Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line

Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line
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 1,159,898 (2017)[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 1⁄2 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).

The line was named after the Marunouchi business district in Chiyoda, Tokyo, under which it passes. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is shown using the color "red" (M), and its stations are given numbers using the letters "M" for the main line and "Mb" for the branch line.

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
M01 Ogikubo 荻窪 - 0.0
Suginami
M02 Minami-asagaya 南阿佐ケ谷 1.5 1.5  
M03 Shin-koenji 新高円寺 1.2 2.7  
M04 Higashi-koenji 東高円寺 0.9 3.6  
M05 Shin-nakano 新中野 1.0 4.6   Nakano
M06 Nakano-sakaue 中野坂上 1.1 5.7
M07 Nishi-shinjuku 西新宿 1.1 6.8   Shinjuku
M08 Shinjuku 新宿 0.8 7.6
M09 Shinjuku-sanchome 新宿三丁目 0.3 7.9
M10 Shinjuku-gyoemmae 新宿御苑前 0.7 8.6  
M11 Yotsuya-sanchome 四谷三丁目 0.9 9.5  
M12 Yotsuya 四ツ谷 1.0 10.5
M13 Akasaka-mitsuke 赤坂見附 1.3 11.8
Minato
M14 Kokkai-gijidomae 国会議事堂前 0.9 12.7
Chiyoda
M15 Kasumigaseki 霞ケ関 0.7 13.4
M16 Ginza 銀座 1.0 14.4
Chūō
M17 Tokyo 東京 1.1 15.5
Chiyoda
M18 Otemachi 大手町 0.6 16.1
M19 Awajicho 淡路町 0.9 17.0
M20 Ochanomizu 御茶ノ水 0.8 17.8
Bunkyō
M21 Hongo-sanchome 本郷三丁目 0.8 18.6 E Toei Oedo Line (E-08)
M22 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)
M23 Myogadani 茗荷谷 1.8 21.2  
M24 Shin-otsuka 新大塚 1.2 22.4  
M25 Ikebukuro 池袋 1.8 24.2
Toshima

Branch Line

No. Station Japanese Distance (km) Transfers Location
Between
stations		 Total
Mb03 Honancho 方南町 - 0.0   Suginami
Mb04 Nakano-fujimicho 中野富士見町 1.3 1.3   Nakano
Mb05 Nakano-shimbashi 中野新橋 0.6 1.9  
M06 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

  • TRTA 300/400/500/900 series (from 1954 until 1996, later sold and exported for use on Line B of the Buenos Aires Underground)
  • TRTA 100 series (from 1962 until 1968, transferred from Ginza Line, used for Hōnanchō branch only)
  • TRTA 2000 series (from 1968 until 1981, used for Hōnanchō branch only)

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:

  • Ochanomizu to Awajichō: March 1956
  • Awajichō to Tokyo: July 1956
  • Tokyo to Nishi-Ginza (now Ginza): December 1957
  • Nishi-Ginza to Kasumigaseki: October 1958
  • Kasumigaseki to Shinjuku: March 1959
  • Shinjuku to Shin-Nakano/Nakano-Fujumichō (not Nishi-Shinjuku): February 1961
  • Shin-Nakano to Minami-Asagaya (not Higashi-Kōenji): November 1961
  • Minami-Asagaya to Ogikubo: January 23, 1962
  • Nakano-Fujimichō to Hōnanchō: March 23, 1962
  • Nishi-Ginza becomes part of Ginza when Hibiya Line reaches there: August 1964
  • Higashi-Kōenji opens (between Shin-Nakano and Shin-Kōenji): September 1964
  • Nishi-Shinjuku opens (between Shinjuku and Nakano-Sakaue) May 1996.

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. Communications-based train control (CBTC) signalling is also scheduled to be introduced together with the new rolling stock from 2022.[7]

Future plans

The platform-edge doors at Hōnanchō Station, the terminus of the Hōnanchō Branch, are being lengthened to allow six-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.[8]

References

  • Shaw, Dennis and Morioka, Hisashi, "Tokyo Subways", published 1992 by Hoikusha Publishing
  1. ↑ Tokyo Metro station ridership in 2017 Train Media (sourced from Tokyo Metro) Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  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. ↑ Tokyo Metro Plan 2018 (PDF). 2017. p. 32.
  8. ↑ 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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