rapid transit system
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 ...
in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metro Co. With an average daily ridership of 6.84 million passengers, the Tokyo Metro is the larger of the two subway operators in the city; the other being the
Toei Subway
The is one of two subway systems in Tokyo, the other being Tokyo Metro. The Toei Subway lines were originally licensed to the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (the predecessor of Tokyo Metro) but were constructed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government ...
, with 2.85 million average daily rides.
Organization
Tokyo Metro is operated by , a
joint-stock company
A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certificates ...
jointly owned by the
Government of Japan
The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...
and the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
The is the government of the Tokyo Metropolis. One of the 56 prefectures of Japan, the government consists of a popularly elected governor and assembly. The headquarters building is located in the ward of Shinjuku. The metropolitan government ...
.
The company, founded as a part of then-Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi (; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a former Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2009. He is ...
's policy of converting statutory corporations into joint-stock companies, replaced the , commonly known as Eidan or TRTA, on April 1, 2004. TRTA was administered by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and jointly funded by the national and metropolitan governments. It was formed in 1941 as a part-nationalization of the Tokyo Underground Railway and Tokyo Rapid Railway (now both form the
Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The official name is . It is 14.3 km long and serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chūō, Chiyoda, and Taitō. It is the oldest subway line in Asia.
The line was named af ...
), although its oldest lines date back to 1927 with the opening of the Tokyo Underground Railway the same year. Upon its establishment, the TRTA's legal form was used to be a , a form of entity established by the government of the wartime cabinet of the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...
with both public and private sector investments. Private sector investments to the TRTA were prohibited in 1951 when it was converted into an ordinary statutory corporation.
The other major subway operator is
Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation
The , also known as , is a bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government which operates public transport services in Tokyo. Among its services, the Toei Subway is one of two rapid transit systems which make up the Tokyo subway system, the other b ...
(
Toei Subway
The is one of two subway systems in Tokyo, the other being Tokyo Metro. The Toei Subway lines were originally licensed to the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (the predecessor of Tokyo Metro) but were constructed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government ...
) which is owned solely by the government of Tokyo. Tokyo Metro and Toei trains form completely separate networks, although
Tokyo Metro Namboku Line
The is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro in Tokyo, Japan. The line runs between Meguro in Shinagawa and Akabane-Iwabuchi in Kita. The Namboku Line was referred to as Line 7 during the planning stages, thus the seldom-used officia ...
and
Toei Mita Line
The is a subway line of the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei) network in Tokyo, Japan. The line runs between Nishi-Takashimadaira in Itabashi and Meguro in Shinagawa. Trains continue with direct service into the Meguro Line ...
share the same track between
Meguro Station
is a railway station in the Kamiōsaki district of Shinagawa, Tokyo, close to the boundary with Meguro ward.
Lines
Meguro Station is served by the following lines:
*East Japan Railway Company (JR East) Yamanote Line
*Tokyo Metro Namboku Line - ...
and
Shirokane-takanawa Station
is a subway station in Takanawa 1-chōme, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, jointly operated by the two Tokyo subway operators, Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway.
Lines
* Tokyo Metro Namboku Line (N-03)
* Toei Mita Line (I-03)
Namboku Line and Mita Line shares ...
. Prepaid rail passes can freely interchange between the two networks (as well as other rail companies in the area), but fares are assessed separately for legs on each of these systems and regular ticket holders must purchase a second ticket, or a special transfer ticket, to change from a Toei line to a Tokyo Metro line and vice versa. Though, most Tokyo Metro (and Toei) line offer through service to lines outside of central Tokyo run by other carriers, and this can somewhat complicate the ticketing.
Much effort has been made to make the system accessible to non-Japanese speaking users:
* Many train stops are announced in both English and Japanese. Announcements also provide connecting line information.
*
Ticket machine
A ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine (TVM), is a vending machine that produces paper or electronic tickets, or recharges a stored-value card or smart card or the user's mobile wallet, typically on a smartphone. For instance, ...
s can switch between English and Japanese user interfaces.
* Train stations are signposted in English and Japanese (in
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
and
hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''.
It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrast ...
). There are also numerous signs in Chinese (in
simplified characters
Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters used in mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore, as prescribed by the ''Table of General Standard Chinese Characters''. Along with traditional Chinese characters, they are one o ...
) and Korean.
* Train stations are now also consecutively numbered on each color-coded line, allowing even non-English speakers to be able to commute without necessarily knowing the name of the station. For example,
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 ...
on the
Marunouchi Line
The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The line runs in a U-shape between Ogikubo Station in Suginami and Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, with a branch line between Nakano-Sakaue Station and Hōnanchō Station. The offic ...
is also signposted as M-08 with a red colored circle surrounding it; even if a commuter could not read the English or Japanese station names on signs or maps, they could simply look for the red line and then find the appropriately numbered station on said line. In addition, some trains have interior LCD displays which display station names in Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean.
Many stations are also designed to help blind people as railings often have
Braille
Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...
at their base, and raised yellow rubber guide strips are used on flooring throughout the network.
Tokyo Metro stations began accepting contactless (
RFID
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...
)
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. ...
stored value cards in March 2007 to pay fares, and the JR East
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 ...
system is also universally accepted. Both these passes also can be used on surrounding rail systems throughout the area and many rail lines in other areas of Japan. Due to the complexity of the fare systems in Japan, most riders converted to these cards very quickly even though there is an additional charge to issue it.
The Tokyo Metro is extremely punctual and has regular trains arriving 3 to 6 minutes apart most of the day and night. However, it does not run 24 hours a day. While through service with other companies complicates this somewhat, the last train generally starts at midnight and completes its service by 00:45, and the first train generally starts at 05:00.
Tokyo Metro indicated in its public share offering that it would cease line construction once the
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 ...
was completed. That line was completed in March 2013 with the opening of the connection with 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 ...
at
Shibuya Station
is a railway station in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, operated jointly by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Keio Corporation, Tokyu Corporation, and Tokyo Metro. With 2.4 million passengers on an average weekday in 2004, it is the fourth-busiest c ...
, allowing through service as far as
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 offic ...
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 ...
. There are several lines such as the Hanzōmon Line that still have extensions in their official plans, and in the past, these plans have tended to happen, though often over several decades.
There are also some other rail project proposals in Tokyo which would involve large-scale tunneling projects, but these are unlikely to involve Tokyo Metro. The only proposal that has any suggestion of possible Tokyo Metro involvement is the prominent project proposed as a new Narita and Haneda Airport connection through a tunnel through central Tokyo to a new station adjacent to the existing
Tokyo Station
Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is ...
. This line is often described as a bypass of the current
Toei Asakusa Line
The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Toei Subway. The line runs between in Ōta and in Sumida. The line is named after the Asakusa district, a cultural center of Tokyo, under which it passes.
The Asak ...
. It would link the
Keisei Oshiage Line
The is a railway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by private railway company Keisei Electric Railway. It connects Oshiage Station in Sumida and Aoto Station in Katsushika.
The Oshiage Line passes through areas typical of Tokyo's '' shitamachi' ...
(with service to Narita Airport) to the
Keikyu Main Line
(), also known as or, more recently, , is a private railroad that connects inner Tokyo to Kawasaki, Yokohama, Yokosuka and other points on the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture. It also provides rail access to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. mea ...
(with service to Haneda Airport) through Tokyo Station. The 400 billion yen project would be largely divided between the Tokyo metropolitan government and the Japanese central government (which is similar to the structure of Tokyo Metro) with the rail operator or operators paying the balance. The suggestion of Tokyo Metro involvement comes mostly from its description as a bypass to the
Asakusa Line
The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Toei Subway. The line runs between in Ōta and in Sumida. The line is named after the Asakusa district, a cultural center of Tokyo, under which it passes.
The Asak ...
which might imply it to be a subway line, but the principle proposal only includes one stop in Tokyo (at Tokyo Station). The principle justification of the proposal is to reduce connection time from
Narita Airport
Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...
to
Tokyo Station
Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is ...
by 13 minutes, and the design of the proposal makes this much more a
high-speed rail
High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
project than a subway project (though, it would likely not be up to all of Japan's
Shinkansen
The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...
high-speed rail standards). Currently the only high-speed connection to the Narita Airport is the Keisei Skyliner which runs to
Ueno
is a district in Tokyo's Taitō Ward, best known as the home of Ueno Park. Ueno is also home to some of Tokyo's finest cultural sites, including the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, and the National Museum of Na ...
, but there is ordinary train service between these airports using the
Asakusa Line
The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Toei Subway. The line runs between in Ōta and in Sumida. The line is named after the Asakusa district, a cultural center of Tokyo, under which it passes.
The Asak ...
. The proposal would essentially allow the
Skyliner
The is an airport limited express train service between Tokyo and Narita Airport in Japan. It is operated by Keisei Electric Railway and runs on the Narita Sky Access route.
This article also covers the and services.
Service
The ''Skylin ...
to run to the more important
Tokyo Station
Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is ...
as well as establish a high-speed connection to the
Haneda Airport
, officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...
.
Tokyo Metro also owns a number of commercial developments which mostly consist of shopping developments at major stations. It also owns the Subway Museum near
Kasai Station
is a railway station on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line in Edogawa, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro.
Lines
Kasai Station is served by the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line, and is numbered T-17.
Station layout
The station cons ...
on the
Tokyo Metro Tōzai Line
The is a rapid transit line in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Tokyo Metro. Its name translates to "''East-West Line"''. The line runs between Nakano in Nakano-ku, Tokyo and Nishi-Funabashi in Funabashi, Chiba Pre ...
which opened on July 12, 1986, and features a few retired trains which once operated on the Ginza and Marunouchi Lines as well as a maintenance vehicle.
In 2017, Tokyo Metro opened its affiliate in
Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, which is set to be the service operator of Hanoi Metro.
Fares
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 ...
are accepted on the Tokyo Metro, as well as on railway stations operated by other companies. Transfers between Tokyo Metro subway lines and
Toei Subway
The is one of two subway systems in Tokyo, the other being Tokyo Metro. The Toei Subway lines were originally licensed to the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (the predecessor of Tokyo Metro) but were constructed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government ...
lines are usually not free, but a discount is given when using the Pasmo or Suica cards to transfer between lines.
Traffic
According to the company, an average of 6.33 million people used the company's nine subway routes each day in 2009. The company made a profit of ¥63.5 billion in 2009.
Lines
Altogether, the Tokyo Metro is made up of nine lines operating on of route.
List of Tokyo Metro lines
''Note:'' Line numbers are for internal usage only and not listed on subway maps.
''Note:'' Excluding the stretch between Wakoshi and Kotake-mukaihara shared with Yurakucho Line.
Through services to other lines
* Namboku Line shares tracks of the section from Meguro to with
Toei Mita Line
The is a subway line of the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei) network in Tokyo, Japan. The line runs between Nishi-Takashimadaira in Itabashi and Meguro in Shinagawa. Trains continue with direct service into the Meguro Line ...
, 2.3 km.
Stations
There are a total of 180 unique stations (i.e., counting stations served by multiple lines only once) on the Tokyo Metro network. Most stations are located within the 23 special wards and fall inside the
Yamanote Line
The Yamanote Line ( ja, 山手線, Yamanote-sen) is a loop service in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban ...
rail loop — some wards such as
Setagaya
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. The ward calls itself Setagaya City in English. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orch ...
and Ōta have no stations (or only a limited number of stations), as rail service in these areas has historically been provided by the
Toei Subway
The is one of two subway systems in Tokyo, the other being Tokyo Metro. The Toei Subway lines were originally licensed to the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (the predecessor of Tokyo Metro) but were constructed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government ...
or any of the various .
Major interchange stations, connecting three or more Tokyo Metro lines, include the following:
*
*
*
*
* /
* /
*
*
*
Other major stations provide additional connections to other railway operators such as the Toei Subway, JR East, and the various private railways, including (but not limited to) the following:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Depots
Rolling stock
, Tokyo Metro operates a fleet of 2,728
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
(EMU) vehicles, the largest fleet for a private railway operator in Japan.
Marunouchi Line
The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The line runs in a U-shape between Ogikubo Station in Suginami and Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, with a branch line between Nakano-Sakaue Station and Hōnanchō Station. The offic ...
Ginza Line
The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The official name is . It is 14.3 km long and serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chūō, Chiyoda, and Taitō. It is the oldest subway line in Asia.
The line was named af ...
Marunouchi Line
The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The line runs in a U-shape between Ogikubo Station in Suginami and Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, with a branch line between Nakano-Sakaue Station and Hōnanchō Station. The offic ...
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 ...
Hibiya Line
The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by Tokyo Metro. The line was named after the Hibiya area in Chiyoda's Yurakucho district, under which it passes. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is shown using the color silve ...
Chiyoda Line
The is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro in Tokyo, Japan. On average, the line carries 1,447,730 passengers daily (2017), the second highest of the Tokyo Metro network, behind the Tozai Line (1,642,378).17000 series – Yūrakuchō Line,
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 ...
* 18000 series – Hanzōmon Line
Trains from other operators are also used on Tokyo Metro lines as a consequence of inter-running services.
Overcrowding
As is common with
rail transport
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...
in Tokyo, Tokyo Metro trains are severely crowded during peak periods. During the morning peak period, platform attendants (
oshiya
A pusher is a worker who pushes people onto the mass transportation vehicle at a crowded stop during the rush hours.
Origins New York City
New York City conductors were well-known for using the phrase "step lively" to exhort passengers to clear s ...
) are sometimes needed to push riders and their belongings into train cars so that the doors can close. On some Tokyo Metro lines, the first or last car of a train is reserved for women during peak hours.
Network Map
See also
*
List of Tokyo Metro stations
List of Tokyo Metro stations lists stations on the Tokyo Metro, including lines serving the station, station location (ward or city), opening date, design (underground, at-grade, or elevated), and daily ridership.
Summary
There are a total of 142 ...
*
List of urban rail systems in Japan
The list of urban rail systems in Japan lists urban rail transit systems in Japan, organized by , including number of stations, length (km), and average daily and annual ridership volume. Data is shown only for those areas designated as by the ...
*
List of metro systems
This list of metro systems includes electrified rapid transit train systems worldwide. In some parts of the world, metro systems are referred to as subways, U-Bahn or undergrounds. , 205 cities in 61 countries have a metro system.
The London ...