Native name 名城線 Locale Nagoya, Japan | Stations 28 | |
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Daily ridership 197,082 (2008) (including Meikō Line) | ||
The Meijō Line (名城線, Meijō-sen) is a subway line forming part of the Nagoya Municipal Subway system in Nagoya, Japan, operated by Transportation Bureau City of Nagoya. It is a loop line that runs from Kanayama, via Sakae, Ōzone, Nagoya Daigaku, and back to Kanayama, all within Nagoya. The Meijō Line color on maps is wisteria purple. Its stations are numbered with the prefix "M". Officially, the line consists of Nagoya City Rapid Railway Line 2 (名古屋市高速度鉄道第2号線, Nagoya-shi Kōsokudo Tetsudō Dai-ni-gō-sen), the western part, and Line 4 (第4号線, Dai-yon-gō-sen), the eastern part. All the stations accept manaca, a rechargeable contactless smart card.
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This is the second loop subway line built in Japan, after Toei Ōedo Line. Ōedo Line, however, has a railway zig zag at Tochōmae, meaning Meijō Line is the first (and currently the only) true loop subway line in the nation. The line is longer than JR Ōsaka Loop Line (21.7 km), but shorter than JR Yamanote Line (34.5 km). It takes 48 minutes to complete the loop.
The name Meijō derives itself from the abbreviated kanji form of Nagoya Castle (名古屋城, Nagoya-jō).
Stations
Listed clockwise:
1: Planned lines.2: Through service to/from Meijō Line.Current
Former
History
The first section of Line 2, between Sakae-machi (current Sakae) and Shiyakusho, opened in 1965. The line was named Meijō Line in 1969, and the extension was completed in 1971. Line 4 opened its first section between Aratama-bashi and Kanayama in 1974. The line extension was completed in 2004, making a loop line together with Line 2. At the same time, the whole loop line was renamed the Meijō Line, and the section of Line 2 between Kanayama and Nagoyakō, outside the loop, became the Meikō Line.
Women-only cars were introduced on the line on 4 July 2016, operating in the mornings until 09:00.