The Midōsuji Line(御堂筋線,Midōsuji-sen) is a rapid transit line in Osaka, Japan, operated by the Osaka Municipal Subway. Constructed under Midōsuji, a major north-south street, it is the oldest line in the Osaka subway system and the second oldest in Japan, following the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line. Its official name is Rapid Electric Tramway Line No. 1(高速電気軌道第1号線), while the Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau refers to it as Osaka City Rapid Railway Line No. 1(大阪市高速鉄道第1号線), and in MLIT publications it is referred to as Line No. 1 (Midōsuji Line)(1号線（御堂筋線）). On line maps, stations on the Midōsuji Line are indicated with the letter M.
North of Nakatsu it runs above ground in the median of Shin-midōsuji, an elevated freeway.
The section between Senri-chūō and Esaka is owned and operated by Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway (北大阪急行電鉄,Kita Osaka Dentetsu), but is seamless to the passengers except with respect to fare calculations.
Line data
Above-ground section: north of Nakatsu to Esaka; Esaka to south of Senri-Chūō (Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway)
Block signalling: Automatic
Train protection system: WS-ATC
Cars per train: 10 (1996 – present)
Maximum possible cars per train (platform length): 10
Rolling stock
10/10A series (since 1976/1979) (10 series were transferred from Tanimachi Line)
21 series (since 1991)
30000 series (since 10 December 2011)
Kita-Osaka Kyuko 8000 series (since 1987)
Kita-Osaka Kyuko 9000 series (since 28 April 2014)
Former
100 series (1933–1969)
200 series (1935–1969)
300 series (1938–1969)
400 series (1943–1969)
500 series (1949–1969)
600 series (1951–1969)
1000 series (1953–1969)
1100 series (1957–1969)
1200 series (1958–1969)
50 series (1960–1969)
30 series (1968–1993)
Kitakyū 7000/8000 series (1969–1970)
Kitakyū 2000 series (1969–1993)
History
The Midōsuji Line was the first subway line in Osaka and the first government-operated subway line in Japan. Its construction was partly an effort to give work to the many unemployed people in Osaka during the early 1930s. The initial tunnel from Umeda to Shinsaibashi, dug entirely by hand, opened in 1933 after being initially plagued by cave-ins and water leakage caused by the poor composition of the earth below northern Osaka and the equally poor engineering skills of the work crew. The first cars were hauled onto the line by manpower and pack animals from the National Railway tracks near Umeda.
Although the line only operated with single cars at first, its stations were designed from the outset to handle trains of up to eight cars. The line was gradually extended over the next few decades, completing its current length in 1987, making it the second-longest subway line in Osaka after the Tanimachi Line (excluding the Kita-Osaka Kyūkō Railway extension of the Midōsuji Line).
May 20, 1933 - Umeda (temporary station) - Shinsaibashi (opening). Trains started running in single car formation.
October 6, 1935 - Umeda Station (present station) opened.
October 30, 1935 - Shinsaibashi - Namba (opening). Trains started running in 2-car formation.
April 21, 1938 - Namba - Tennōji (opening). Trains started running in 3-car formation.
Construction stopped during World War II.
December 20, 1951 - Tennōji - Shōwachō (opening)
October 5, 1952 - Shōwachō - Nishitanabe (opening)
August 1, 1953 - Trains started running in 4-car formation.
April 1, 1957 - Trains started running in 5-car formation.
May 1, 1958 - Trains started running in 6-car formation.
July 1, 1960 - Nishitanabe - Abiko (opening)
June 1, 1963 - Trains started running in 8-car formation.
September 1, 1964 - Umeda - Shin-Osaka (opening)
August 29, 1968 - 30 series EMUs began operation.
February 24, 1970 - Shin-Osaka - Esaka together with Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway (Kitakyu) (opening). This section of track was the first in the Midōsuji Line to utilize Automatic Train Control instead of Automatic Train Stop.
April 1, 1971 - Centralized traffic control introduced.
February 16, 1976 - 10 series EMUs begin operation.
April 18, 1987 - Abiko - Nakamozu (opening). Refurbishment of stations to accommodate 9-car trainsets began.
August 24, 1987, Refurbishment of stations complete, hence all trains were regrouped into 9-car formation.
May 14, 1991 - 21 series EMUs begin operation.
1993 - All trains on the Midōsuji Line are fully air-conditioned after the withdrawal of the 30 series and the Kitakyū 2000 series the same year.
December 9, 1995 - Refurbishment of stations to accommodate 10-car trainsets began.
September 1, 1996 - Refurbishment of stations completed, hence all trains were regrouped into 10-car formation.
November 11, 2002 - Women-only cars were introduced.
December 2011 - 30000 series trains entered service
