Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line

Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line
MMb

Overview
Other name(s) Line 4
Native name 東京メトロ丸ノ内線
Type Rapid transit
Locale Tokyo
Termini Ogikubo
Ikebukuro
Stations 28 (including branch line)
Daily ridership 1,089,257 (FY2010)[1]
Operation
Opened January 20, 1954
Owner Tokyo Metro
Depot(s) Koishikawa, Nakano
Rolling stock Tokyo Metro 02 series
Technical
Line length 27.4 km (17.0 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)
Electrification 600 V DC, third rail
Operating speed 75 km/h (47 mph)
Route map

The Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line (東京メトロ丸ノ内線, Tōkyō Metro Marunouchi-sen) is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro. The line runs in a U-shape between Ogikubo Station in Suginami and Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, with a branch line between Nakano-Sakaue Station and Hōnanchō Station. The official name is Line 4 Marunouchi Line (4号線丸ノ内線, Yon-gōsen Marunouchi-sen).

Overview

The Marunouchi Line is the second line to be built in the city, and the first one constructed after the Second World War. The route is U-shaped, running from Ogikubo Station in the west of the city via the commercial and administrative district of Shinjuku through to the Marunouchi commercial center around Tokyo Station, before turning back and heading to Ikebukuro. Along with the Ginza Line, it is self-enclosed and does not have any through services with other railway lines.

The Marunouchi Line is served by Tokyo Metro 02 series rolling stock in six-car trains on the main line, and three-car trains on the Hōnanchō branch. The main line is the most frequent subway line in Tokyo, with trains running at intervals of 1 minute 50 seconds during peak hours. In spite of such high-frequency service, according to a 2008 survey by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism the Marunouchi Line is one of the most crowded railway lines in Tokyo, running at 157% capacity between Shin-ōtsuka and Myōgadani stations.[2] Its age and relatively short train length has made it one of the most crowded lines in Tokyo, although the 2000 opening of the Toei Ōedo Line has relieved the problem somewhat. In response to crowding, Tokyo Metro upgraded all stations with chest-high platform doors on March 28, 2009, a date on which it also began driver-only operation. The Hōnanchō branch switched to driver-only operation in July 2004.[3]

Due to the age of the Marunouchi Line and the relative shallowness at which it runs, at several points in central Tokyo trains run at or above ground level. These include Yotsuya Station, the Kanda River near Ochanomizu Station (see image), and between Kōrakuen and Myōgadani stations.

On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is shown using the color red (M). Its stations are given numbers using the prefix "M"; Hōnanchō branch line stations carry the prefix "Mb", which replaced the previously used lowercase "m" prefix in November 2016.[4]

Station list

All stations are located in Tokyo.

Main Line

No. Station Japanese Distance (km) Transfers Location
Between
stations
From M-01
M
01
Ogikubo 荻窪 - 0.0 Suginami
M
02
Minami-asagaya 南阿佐ケ谷 1.5 1.5  
M
03
Shin-koenji 新高円寺 1.2 2.7  
M
04
Higashi-koenji 東高円寺 0.9 3.6  
M
05
Shin-nakano 新中野 1.0 4.6   Nakano
M
06
Nakano-sakaue 中野坂上 1.1 5.7
M
07
Nishi-shinjuku 西新宿 1.1 6.8   Shinjuku
M
08
Shinjuku 新宿 0.8 7.6
M
09
Shinjuku-sanchome 新宿三丁目 0.3 7.9
M
10
Shinjuku-gyoemmae 新宿御苑前 0.7 8.6  
M
11
Yotsuya-sanchome 四谷三丁目 0.9 9.5  
M
12
Yotsuya 四ツ谷 1.0 10.5
M
13
Akasaka-mitsuke 赤坂見附 1.3 11.8 Minato
M
14
Kokkai-gijidomae 国会議事堂前 0.9 12.7 Chiyoda
M
15
Kasumigaseki 霞ケ関 0.7 13.4
M
16
Ginza 銀座 1.0 14.4
Chūō
M
17
Tokyo 東京 1.1 15.5 Chiyoda
M
18
Otemachi 大手町 0.6 16.1
M
19
Awajicho 淡路町 0.9 17.0
M
20
Ochanomizu 御茶ノ水 0.8 17.8 Bunkyō
M
21
Hongo-sanchome 本郷三丁目 0.8 18.6 E Toei Oedo Line (E-08)
M
22
Korakuen 後楽園 0.8 19.4
  • N Tokyo Metro Namboku Line (N-11)
  • I Toei Mita Line (Kasuga: I-12)
  • E Toei Oedo Line (Kasuga: E-07)
M
23
Myogadani 茗荷谷 1.8 21.2  
M
24
Shin-otsuka 新大塚 1.2 22.4  
M
25
Ikebukuro 池袋 1.8 24.2 Toshima

Branch Line

No. Station Japanese Distance (km) Transfers Location
Between
stations
Total
Mb
03
Honancho 方南町 - 0.0   Suginami
Mb
04
Nakano-fujimicho 中野富士見町 1.3 1.3   Nakano
Mb
05
Nakano-shimbashi 中野新橋 0.6 1.9  
M
06
Nakano-sakaue 中野坂上 1.3 3.2

Rolling stock

An 02 series EMU at Yotsuya Station in June 2007

Marunouchi Line services are operated using a fleet of 53 Tokyo Metro 02 series six-car EMUs in service since 1988 together with six three-car sets used on Hōnanchō branch services. All trains are based at Koishikawa and Nakano Depots.[5]

A fleet of 53 new six-car trains is scheduled to be introduced from fiscal 2018, replacing the 02 series trains by fiscal 2022.[6]

Former

History

Opening ceremony at Ikebukuro in 1954

The Marunouchi Line is the second subway line to be built in the city, and the first to be constructed after the Second World War. Its design is similar to that of the Ginza Line, the oldest subway line in Tokyo. Both lines are standard gauge and use third rail power, unlike subsequent Tokyo subway lines, which use overhead wires and are mostly narrow gauge to accommodate through services with other railway lines.

In a 1925 plan for a five-line subway system, the Marunouchi Line was planned to run from Shinjuku to Ōtsuka via Hibiya, Tsukiji and Okachimachi, as a 20 km (12 mi) underground route. A 1.2 km (0.75 mi) segment between Akasaka-mitsuke and Yotsuya began construction in 1942, but was abandoned in 1944 as a result of the continuing effects of World War II. On December 7, 1946, the Marunouchi Line was revised to begin from Nakano-fujimichō to the Mukōhara neighbourhood in Toshima Ward via Kanda and Ikebukuro, for a total length of 22.1 km (13.7 mi). On March 30, 1951, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at Ikebukuro Station East Exit to begin construction of the initial 7.7 km (4.8 mi) segment of the Marunouchi Line.

The first section was opened between Ikebukuro and Ochanomizu on January 20, 1954. The subsequent progress of the line was as follows:

The Marunouchi Line was one of the lines targeted in the Aum sarin gas attack on March 20, 1995. A plan to extend the Marunouchi Line from Ogikubo to Asaka City in Saitama Prefecture was rejected in the late 1990s.

Automatic train control (ATC) was activated on the Marunouchi Line on February 27, 1998, which allowed for an increase in the maximum operating speed limit from 65 km/h (40 mph) to 75 km/h (47 mph). This was followed by Train automatic stopping controller (TASC) which was introduced in November 2002, along with Automatic train operation (ATO) which was introduced on the main segment of the Marunouchi Line on December 27, 2008.

Future plans

The platform-edge doors at Hōnanchō Station, the terminus of the Hōnanchō Branch are due to be lengthened to allow 6-car trains to use the station, with work starting in 2013. Once completed, this will enable through trains to and from Ikebukuro to start operating all the way to Hōnanchō from fiscal 2017.[7]

References

  • Shaw, Dennis and Morioka, Hisashi, "Tokyo Subways", published 1992 by Hoikusha Publishing
  1. Tokyo Metro station ridership in 2010 Train Media (sourced from Tokyo Metro) Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  2. http://www.mlit.go.jp/common/000047191.pdf
  3. Tetsudo.com News: 丸ノ内線全線でワンマン運転開始 28日から (17 March 2009). Retrieved on 17 March 2009. (in Japanese)
  4. 丸ノ内線 方南町〜中野新橋駅間の駅ナンバリングを 訪日外国人旅行者の利便性向上のため、2016年11月から順次変更します
  5. 私鉄車両編成表 2016 [Private Railway Rolling Stock Formations - 2016] (in Japanese). Japan: Kotsu Shimbunsha. 25 July 2016. p. 69. ISBN 978-4-330-70116-5.
  6. 大手民鉄 2016年度の車両の新造・更新予定 [Major private railway fiscal 2016 rolling stock construction and refurbishment plans]. Tetsudo Daiya Joho Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 45 no. 389. Japan: Kotsu Shimbun. September 2016. p. 70.
  7. 丸ノ内線、方南町駅へ直通運転開始 東京メトロが17年度から [Tokyo Metro to operate through trains on Marunouchi Line to Hōnanchō Station from fiscal 2017]. Nikkei Shimbun (in Japanese). Japan: Nikkei Inc. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
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