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| Tokyo Metro | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Overview | |||
| Native name | 東京メトロ Tōkyō Metoro | ||
| Owner | Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. (publickabushiki gaisha controlled by theGovernment of Japan (26.71%) and theTokyo Metropolitan Government (23.29%);traded asTYO:9023) | ||
| Locale | Greater Tokyo Area, Japan | ||
| Transit type | Rapid transit | ||
| Number of lines | 9[1] | ||
| Number of stations | 180[1] | ||
| Daily ridership | 6.52 million (FY2023)[2] | ||
| Website | Tokyo Metro | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | 30 December 1927; 97 years ago (30 December 1927) asTokyo Underground Railway (1941; 84 years ago (1941) as Teito Rapid Transit Authority; 2004; 21 years ago (2004) under current name) | ||
| Operator(s) | Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. | ||
| Number of vehicles | 2,773 cars (2012)[1] | ||
| Technical | |||
| System length | 195.1 km (121.2 mi)[1] | ||
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge (Ginza &Marunouchi lines) | ||
| Electrification | 1,500 V DCoverhead catenary 600 V DC third rail (Ginza & Marunouchi lines) | ||
| Top speed | 80 km/h (50 mph) 100 km/h (62 mph) (Tōzai Line) 65 km/h (40 mph) (Ginza Line) 75 km/h (47 mph) (Marunouchi Line) | ||
| |||
TheTokyo Metro (Japanese:東京メトロ,romanized: Tōkyō Metoro) is a majorrapid transit system inTokyo, Japan, operated by theTokyo Metro Co. With an average daily ridership of 6.52 million passengers (as of 2023), the Tokyo Metro is the larger of thetwo subway operators in the city, the other being theToei Subway, with 2.85 million average daily rides.[2][3]
Tokyo Metro is operated by theTokyo Metro Co., Ltd. (東京地下鉄株式会社,Tōkyō Chikatetsu kabushiki-gaisha), ajoint-stock company jointly owned by theGovernment of Japan and theTokyo Metropolitan Government.
The company, founded as a part of then-Prime MinisterJunichiro Koizumi's policy of convertingstatutory corporations intojoint-stock companies, replaced theTeito Rapid Transit Authority (帝都高速度交通営団,Teito Kōsokudo Kōtsū Eidan; lit. "Imperial Capital[a] Highspeed Transportation Management Foundation"), commonly known as Eidan or TRTA, on April 1, 2004.[4] TRTA was administered by theMinistry 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 theTokyo Metro Ginza Line), 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 a "management foundation" (経営財団,keiei zaidan; abbreviated to and henceeidan (営団)), a form of entity established by the government of the wartime cabinet of theEmpire of Japan 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. In 2024, the company made itsinitial public offering, raising $2.3 billion in what became Japan's biggest IPO since 2018.[5]
The other major subway operator isTokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei Subway) which is owned solely by the government of Tokyo. Tokyo Metro and Toei trains form completely separate networks, althoughTokyo Metro Namboku Line andToei Mita Line share the same track betweenMeguro Station andShirokane-takanawa Station. Users of prepaid rail passes andSuica/Pasmosmart cards 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 stations are also designed to help blind people as railings often haveBraille 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 EastSuica 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 punctual[citation needed] 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 to 01:00, and the first train generally starts at 05:00.
Tokyo Metro also owns a number of commercial developments which mostly consist of shopping developments at major stations. It also owns theSubway Museum nearKasai Station on theTokyo 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 and sometrain simulators.
In 2024, Tokyo Metro was listed on theTokyo Stock Exchange, debuting as the exchange's largest IPO in six years and with a market capitalization of roughly 1 trillion yen.[5] TheGovernment of Japan and theTokyo Metropolitan Government each sold half of their shares, with the former using the proceeds to repay bonds funding reconstruction after the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[6][7]
In 2017, Tokyo Metro opened its affiliate inHanoi,Vietnam, as part of preparations to be the service operator ofHanoi Metro.[8][9] The Hanoi Metro opened in 2021.[10]
In November 2024,GTS Rail Operations (a consortium comprisingGo-Ahead Group, Tokyo Metro andSumitomo Corporation) was chosen from four bidders to operate theElizabeth line in London, England, for seven years from May 2025 with an option to extend for two years.[11][12]
Tokyo Metro indicated in its public share offering that it would cease line construction once theFukutoshin Line was completed.[citation needed] That line was completed in March 2013 with the opening of the connection with theTōkyū Tōyoko Line atShibuya Station, allowing through service as far asMotomachi-Chūkagai Station inYokohama. There are several lines such as theHanzōmon Line that still have extensions in their official plans, and in the past, these plans have tended to happen, though often over several decades.
In March 2022, Tokyo Metro received permission to add two new extensions to the network. Under these plans, theYūrakuchō Line would receive a new branch fromToyosu Station toSumiyoshi Station with three new stops (including one atToyocho Station on theTōzai Line) to better serve theToyosu urban development zone, and theNamboku Line would receive an extension fromShirokane-Takanawa Station toShinagawa Station, where it would connect with theTokaido Shinkansen and the under-constructionChūō Shinkansen in addition to serving the surrounding business district. Both extensions are expected to open in the 2030s.[13][14][15][16]
Pasmo andSuica are accepted on the Tokyo Metro, as well as on railway stations operated by other companies. Transfers between Tokyo Metro subway lines andToei Subway lines are usually not free, but a discount is given when using the Pasmo or Suica cards to transfer between lines.
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.[17]
Altogether, the Tokyo Metro is made up of nine lines operating on 195.1 kilometers (121.2 mi) of route.[1]
| Name | Color | Icon | No.[A] | Route | Stations | Length km (mi) | Opened | Last extension | Daily ridership (2017)[18] | Gauge | Current supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ginza | Orange | G | 3 | Shibuya toAsakusa | 19 | 14.3 (8.9) | 1927 | 1939 | 943,606 | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | Third rail, 600 V DC |
| Marunouchi | Red | M | 4 | Ogikubo toIkebukuro | 25 | 24.2 (15.0) | 1954 | 1962 | 1,159,898 | ||
| Marunouchi Branch | Mb | Nakano-Sakaue toHōnanchō | 4 | 3.2 (2.0) | 1962 | ||||||
| Hibiya | Silver | H | 2 | Naka-Meguro toKita-Senju | 22 | 20.3 (12.6) | 1961 | 1964[b] | 1,213,492 | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | Overhead line, 1,500 V DC |
| Tōzai | Sky | T | 5 | Nakano toNishi-Funabashi | 23 | 30.8 (19.1) | 1964 | 1969 | 1,642,378 | ||
| Chiyoda | Green | C | 9 | Yoyogi-Uehara toAyase | 20 | 24.0 (14.9) | 1969 | 1978 | 1,447,730 | ||
| Chiyoda Branch | Ayase toKita-Ayase | 2 | 2.6 (1.6) | 1979 | — | ||||||
| Yūrakuchō | Gold | Y | 8 | Wakōshi toShin-Kiba | 24 | 28.3 (17.6) | 1974 | 1988 | 1,124,478 | ||
| Hanzōmon | Purple | Z | 11 | Shibuya toOshiage | 14 | 16.8 (10.4) | 1978 | 2003 | 1,006,682 | ||
| Namboku | Emerald | N | 7 | Meguro toAkabane-Iwabuchi | 19 | 21.3 (13.2) | 1991 | 2000 | 522,736 | ||
| Namboku Branch | TBA | Shirokane-Takanawa toShinagawa | 2 | 2.5 (1.6) | TBA | — | — | ||||
| Fukutoshin | Brown | F | 13 | Wakōshi toShibuya | 16 | 11.9 (7.4)[B] | 1994 | 2008 | 362,654 | ||
| Toyozumi[citation needed] | TBA | TBA | 14 | Toyosu toSumiyoshi | 5 | 5.2 (3.2) | TBA | — | — | ||
| Total (Subway only, not includingtrackage rights): | 180 | 195.1 (121.2) | |||||||||
All lines except the Ginza and Marunouchi lines have trains that run through line termini onto tracks owned by other companies.
There are a total of 180 unique stations (i.e., counting stations served by multiple lines only once) on the Tokyo Metro network.[1][19] Most stations are located within the 23 special wards and fall inside theYamanote Line rail loop — some wards such asSetagaya andŌta have no stations (or only a limited number of stations), as rail service in these areas has historically been provided by theToei Subway or any of the various major private railways (大手私鉄).
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:
| Name | Location | Current assigned fleet | Former assigned fleet | Lines served |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ueno | Taitō, north ofUeno Station | 1000 | 01, (old) 2000, 1500, 1400, 1300, 100, 1200, 1100, (old) 1000 | Ginza |
| Shibuya | Shibuya, west ofShibuya Station | None (inspections only) | Ginza | |
| Nakano | Nakano, south ofNakano-Fujimichō Station | 2000 | 02, 02-80 (branch line), 300, 400, 500, 100 (branch line), (old) 2000 (branch line) | Marunouchi |
| Koishikawa | Bunkyō, betweenMyōgadani Station andKōrakuen Station | None (inspection and renovation only) | Ginza, Marunouchi | |
| Senju | Arakawa, north ofMinami-Senju Station | 13000 | 03, 3000 | Hibiya |
| Takenotsuka | Adachi, south ofTakenotsuka Station | 13000 | 03, 3000 | Hibiya |
| Fukagawa | Kōtō, south ofTōyōchō Station | 05, 07, 15000 | 5000 | Tōzai |
| Gyōtoku | Ichikawa, south ofMyōden Station | None (inspections only) | Tōzai | |
| Ayase | Adachi, north ofKita-Ayase Station | 16000, 05 (branch line) | 6000, 06, 5000 (branch line) | Chiyoda,Namboku,Yūrakuchō,Saitama Rapid |
| Wakō | Wakō, north ofWakōshi Station | 10000, 17000 | 07, 7000 | Fukutoshin, Yūrakuchō |
| Shin-Kiba | Kōtō, southeast ofShin-Kiba Station | None (inspection and renovation only) | Chiyoda,Hanzōmon,Namboku, Tōzai, Yūrakuchō, and Fukutoshin | |
| Saginuma | Kawasaki, insideSaginuma Station | 08, 8000, 18000 | Hanzōmon | |
| Ōji | Kita, north ofŌji-Kamiya Station | 9000 | Namboku |
As of 1 April 2016[update], Tokyo Metro operates a fleet of 2,728electric multiple unit (EMU) vehicles, the largest fleet for a private railway operator in Japan.[20]
Trains from other operators are also used on Tokyo Metro lines as a consequence of inter-running services.
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As is common withrail transport in Tokyo, Tokyo Metro trains are severely crowded during peak periods. During the morning peak period, platform attendants (oshiya) 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.
Source: www.jametro.or.jp/en/japan/ "Subways in Japan" (Japan Subway Association) | |
| Public | |
| Semi-public | |
| Public-private |
|
| Shinkansen | |
|---|---|
 JR East linespassing through Central Tokyo | |
| JR East lines in satellite cities or suburbs | |
 Tokyo Metro | |
 Toei Subway | |
 Yokohama Municipal Subway | |
 Keikyu | |
 Keio | |
 Keisei | |
 Odakyu | |
 Seibu | |
 Sotetsu | |
 Tobu | |
 Tokyu | |
| Other heavy rail lines | |
| Medium-capacity rails | |
| Monorails | |
| Trams and light rails | |
| People movers | |
| Hinterland | |
| Funiculars and aerial lifts | |
 Bus | |
| Public ferries | |
| Major terminals | |
| Miscellaneous | |
Rapid transit in Asia | |
|---|---|
 Armenia | |
 Azerbaijan | |
 Bangladesh | |
 China (PRC) |
|
 Georgia | |
 India | |
 Indonesia | |
 Iran | |
 Israel | |
 Japan | |
 Kazakhstan | |
 Mongolia | |
 North Korea | |
 Malaysia | |
 Pakistan | |
 Philippines | |
 Qatar | |
 Russia | |
 Saudi Arabia | |
 Singapore | |
 South Korea | |
 Taiwan (ROC) | |
 Thailand | |
 Turkey | |
 United Arab Emirates | |
 Uzbekistan | |
 Vietnam | |
* Under construction. | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
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