The Minatomirai 21 Line (みなとみらい21線 ''Minato-mirai-21-sen''), commonly known as the Minatomirai Line (みなとみらい線 ''Minatomirai-sen''), is a subway line in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

that runs from

Yokohama Station is a major interchange railway station in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. It is the busiest station in Kanagawa Prefecture and the fifth-busiest in the world as of 2013, serving 760 million passengers a year. Lines Yokohama Station is served by the ...

Motomachi-Chūkagai Station is an underground railway station on the Minatomirai Line subway in Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by the third-sector railway operating company Yokohama Minatomirai Railway Company. It is numbered "MM06", and its off ...

through the Minatomirai 21 business district. The line opened in 2004 and is operated by the

Yokohama Minatomirai Railway Company The is a third-sector railway company funded by the city of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Tokyu Corporation. The company oversees the Minatomirai Line The Minatomirai 21 Line (みなとみらい21線 ''Minato-mirai-21-sen''), commonly ...

. Maps and

station number Station numbering is a sign system which assigns station codes consisting of a few letters and numbers to train stations. It aims to facilitate navigation for foreign travelers not familiar with the local language by using globally understood c ...

ing use navy blue and the route symbol MM to identify the line. The entire line is underground and goes under the Minato Mirai and

Kannai is a district in Naka Ward, Yokohama, Japan, bounded by the Ōoka River, JR Negishi Line, Nakamura River, and Yokohama waterfront. "Kannai" is not an official name of the area, but the common term of reference has been in use for over a centur ...

districts, as well as numerous islands made of soft

reclaimed land Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lak ...

and

channels Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

, requiring stations to be constructed deep underground. The original above-ground section of the

Tōkyū Tōyoko Line The is a major railway line connecting Tokyo (Shibuya) to Yokohama. The line is owned and operated by the private railway operator Tokyu Corporation. The name of the line, ''Tōyoko'' (東横), is a combination of the first characters of ''Tōky ...

between

and Sakuragichō stations was abandoned and replaced with a new underground connector line to allow

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 ...

onto the newly completed Minatomirai Line.

Operations

All trains run from Yokohama Station to

and vice versa, with no trains stopping and changing direction at any station in between.

Staffing/Operational management

Operations are managed by Tokyu Railways, with no changing of staff at Yokohama Station; Tokyu staff (train drivers and conductors) continue to support the train over the Minatomirai portion of the line as well. Station-side staffing is provided by Minatomirai employees with the exception of Yokohama Station, which is managed by Tokyu Railways. Many Minatomirai employees are former employees of Tokyu Railways. Train management is controlled by

at an operational command center. Railway facilities are maintained by Yokohama Minatomirai Railway, but the actual maintenance work is contracted to Tokyu Railways employees. Because Yokohama Minatomirai Railway does not own its own rail yard, trains are parked overnight at Tokyu Railways' Motosumiyoshi Rail Yard and at Motomachi-Chūkagai Station. There are plans to construct a portion of track for parking additional trains underneath Harbor View Park starting in 2020.

Through services with the Tōkyū Tōyoko Line

The Minatomirai Line is essentially an extension of the

. The two lines operate as one, with no crew change at Yokohama station where trains cross between the two lines, in contrast to standard procedure with other line operators in Japan.

Through services with Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line

With the completion of the underground link line to the

Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line The , formally the , is a subway line operated by Tokyo Metro in west-central Tokyo and Wako, Saitama, Japan. The newest line in the Tokyo subway network, it opened in stages between 1994 and 2008. On average, the Fukutoshin line carries 362,654 ...

on March 16, 2013, Minatomirai Line trains run onto the Fukutoshin Line via the Tōkyū Tōyoko Line and beyond to the

Tōbu Tōjō Line The is a 75.0 km suburban railway line in Japan which runs from Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, Tokyo to Yorii Station in Yorii, Saitama, operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway. Its official name is the , but it is referred to ...

Seibu Yūrakuchō Line The is an underground commuter railway line operated by the private railway operator Seibu Railway in Japan. The line links the Seibu Ikebukuro Line at Nerima Station with the Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line and Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line at K ...

, and

Seibu Ikebukuro Line The is a railway line of the Japanese private railway operator Seibu Railway. It originates at Ikebukuro Station, a large railway junction in north-western Tokyo, extending to northwest suburbs as far as Tokorozawa, Saitama, and nominally ter ...

. Along with the link to the Fukutoshin Line being established, Tōkyū Tōyoko and Minatomirai express trains (limited express/commuter limited express/express) were expanded from eight-car to ten-car configuration (with the exception of a portion of regular express trains). Platforms were extended at Minatomirai stations receiving express trains in order to be able to accommodate the extended ten-car configuration. Regular trains stopping at each station on the line continue to operate in the eight-car configuration.

Train services

All regular trains on the Minatomirai Line use the same services as the Tōyoko Line.

S-train

The S-train is the first service on the Minatomirai Line with fully reserved seating. On weekends and holidays it makes two and a half round trips (to Motomachi-Chūkagai Station twice and from the same station three times). All trains continue to the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, and one round trip begins and ends at the

Seibu Chichibu Line The is a railway line in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, operated by Seibu Railway. It is an extension of the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, and connects Agano Station and Seibu-Chichibu Station. Stations All trains go via Agano Station to the Seibu Ike ...

Seibu-Chichibu Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Chichibu, Saitama, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Seibu Railway. Lines Seibu-Chichibu Station is the terminus station of the Seibu Chichibu Line, and is located 19.0 k ...

. Within the Minatomirai Line, these trains stop at Minatomirai Station and Motomachi-Chūkagai Station, but tickets are not sold for final destinations at these stations. S-train services use the

Seibu 40000 series The is a commuter electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Seibu Railway in Japan since March 2017. a total of 13 ten-car trainsets have been built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Kobe from 2016, with th ...

train exclusively.

Limited express

trains run during daylight hours during the week and at all times excepting early morning and late night on weekends and holidays. The trains use 10 cars. Limited express trains stop at Yokohama Station, Minatomirai Station, and Motomachi-Chūkagai Station within the Minatomirai Line.

Commuter Limited Express

operate during the morning rush hour and in the evening on weekdays. The trains use 10 cars and stop at all stations on the Minatomirai Line with the exception of Shin-Takashima Station. Many trains continue to the Fukutoshin Line via the Tōyoko Line as Commuter Express services.

Express

operate all day long. The trains top at all stations on the Minatomirai Line with the exception of Shin-Takashima Station. Daytime trains use 8 cars, but 10 cars may be used during peak hours in the morning and evening.

Local

trains stop at all stations. Eight cars are used to align with the Tōkyū, Yokohama, and Tokyo Metro lines.

Female-only car

In conjunction with the Tokyu Tōyoko Line, the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, and the Tōbu Tōjō Line, the first car is a female-only car during certain times of the day to prevent sexual harassment.

Stations

Key: *O: Trains stop at this station *, : Trains do not stop at this station

Rolling stock

Tokyu 5000 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Tokyu Corporation since 2002 on many of its commuter lines in the Tokyo area of Japan. Design First introduced in 2002, the design is based on the JR Ea ...

8-car EMUs * Tokyu 5050 series 8-car EMUs * Tokyu 5050-4000 series 10-car EMUs * Y500 series 8-car EMUs * Tokyo Metro 10000 series 10-car EMUs (since September 2012) *

Tokyo Metro 17000 series The is a Japanese DC electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter train type operated by Tokyo Metro on the Yūrakuchō Line and Fukutoshin Line to replace the ageing Tokyo Metro 7000 series. It entered service on 21 February 2021. Operations 1700 ...

8/10-car EMUs (since February 2021) *

Tobu 9000 series The is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter train type operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway in Japan since 1981. Operations First entering service in 1981 on the Tobu Tojo Line, this was the first stainless steel EMU ty ...

10-car EMUs (since March 2013) * Tobu 50070 series 10-car EMUs (since March 2013) *

Seibu 6000 series The is a Japanese electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the private railway operator Seibu Railway. Twenty-five 10-car sets were manufactured by Tokyu Car Corporation and Hitachi between 1992 and 1998. Featuring several advances ...

10-car EMUs (since March 2013) *

10-car EMUs (since March 25, 2017) * Seibu 40050 series 10-car EMUs (since 2019) File:Tokyu-Series5050-4000.jpg, Tokyu 5050-4000 series File:Yokohama-Series-Y501.jpg, Y500 series File:Tokyo-Metro-Series7000 7130.jpg, Tokyo Metro 7000 series File:Tokyo-Metro-Series10110.jpg, Tokyo Metro 10000 series File:Tobu-Series9151F.jpg, Tobu 9000 series File:Tobu-51076 Toyoko-Line.jpg, Tobu 50070 series File:Seibu-Series6000-6055F.jpg, Seibu 6000 series File:Seibu 40101 S-Train 20170422.jpg, Seibu 40000 series

History

Construction of the line started in 1993, and the line was opened to the public on 1 February 2004. The eight-car Tokyo Metro 10000 series entered service on the Minatomirai Line and

Tokyu Toyoko Line Tokyu may refer to: * Tokyu Group, a group of companies centered on Tokyu Corporation ** Tokyu Corporation, a Japanese railway company, the largest member and parent company of the group ** Tokyu Car Corporation, a former Japanese railway vehicle m ...

from 7 September 2012.

References

External links

Minatomirai Line Official Website

{{Rapid transit in Asia 2004 establishments in Japan Railway lines opened in 2004 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan 1500 V DC railway electrification Japanese third-sector railway lines