Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line

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A subway train prepares to depart Hiroo Station en route to Kita-Senju Station

Hibiya Line (Click on image to enlarge.)

The Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (東京地下鉄日比谷線, Tōkyō Chikatetsu Hibiya-sen^?) is a metro line in Tokyo, Japan, administered by the Tokyo Metro. Its color on maps is grey. Stations on the Hibiya Line carry the letter H followed by a number.

Hibiya Line trains interoperate with the Tokyu Toyoko Line from Naka-Meguro Station and with the Tobu Isesaki Line from Kita-Senju Station.

[edit] Development

The Hibiya Line was the third subway line built in Tokyo, after the Ginza Line and Marunouchi Line.

Its basic plan was drawn up by a Ministry of Transportation committee in 1957. Called Line 2 at the time, it was designed to connect Naka-Meguro in southwest Tokyo with Kita-Koshigaya in the northeast. The full northeastern extension of the line was never built, as the Tobu Railway upgraded to quadruple track within the same corridor to meet capacity demands.

The line's path is somewhat similar to that of the Ginza Line: however, the Hibiya Line was designed to serve a number of important districts which were not on either of the existing lines, such as Ebisu, Roppongi, Tsukiji, Kayabacho and Senju.

Work began in 1959. The line opened in stages: the northern section, between Kita-Senju and Ningyocho, was operational in May 1962, and the southern section, between Naka-Meguro and Kasumigaseki, opened in March 1964. The final segment, bridging Higashi-Ginza and Kasumigaseki, opened on August 29, 1964, just weeks before the opening ceremony for the 1964 Summer Olympics. This was something of a coup for the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (the predecessor of today's Tokyo Metro), as the Toei Asakusa Line, which was also to be completed in time for the Olympics, fell behind schedule and remained under construction for the duration of the Games.

The line was named after Hibiya Park, which it passes underneath.

[edit] Stations