Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line

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Native name
  
東京地下鉄有楽町線

Daily ridership
  
927,104 (2010)

Depot(s)
  
Wakō, Shin-Kiba

Locale
  
Tokyo

Type
  
Rapid transit

Opened
  
October 30, 1974

Owner
  
Tokyo Metro

Stations
  
24

Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line funinicomtraintokyometrometro700000fulljpg

Rolling stock
  
7000 series, 10000 series, Seibu 6000 and 6050 series, Tobu 50070 series

Terminis
  
Wakōshi Station, Shin-Kiba Station

The Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line (東京地下鉄有楽町線, Tōkyō Chikatetsu Yūrakuchō-sen) is a subway line in Japan owned and operated by the Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro. The line connects Wakōshi Station in Wakō, Saitama and Shin-Kiba Station in Kōtō, Tokyo. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is shown using the color "gold" (    ), and its stations are given numbers using the letter "Y".

Contents

The proper name as given in an annual report of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is Line No. 8 Yūrakuchō Line (8号線有楽町線, Hachi-gō-sen Yūrakuchō-sen). According to the Tokyo urban transportation plan, however, it is more complicated. The line number assigned to the section south from Kotake-Mukaihara to Shin-Kiba is Line 8, but that of north of Kotake-Mukaihara to Wakōshi is Line 13, which indicates the section is a portion of Fukutoshin Line which shares the same number.

Services

The Yurakucho Line has inter-running counterparts on its northern side, both of which are "major" Japanese private railway companies in Greater Tokyo. One is the Tōbu Railway at Wakōshi, north to Shinrinkōen. The other is the Seibu Railway at Kotake-Mukaihara with its bypass line Seibu Yūrakuchō Line connecting to its main Ikebukuro Line, through trains north to Kotesashi or Hannō.

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, as of June 2009 the Yurakucho Line is the fifth most crowded subway line in Tokyo, at its peak running at 173% capacity between Higashi-Ikebukuro and Gokokuji stations.

Semi-express (準急) services ran on the Yurakucho Line between June 14, 2008 and March 6, 2010, operating twice hourly between Wakōshi and Shin-Kiba. Between Wakōshi and Ikebukuro, semi-express trains stopped only at Kotake-Mukaihara; between Ikebukuro and Shin-Kiba, trains stopped at all stations. The semi-express trains ran between rush hours during weekdays and more frequently on weekends and holidays. These services were abolished and replaced with local services on March 6, 2010.

Since March 2008, very occasional Bay Resort limited express trains on the Odakyū Odawara Line operate to Shin-Kiba on the Yurakucho Line via a connecting track to the Chiyoda Line beyond Sakuradamon.

Since March 26, 2017, Seibu operates the S-Train limited-stop express service between Toyosu and Tokorozawa on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line on weekday mornings and evenings.

Rolling stock

All types are operated as 10-car sets.

Tokyo Metro

  • 7000 series (from 1974)
  • 10000 series (from September 2006)

    • Other operators

  • Seibu 6000 and 6050 series (Not all sets are permitted to run on Yūrakuchō Line tracks)
  • Seibu 40000 series (S-Train services)
  • Tobu 9000 series x 8
  • Tobu 9050 series x 2
  • Tobu 50070 series (from July 2007)
  • Odakyu 60000 series MSE (Romancecar, as Limited Express Bay Resort, occasionally)

    • Former rolling stock

  • Tokyo Metro 07 series (from 1992 until 2007)

    • Depots

  • Wakō Depot (和光検車区) (main depot)
  • Shin-Kiba Depot (新木場検車区) (responsible for minor inspections; for major ones, EMUs are forwarded to the Ayase Depot (綾瀬車両基地) on the Chiyoda Line via underground connecting tracks)
  • Shin-Kiba Car Renewal (新木場CR) (specializes in railcar refurbishment: also used for Chiyoda and Hanzōmon Line railcars)

    • History

  • October 30, 1974: Ikebukuro - Ginza-itchōme opens.
  • March 27, 1980: Ginza-itchōme - Shintomichō opens.
  • June 24, 1983: Eidan Narimasu (present Chikatetsu Narimasu) - Ikebukuro
  • October 1, 1983: Seibu Railway Seibu Yūrakuchō Line Kotake-Mukaihara - Shin-Sakuradai opened, through operation.
  • August 25, 1987: Wakōshi - Eidan Narimasu. Through service to Tōbu Tōjō Line.
  • June 8, 1988: Shintomichō - Shin-kiba, current line completed.
  • March 18, 1993: 07 series EMUs introduced.
  • December 7, 1994: Quadruple-track from Kotake-Mukaihara to Ikebukuro. New double track section was named "Yūrakuchō New Line", all trains made Ikebukuro their terminus, and did not stop at Senkawa nor Kanamechō. Through service from Shin-Kiba or Ikebukuro (on the New Line) to Nerima on Seibu Yūrakuchō Line due to completion of the line.
  • March 26, 1998: Through operation to Seibu Ikebukuro Line .
  • April 1, 2004: According to its privatization, the management subject changed from Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA, Eidan) to Tokyo Metro.
  • October 31, 2005: Women-only cars introduced.
  • September 1, 2006: 10000 series introduced.
  • May 3, 2008: Limited Express "Bay Resort" (operated first from/to Odakyu Line)
  • June 14, 2008: Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line began service. Yurakuchō New Line annexed to a part of Fukutoshin Line, and Yurakuchō Line share double tracks with Fukutoshin Line between Wakōshi and Kotake-Mukaihara. Semi-Express service started.
  • October 2008: CS-ATC enabled on the Yurakuchō Line.
  • March 6, 2010: Semi-express services abolished.

    • From 10 September 2012, 10-car 5050-4000 series sets entered revenue service on the Yurakucho Line, with inter-running through to the Tobu Tojo Line.

    Future developments

    A branch line has been planned since the early 1980s from Toyosu Station, heading north via Kameari Station (on the Jōban Line) to Noda in northwest Chiba Prefecture.

    References

    Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA