The is a mostly-underground rubber-tyred

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 ...

system in

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

Hokkaido is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

, Japan. Operated by the

Sapporo City Transportation Bureau Sapporo City Transportation Bureau (札幌市交通局, ''Sapporo-shi Kōtsū-kyoku'') is a public organization of transportation in Sapporo, Japan. The organization operates subways and a tram. It was founded in 1927, when the city took private ...

, it is the only subway system on the island of Hokkaido.

Lines

The system consists of three lines: the green Namboku Line (North-South line), orange Tozai Line (East-West line), and blue Tōhō Line (North East Line). The first, the Namboku Line, was opened in 1971 prior to the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Euro ...

. The Sapporo City Subway system operates out of two main hubs: Sapporo Station and Odori Station. Most areas of the city are within a reasonable walking distance or short bus ride from one of the subway stations. The three lines all connect at Odori Station and with the

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a sm ...

main lines at

Sapporo Station is a railway station in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It is served by Hakodate Main Line and other lines of Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), and is also connected to the Subway Sapporo Station. Sapporo Station is the starting p ...

. At Odori and Susukino stations, it connects to the streetcar (tram) above. The system has a total length of 48 km with 46 stations. Except for the section of the Namboku Line south of Hiragishi Station, the tracks and stations are underground; despite being aboveground, this section of the Namboku Line is entirely covered, including the stations, the depot access tracks, and the depot south of Jieitai-Mae Station.

Technology

All lines of the subway use rubber-tired trains that travel on two flat

roll way A roll way or running pad is the pad placed on a concrete slab or on the ties on the outside of the conventional track along both running rails of a rubber-tyred metro or along the unconventional track of a tram. The rubber-tyred wheels roll d ...

s, guided by a single central rail. This system is unique among subways in Japan and the rest of the world; while other rubber-tired metro networks, including smaller

automated guideway transit An automated guideway transit (AGT) or automated fixed-guideway transit or automatic guideway transit system is a type of fixed guideway transit infrastructure with a riding or suspension track that supports and physically guides one or more dr ...

lines such as the

Port Liner The , commonly known as is an urban automated guideway transit (AGT) system in Kobe, Japan, operated by Kobe New Transit. Opened in 1981, the Port Liner was the world's first driverless urban transit system, a few years ahead of the VAL syst ...

, use

guide bar The rubber-tyred metro systems that incorporate track have angle irons as guide bars, or guiding bars, outside of the two roll ways. The Busan Subway Line 4, that lacks a rail track, has I-beams installed as guide bars. The flanges are vertic ...

s, the Sapporo system does not because the central rail makes them superfluous (similar to some

rubber-tyred trams A rubber-tyred tram (also known as tramway on tyres, french: tramway sur pneumatiques) is a development of the guided bus in which a vehicle is guided by a fixed rail in the road surface and draws current from overhead electric wires (either ...

, such as the

Translohr Translohr is a rubber-tired tramway (or guided bus) system, originally developed by Lohr Industrie of France and now run by a consortium of Alstom Transport and Fonds stratégique d'investissement (FSI) as '' newTL,'' which took over from L ...

and Bombardier Guided Light Transit). There are differences between the technology used on the older Namboku Line and the newer Tōzai and Tōhō Lines. The Namboku Line uses a T-shaped guide rail, double tires, and

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...

power collection, while the Tōzai and Tōhō Lines use an I-shaped guide rail, single tires, and

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 equipm ...

power collection. Also, the surface of the roll ways is either made up of

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on nat ...

(on the entirety of the Namboku Line and the central section of the Tōzai Line) or

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

(on the outer sections of the Tōzai Line and the entirety of the Tōhō Line).

Rolling stock

Namboku Line

5000 series (6-car formation with 4 doors per side, since 1997)

Tōzai Line

8000/8300 series (7-car formation with 3 doors per side, since 1998)

Tōhō Line

9000 series (4-car formation with 3 doors per side, since May 2015)

Former rolling stock

Namboku Line

* 1000/2000 series (2/4/6/8-car formation with 2 doors per side, from 1971 until 1999) * 3000 series (8-car formation with 2 doors per side, from 1978 until 2012)

Tōzai Line

6000 series (7-car formation with 3 doors per side, from 1976 until 2008)

Tōhō Line

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 Su ...

(4-car formation with 3 doors per side, from 1988 until 2016)

Rolling stock gallery

File:Sapporo subway type1000.JPG, 1000 series (preserved) File:Sapporo Municipal Subway 3000 series.JPG, 3000 series File:ST SN5000 20061102 001.jpg, 5000 series File:Sapporo Subway 6102 20050717 t01.jpg, 6000 series File:Sapporo Subway 7116 20080714 h09 800.jpg, 7000 series File:Sapporo Subway 8901 20080601 t09 2.jpg, 8000 series File:Sapporo_9000_9001_Odori_20150521.jpg, 9000 series

Fares

Ticket prices range from 200 yen to 360 yen, depending on the distance to travel. Day passes and discount passes can be purchased at the vending machines. Prepaid "With You" cards can be used for the subway, streetcar and regular city routes offered by JR Hokkaido Bus, Chuo Bus and Jotetsu Bus. One-day Cards offer unlimited rides on the subway, streetcar, and regular city routes offered by the Chuo, Jotetsu, and JR Hokkaido Buses (excluding some suburban areas) on the day of purchase. A subway one-day card, for use only on the subway, is also available. Donichika-Tickets allow for unlimited one-day ride pass for the subway to be used only on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays. Commuter passes offer unlimited rides between specific stations during their period of validity. There are two types of commuter pass: one for those commuting to their workplace and one for students; both are available for one- or three-month periods, and can be purchased from commuter pass sales offices located at major stations. All stations accept the SAPICA rechargeable IC cards which can be used as a fare card for the subway.

Shopping areas

There are two main shopping areas located underground, connected to the exits of three central stations on the Namboku line: Sapporo Station, Susukino Station, and Odori Station. Pole Town is an extensive shopping area that lies between Susukino and Odori stations. Aurora Town is a shopping arcade that is connected to Sapporo station. It links some of the main shopping malls in Sapporo, such as Daimaru, JR Tower, Esta, and Stellar Place.

Network Map

References

External links

Sapporo City Transportation Bureau

{{Hokkaidō transit Transport in Sapporo Organizations based in Sapporo Underground rapid transit in Japan 750 V DC railway electrification 1500 V DC railway electrification 1971 establishments in Japan