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 , an ...
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 ticket
A season ticket, or season pass, is a ticket that grants privileges over a defined period of time.
History
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has illustrative quotations which show the term ''season ticket'' used in the United States in 1820 ...
s 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
is a prepaid rechargeable contactless smart card, electronic money used as a fare card on train lines in Japan, launched on November 18, 2001. The card can be used interchangeably with JR West's ICOCA in the Kansai region and San'yō region i ...
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 proper ...
.
The
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. ...
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.
See also
*
Disneyland Monorail System
The Disneyland Monorail System (originally named the Disneyland ALWEG Monorail System) is an attraction and transportation system at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, United States. It was the first daily operating monorail in the W ...
*
Monorails in Japan {{short description, Wikimedia list article
Here is a list of monorails in Japan.
Currently operational
*Tokyo Monorail: Tokyo, 1964. One of the world's most commercially successful monorail lines, carrying around 100 million passengers yearly.
*Ta ...
*
Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Rail transport can be found in every theme park resort property owned or licensed by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, one of the four business segments of the Walt Disney Company. The origins of Disney theme park rail transport can be t ...
*
Walt Disney World Monorail System
The Walt Disney World Monorail System is a public transit monorail system in operation at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. The Walt Disney World Resort currently operates twelve Mark VI monorail trains on three ...
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