1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) (1,435 mm for Ginza, Marunouchi, Toei Asakusa & Toei Ōedo Lines, 1,372 mm for Toei Shinjuku Line)
Operators
Tokyo Metro, Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei)
The Tokyo subway(東京の地下鉄,Tōkyō no chikatetsu) is a part of the extensive rapid transit system that consists of Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway in the Greater Tokyo area of Japan. While the subway system itself is largely within the city center, the lines extend far out via extensive through services onto suburban railway lines.
Tokyo Metro – Formerly the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA), it was privatized in 2004. It currently operates 179 stations on nine lines and 195.1 kilometers (121.2 mi) of route.
Toei Subway – run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, an agency of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. It operates 106 stations on four lines and 109.0 kilometers (67.7 mi) of route.
As of 2015, the combined subway network of the Tokyo and Toei metros comprises 285 stations and 13 lines covering a total system length of 304.1 kilometers (189.0 mi). The Tokyo Metro and Toei networks together carry a combined average of over eight million passengers daily. Despite being ranked first in worldwide subway usage, subways make up a small fraction of heavy rail rapid transit in Tokyo alone—only 274 out of 882 railway stations, as of 2007. The Tokyo subway at 8.7 million daily passengers only represents 22% of Tokyo's 40 million daily rail passengers (see Transport in Greater Tokyo). Other urban commuter rail systems include Keihin Electric Express Railway, Keio Corporation, Keisei Electric Railway, Odakyu Electric Railway, Seibu Railway, Tobu Railway and Tokyu Corporation.
In addition, but not formally designated as subways:
The Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit (TWR) operates a single mostly-underground line with eight stations, and 200,200 daily passengers in 2010
The Saitama Rapid Railway Line, which is essentially an extension of the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line, operates a single mostly-underground line with eight stations.
The Tōyō Rapid Railway Line, which is essentially an extension of the Tokyo Metro Tōzai Line, operates a single underground/elevated line with nine stations.
The Yamanote Line is not a subway line, but a surface commuter loop line which operates with metro-like frequencies. It is owned by JR East. It acts as a key transportation artery in central Tokyo, and is often marked on Tokyo subway maps.
The Yokohama Subway and the Minatomirai Line (In addition to the planned Kawasaki Subway) also operate in the Greater Tokyo Area, but they are not directly connected to the Tokyo subway network. However, direct through services from the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line regularly run into Yokohama's Minatomirai Line via the Tōkyū Tōyoko Line railway. On special occasions, typically around holidays, the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line and Namboku Line operate special Minatomirai (みなとみらい号?), formerly known as Yokohama Mirai (横浜みらい号?), direct through services to the Minatomirai Line.
History
1915: Japan's first underground railway opened under Tokyo Station. It was only for the railway post office, not for passengers.
1927: Tokyo Underground Railway Co., Ltd. (東京地下鉄道株式会社,Tōkyō Chika Tetsudō Kabushiki Gaisha) opened Japan's first underground line of the subway Ginza Line on December 30, 1927, and publicized as "the first underground railway in the Orient." The distance of the line was only 2.2 km between Ueno and Asakusa.
1938: Tokyo Rapid Transit Railway Co., Ltd. (東京高速鉄道株式会社,Tōkyō Kōsoku Tetsudō Kabushiki Gaisha) opened its subway system between Aoyama 6-chome (present-day Omotesando) and Toranomon.
1939: Tokyo Rapid Transit Railway extended its line from Toranomon to Shimbashi, and started an reciprocal operation with Tokyo Underground Railway.
1941: During World War II, the two subway companies merged under the name Teito Rapid Transit Authority (帝都高速度交通営団,Teito Kōsokudo Kōtsu Eidan) by the local government.
1954: The Marunouchi Line, the first subway line after World War II, opened between Ikebukuro and Ochanomizu.
1960: Toei Subway Line 1, present-day Toei Asakusa Line, opened between Oshiage and Asakusa.
1991: The Tokyo Metro Namboku Line opens.
1995: On March 20, the Tokyo subway sarin attack occurred on the Marunouchi, Hibiya, and Chiyoda Lines during the morning rush hour. Over 5,000 people were injured and 13 people were killed. All three lines ceased operation for the whole day.
2004: Teito Rapid Transit Authority was privatized and renamed Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd.
2008: The Fukutoshin Line opened.
System administration
Both Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway systems are closely integrated with a unified system of line colors, line codes, and station numbers. However, the separate administration of metro systems has some ramifications:
For single rides across Metro and Toei systems, a special transfer ticket is required. It costs 70 yen less than the sum of the Metro fare and the Toei fare, calculated based on the shortest possible route between the origin and destination stations. The Passnet system simplified such ticketing problems, by allowing one stored-fare card to be used on most of the rail operators in the Greater Tokyo Area (with the noticeable exception of JR East which continued to use its own Suica system). The new Pasmo system was introduced in 2007 and completely replaced the Passnet in 2008, finally allowing for one unified stored fare system for most of the Tokyo transit system, including JR East. The fare charged by the stored fare system is the same as for the users of paper tickets.
The systems represent the metro network differently in station, train, and customer information diagrams. For example, the Toei map represents the Toei Ōedo Line as a circle in the centre, whereas the Tokyo Metro's map saves the central ring line for the Marunouchi Line and the JR Yamanote Line. As well, each system's lines are generally rendered with thicker lines on their respective system maps.
Reciprocal operation
As is common with Japanese subway systems, many above-ground and underground lines in the Greater Tokyo Area operate through services with the Tokyo Metro and Toei lines. In a broader sense they are considered a part of the Tokyo subway network, allowing it to reach farther out into the suburbs.
1995 sarin attack
In 1995, Aum Shinri Kyo, a doomsday cult, attacked the subway system with sarin nerve gas at Kasumigaseki Station and a few others, leading to 13 deaths and over 5,000 people injured.
