleet of five new ten-car 5000 series EMUs was introduced on 29 September 2017, ahead of the start of new evening reserved-seat commuter services from Shinjuku in spring 2018. File:Keio7711F.jpg, 7000 series (8-car set) File:Keio Series8000.jpg, 8000 series (10-car set) File:Keio 9000 series 9794F Kawasaki 2016-07-10 (28350676376).jpg, 9000 series (10-car set) File:Keio_5734_Extra_Semi_Express_20190202.jpg, 5000 series (II)

gauge lines

* 1000 series (2nd generation) (since 1996) File:Keio1703F.jpg, 1000 series (II)

Former rolling stock

gauge lines

* 5000 series (from 1963 until 1996) * 6000 series (from 1972 until 2011) File:Keio-5721.jpg, 5000 series (I) File:Keio6721tamazootrain.JPG, 6000 series (4-car set)

gauge lines

* 1000 series (from 1957 until 1984) * 3000 series (from 1962 until 2011) File:Ktr1000.JPG, 1000 series (I) File:Keio3729F.JPG, 3000 series (refurbished)

Related companies

Transport

Mitake Tozan Railway The is a Japanese transport company in Ōme, Tokyo. It belongs to the Keio Group. The company operates a funicular line and a chairlift, both in Mount Mitake. The company was founded in 1927. Funicular line The funicular line is commonly known ...

Keio Dentetsu Bus is a core bus-operating company of the Keio Group which was established on February 1, 2002, inherited business all of the Keio Electric Railway (present Keio Corporation) automobile operation division and started business on August 1 of the sam ...

Nishi Tokyo Bus is a bus-operating company in western Tama Area, mainly in Hachioji and Akiruno, Tokyo, Japan. It has in a subsidiary which once took charge of bus routes in western Hachioji area and Ome area, and expressway bus routes. Although it now belongs ...

Retail

* Keio Department Store * Keio Store

Other

* Keio Realty and Development * Keio Travel Agency *

Keio Plaza Hotel is a chain of hotels in Japan, the largest of which is its flagship hotel in the Nishi-Shinjuku district in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The Keio Plaza Hotel was partially destroyed in the 1984 film ''The Return of Godzilla'' and the 1991 film ''Godzi ...

* Keio Construction

References

External links

* {{Authority control Transport companies based in Tokyo Western Tokyo