Tokyo Metro
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Tokyo Metro (東京メトロ Tōkyō Metoro?) is one of two metro systems, which along with Toei, make up the Tokyo subway system.
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[edit] Organization
Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. (東京地下鉄株式会社 Tōkyō Chikatetsu Kabushiki-gaisha?) is a private company jointly owned by the Japanese government and the Tokyo metropolitan government.
It replaced the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (帝都高速度交通営団 Teito Kōsokudo Kōtsū Eidan?), commonly 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, although its oldest lines date back to 1927.
The other metro operator in Tokyo is the government of Tokyo, through the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, which operates the Toei system. Metro and Toei trains form completely separate networks. While users of prepaid rail passes can freely interchange between the two networks, regular ticket holders must purchase a second ticket, or a special transfer ticket, to change from a Toei line to a Metro line and vice versa.
The Tokyo Metro forms part of one of the most complex public transportation systems in the world. It is extremely well maintained and clean, although some stations on older lines are beginning to show their age.
Much effort is made to make the system accessible to non-Japanese speaking users:
- Train stops are announced in both English and Japanese. Announcements also provide connecting line information.
- Ticketing machines can switch between English and Japanese user interfaces.
- Train stations are signposted in English and Japanese (in kanji and hiragana).
- 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 on the Marunouchi Line is also signposted as M-08 with the familiar red colored circle surrounding it; even if a commuter could not read the English or Japanese station names on signs or maps, he or she could simply look for the red line and then find the appropriately numbered station on said line.
Although ticket machines are plentiful at every station, many regular Tokyo Metro commuters purchase Tokyo Metro SF Cards for convenience. These SF (Stored Fare) Cards can be purchased in pre-paid amounts of ¥1000, ¥3000 and ¥5000. These cards can currently be used on most private railways in the Kantō region as well through PASSNET. Tokyo Metro stations will begin accepting PASMO contactless cards in 2007.
The Tokyo Metro is extremely punctual and has regular trains arriving less than five minutes apart most of the day and night. It does not however run 24 hours a day. Lines tend to stop service between midnight and 1:00am and commence again approximately 5:00am.
Tokyo Metro indicated in its public share offering that it would cease construction once the Fukutoshin Line is completed. Some therefore expect that the line will be the final expansion to the Tokyo Metro network, although several lines such as the Hanzomon Line have yet to be completed as planned.
[edit] Lines
[edit] Main Data
| Color on maps | Mark | Line Number | Line | Japanese | Route | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| orange | G | Line 3 | Ginza Line | 銀座線 | Shibuya to Asakusa | 14.3 km |
| red | M | Line 4 | Marunouchi Line | 丸ノ内線 | Ogikubo to Ikebukuro | 24.2 km |
| m | Marunouchi Line Branch Line | 丸ノ内線分岐線 | Nakano-sakaue to Honancho | 3.2 km | ||
| gray | H | Line 2 | Hibiya Line | 日比谷線 | Naka-meguro to Kita-senju | 20.3 km |
| blue | T | Line 5 | Tozai Line | 東西線 | Nakano and Nishi-funabashi | 30.8 km |
| green | C | Line 9 | Chiyoda Line | 千代田線 | Yoyogi-uehara to Kita-ayase | 24.0 km |
| yellow | Y | Line 8 | Yurakucho Line | 有楽町線 | Wakoshi to Shin-kiba | 28.3 km |
| purple | Z | Line 11 | Hanzomon Line | 半蔵門線 | Shibuya to Oshiage | 16.8 km |
| emerald green | N | Line 7 | Namboku Line | 南北線 | Meguro to Akabane-iwabuchi | 21.3 km |
| brown | Y | Line 13 | Fukutoshin Line | 副都心線 | operational: Kotake-mukaibara to Ikebukuro | 3.2 km |
| under construction: Ikebukuro to Shibuya | 8.9 km |
[edit] Through services to other lines
| Line | Through Lines | |
|---|---|---|
| G | Ginza Line | none |
| M | Marunouchi Line | none |
| H | Hibiya Line | Tokyu Toyoko Line (Naka-meguro to Kikuna) |
| Tobu Isesaki Line (Kita-senju to Tobu-dobutsu-koen) | ||
| T | Tozai Line | JR East Chūō-Sōbu Line (Nakano to Mitaka) |
| JR East Sōbu Line (Nishi-funabashi to Tsudanuma) | ||
| Toyo Rapid Line (Nishi-funabashi to Toyo Katsutadai) | ||
| C | Chiyoda Line | Odakyu Odawara Line and Odakyu Tama Line (Yoyogi-uehara to Karakida and Hon-atsugi) |
| JR East Jōban Line (Ayase to Toride) | ||
| Y | Yurakucho Line | Tōbu Tōjō Main Line (Wakoshi to Shinrin-koen |
| Seibu Yurakucho Line and Seibu Ikebukuro Line (Kotake-mukaibara to Hannou) | ||
| Z | Hanzomon Line | Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line (Shibuya to Chūō-rinkan) |
| Tobu Isesaki Line and Tobu Nikkō Line (Oshiage to Minami-kurihasi or Kuki) | ||
| N | Namboku Line | Tokyu Meguro Line (Meguro to Musashi-kosugi) |
| Saitama Rapid Railway Line (Akabane-iwabuchi to Urawa-misono) | ||
| Y | Fukutoshin Line | Tobu and Seibu line (same tracks as Yurakucho Line) |
| Tokyu Toyoko Line (from Shibuya, planned) |
- Namboku Line shares tracks of the section from Meguro to Shirokane-Takanawa with Toei Mita Line, 2.3km.
[edit] Stations
The busiest stations in the Tokyo Metro network are: (station statistics for subway passengers only)
- Ikebukuro Station - approx. 465,000 passengers per weekday on 3 lines
- Kita-Senju Station - approx. 330,000 passengers per weekday on 2 lines
- Otemachi Station - approx. 270,000 passengers per weekday on 4 lines
- Ginza Station - approx. 270,000 passengers per weekday on 3 lines
Other major transfer stations include Akasaka-mitsuke, Hibiya, Kasumigaseki, Kudanshita, Nagatacho, Omotesando, Tameike-Sanno and Yotsuya.
[edit] See also
