Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line

The Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line (東京地下鉄半蔵門線, Tōkyō-chikatetsu-hanzōmon-sen^?) is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro located in Tokyo, Japan.

Overview

The 16.8 km line serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chiyoda, Chūō, Kōtō and Sumida. Hanzōmon Line trains run through onto the Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line from Shibuya Station and the Tōbu Isesaki Line from Oshiage Station. Through-service trains between Tōkyū Chūō-Rinkan and Tōbu Minami-Kurihashi cover a total distance of 98.5 km in a single run.

The Hanzōmon Line has interchanges with all other Tokyo Metro and Toei lines, except the Hibiya Line (though transfers are possible via the Tōbu Isesaki Line through service at Kita-Senju Station). It connects with the Ginza Line at four stations.

The line is named after the west gate of the Imperial Palace (Hanzōmon), which in turn is named after ninjutsu master Hattori Hanzō. The Hanzōmon Line's color on maps and station guides is purple, and stations carry the letter Z followed by a number.

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, as of June 2009 the Hanzōmon Line is the sixth most crowded subway line in Tokyo, at its peak running at 173% capacity between Shibuya and Omotesandō stations.^[1]

History

The Hanzōmon Line was first planned in 1971, along with the Chiyoda Line and Yūrakuchō Line, as a reliever line for the heavily congested Ginza Line. Its initial routing was from Futako-Tamagawa Station on the Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line to a new station in the Fukagawa district of Kōtō Ward. In 1985, a second draft plan from the Ministry of Transportation moved the Hanzōmon Line's final terminus to Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture. During the planning stage, it was known as Line 11.

Construction began in 1972 and most of the line was expected to open in 1975. However, the poor economy in Japan had depressed the Teito Rapid Transit Authority's receipts during that time, which considerably delayed the construction of new lines. On August 1, 1978, the first section of the Hanzōmon Line opened from Shibuya to Aoyama-itchōme, and through service with the Den-en-toshi Line commenced.

The line was extended to Nagatachō in September 1979 without major incident. However, the next extension posed political problems, as the original plan had the line run directly under the Imperial Palace to Ōtemachi. TRTA decided to divert the route around the north side of the Imperial Palace, which required the construction of three new stations. An eminent domain battle erupted with landowners along the proposed route, which delayed the completion of the next stage of the line. Hanzomon Station opened in December 1982, and the full extension around the Imperial Palace, terminating at Mitsukoshi-mae, was completed in January 1989.

Since then, there have been further extensions to Suitengu-mae (November 1990) and finally Oshiage (March 19, 2003). The Ministry of Transportation estimated in 2000 that the line would be completed (i.e. extended to Matsudo) in 2015. However, Tokyo Metro stated in its initial public offering that its construction operations would cease once the Fukutoshin Line is completed, which casts some doubt as to whether the Matsudo extension will actually be built.

Station list

All stations are located in Tokyo.

Rolling stock

Current fleet

References

External links

• Tokyo Metro website (English)