Tokyo Metro
Organization
Tokyo Metro is operated by Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. (東京地下鉄株式会社 Tōkyō Chikatetsu Kabushiki-gaisha), a private company jointly owned by the Japanese government and the Tokyo metropolitan government.
The company replaced the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (帝都高速度交通営団 Teito Kōsokudo Kōtsū Eidan), commonly known asEidan 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 major subway operator is Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei) which is owned solely by the government of Tokyo. Metro and Toei trains form completely separate networks. 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 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 is 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 machines can switch between English and Japanese user interfaces.
- Train stations are signposted in English and Japanese (in kanji and hiragana). There are also numerous signs in Chinese (insimplified characters) 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 on the Marunouchi Line 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, he or she could simply look for the red line and then find the appropriately numbered station on said line.
Many stations are also designed to help blind people as railings often have Braille at their base, and raised yellow rubber guide strips are used on flooring throughout the network.
Tokyo Metro stations began accepting contactless (RFID) PASMO stored value cards in March 2007 to pay fares, and the JR East Suicasystem 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 often a not insignificant charge to be issued a card.
The Tokyo Metro is extremely punctual and has regular trains arriving less than five 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 01:00, and the first train generally starts at 05:00.
Tokyo Metro indicated in its public share offering that it would cease construction once the Fukutoshin Line is completed. Several lines such as the Hanzōmon Line have yet to be completed as planned.
Currently the most prominent proposed expansion line in central Tokyo is to more quickly connect Narita and Haneda Airports through a new station adjacent to the existing Tokyo Station. This line is often described as a bypass of the current Toei Asakusa Line. It would link the Keisei Oshiage Line(with service to Narita Airport) to the Keikyu Main Line (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 with the rail operator or operators paying the balance.
Tokyo Metro also maintains a museum near Nishi-Kasai Station on the Tokyo Metro Tōzai Line 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.
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
Main data
| Line color | Mark | Line number | Line | Japanese | Route | Stations served | Length | Opened | Gauge | Current supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| orange |  | Line 3 | Ginza Line | 銀座線 | Shibuya to Asakusa | 19 | 14.3 km | 1927 | 1,435 mm | 600 V DC, third rail |
| red |  | Line 4 | Marunouchi Line | 丸ノ内線 | Ogikubo to Ikebukuro | 28 | 24.2 km | 1954 | ||
 | Marunouchi Line Branch Line | 丸ノ内線分岐線 | Nakano-Sakaue toHōnanchō | 4 | 3.2 km | 1962 | ||||
| silver |  | Line 2 | Hibiya Line | 日比谷線 | Naka-Meguro to Kita-Senju | 21 | 20.3 km | 1961 | 1,067 mm | 1,500 V DC, overhead supply |
| sky blue |  | Line 5 | Tōzai Line | 東西線 | Nakano to Nishi-Funabashi | 23 | 30.8 km | 1964 | ||
| green |  | Line 9 | Chiyoda Line | 千代田線 | Yoyogi-Uehara to Kita-Ayase | 20 | 24.0 km | 1969 | ||
| yellow |  | Line 8 | Yūrakuchō Line | 有楽町線 | Wakōshi to Shin-Kiba | 24 | 28.3 km | 1974 | ||
| purple |  | Line 11 | Hanzōmon Line | 半蔵門線 | Shibuya to Oshiage | 14 | 16.8 km | 1978 | ||
| dark aqua |  | Line 7 | Namboku Line | 南北線 | Meguro to Akabane-Iwabuchi | 19 | 21.3 km | 1991 | ||
| brown |  | Line 13 | Fukutoshin Line | 副都心線 | Wakōshi to Shibuya | 16 | 20.2 km | 2008 |
Through services to other lines
| Line | Through Lines | |
|---|---|---|
| G | Ginza Line | none |
| M | Marunouchi Line | |
| H | Hibiya Line | Tōkyū Tōyoko Line ( Naka-Meguro to Kikuna) |
| Tōbu Isesaki Line ( Kita-Senju to Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen) | ||
| T | Tōzai Line | JR East Chūō-Sōbu Line (Chūō Main Line) ( Nakano to Mitaka) |
| JR East Chūō-Sōbu Line (Sōbu Main Line) ( Nishi-Funabashi to Tsudanuma) | ||
| Toyo Rapid Line (Nishi-Funabashi to Tōyō-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 | Yūrakuchō Line | Tōbu Tōjō Line (Wakōshi to Shinrinkōen) |
| Seibu Yūrakuchō Line via the Seibu Ikebukuro Line (Kotake-Mukaihara Station to Hannō) | ||
| Z | Hanzōmon Line | Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line (Shibuya to Chūō-Rinkan) |
| Tōbu Isesaki Line and Tobu Nikkō Line (Oshiage to Minami-Kurihashi and Kuki) | ||
| N | Namboku Line | Tokyu Meguro Line (Meguro to Hiyoshi) |
| Saitama Rapid Railway Line (Akabane-Iwabuchi to Urawa-Misono) | ||
| F | Fukutoshin Line | Tōbu and Seibu line (same stations served as the Yūrakuchō Line) |
| Minatomirai Line via Tōkyū Tōyoko Line (Shibuya to Motomachi-Chūkagai, planned and under construction) |
- Namboku Line shares tracks of the section from Meguro to Shirokane-Takanawa with Toei Mita Line, 2.3 km.
Stations
The busiest stations in the Tokyo Metro network in 2009 were: (station statistics for subway passengers only)Station Average passengers
per dayIkebukuro Station 482,723 Kita-Senju Station 299,196 Ōtemachi Station 280,381 Ginza Station 256,452 Shibuya Station 223,307 Shinjuku Station 219,606 Shimbashi Station 217,641 Ueno Station 207,635 Takadanobaba Station 185,153 Nihombashi Station 174,693
Other major transfer stations include Akasaka-mitsuke, Hibiya, Kasumigaseki, Kudanshita, Nagatachō, Omotesandō, Tameike-Sannō and Yotsuya.
Depots
| Name | Location | Fleet | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ueno | Taitō, north of Ueno Station | 01 | Ginza |
| Shibuya | Shibuya, west of Shibuya Station | 01 | Ginza |
| Nakano | Nakano, south of Nakano-Fujimichō Station | 01, 02 | Marunouchi, Ginza |
| Koishikawa | Bunkyō, between Myōgadani Station and Kōrakuen Station | 01, 02 | Marunouchi |
| Senju | Arakawa, north of Minami-Senju Station | 03 | Hibiya |
| Takenotsuka | Adachi, south of Takenotsuka Station | 03 | Hibiya |
| Fukagawa | Kōtō, south of Tōyōchō Station | 05, 07 | Tōzai |
| Gyōtoku | Ichikawa, south of Myōden Station | None (inspections only) | Tōzai |
| Ayase | Adachi, north of Kita-Ayase Station | 06, 5000, 6000 | Chiyoda, Namboku, Yūrakuchō, Saitama Rapid |
| Wakō | Wakō, north of Wakō-shi Station | 7000, 10000 | Fukutoshin, Yūrakuchō |
| Shin-Kiba | Kōtō, southeast of Shin-Kiba Station | None (inspection and renovation only) | Chiyoda, Hanzōmon, Namboku, Tōzai, Yūrakuchō |
| Saginuma | Kawasaki, inside Saginuma Station | 08, 8000 | Hanzōmon |
| Ōji | Kita, north of Ōji-Kamiya Station | 9000 | Namboku |
Rolling stock
Tokyo Metro owns the following types of rolling stock.
- 01 series – Ginza Line
- 02 series – Marunouchi Line
- 03 series – Hibiya Line
- 05 series – Tōzai Line
- 06 series – Chiyoda Line
- 07 series – Tōzai Line
- 08 series – Hanzōmon Line
- 5000 series – Chiyoda Line
- 6000 series – Chiyoda Line
- 7000 series – Yūrakuchō Line, Fukutoshin Line
- 8000 series – Hanzōmon Line
- 9000 series – Namboku Line
- 10000 series – Yūrakuchō Line, Fukutoshin Line
- 15000 series – Tōzai Line
- 16000 series – Chiyoda Line
The following trains are on order.
- 1000 series – Ginza Line (from spring 2012)
Trains from other operators are also used on Tokyo Metro lines as a consequence of through services.
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