Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line

The Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line (東京メトロ有楽町線, Tōkyō Metoro Yūrakuchō-sen) is a subway line in Japan owned and operated by 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" (Y), and its stations are given numbers using the letter "Y".

Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line
Yurakucho Line EMUs (from left: 10000 series, 07 series, 7000 series)
Overview
Native name東京メトロ有楽町線
Owner Tokyo Metro
LocaleTokyo
TerminiWakōshi
Shin-Kiba
Stations24
Service
TypeRapid transit
Depot(s)Wakō, Shin-Kiba
Rolling stockTokyo Metro 7000 series
Tokyo Metro 10000 series
Seibu 6000 and 6050 series
Tobu 50070 series
Tokyo Metro 17000 series (plan)
Daily ridership1,124,478[1]
History
OpenedOctober 30, 1974
Technical
Line length28.3 km (17.6 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification1,500 V DC overhead catenary
Operating speed80 km/h (50 mph)
Route map

The line was named after the Yūrakuchō business district in Chiyoda, Tokyo. 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).[2] 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 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 Tobu 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.[3]

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.[4]

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.

Station list
  • Local trains stop at every station.
    • S-Train services stop at the stations indicated by "●" and "↑" (alighting only during the morning, boarding only during the evening) and pass all stations indicated by "|".
No. Station Japanese Distance (km) S-Train Transfers Location
Between
stations		 From Y-01
Y01 Wakoshi 和光市[* 1] - 0.0  [* 2]
Wakō, Saitama
Y02 Chikatetsu-narimasu 地下鉄成増 2.2 2.2
  • F Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line (F-02) (same tracks)
  • TJ Tobu Tojo Line (Narimasu)
 Itabashi Tokyo
Y03 Chikatetsu-akatsuka 地下鉄赤塚 1.4 3.6
  • F Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line (F-03) (same tracks)
  • TJ Tobu Tojo Line (Shimo-Akatsuka)
 Nerima
Y04 Heiwadai 平和台 1.8 5.4 F Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line (F-04) (same tracks)
Y05 Hikawadai 氷川台 1.4 6.8 F Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line (F-05) (same tracks)
Y06 Kotake-mukaihara 小竹向原[* 3] 1.5 8.3 |
Y07 Senkawa 千川 1.0 9.3 | F Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line (F-07) Toshima
Y08 Kanamecho 要町 1.0 10.3 | F Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line (F-08)
Y09 Ikebukuro 池袋 1.2 11.5 [* 4]
Y10 Higashi-ikebukuro 東池袋 0.9 12.4 | SATokyo Sakura Tram (Higashi-ikebukuro-yonchome)
Y11 Gokokuji 護国寺 1.1 13.5 |   Bunkyō
Y12 Edogawabashi 江戸川橋 1.3 14.8 |  
Y13 Iidabashi 飯田橋 1.6 16.4 ↑
Shinjuku
Y14 Ichigaya 市ケ谷 1.1 17.5 |
Chiyoda
Y15 Kojimachi 麹町 0.9 18.4 |  
Y16 Nagatacho 永田町 0.9 19.3 |
Y17 Sakuradamon 桜田門 0.9 20.2 |  
Y18 Yurakucho 有楽町 1.0 21.2 ↑
Y19 Ginza-itchome 銀座一丁目 0.5 21.7 |
  • G Tokyo Metro Ginza Line (Ginza: G-09)
  • M Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line (Ginza: M-16)
  • H Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (Ginza: H-09)
 Chūō
Y20 Shintomicho 新富町 0.7 22.4 | H Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (Tsukiji: H-11)
Y21 Tsukishima 月島 1.3 23.7 | E Toei Oedo Line (E-16)
Y22 Toyosu 豊洲 1.4 25.1 ● Yurikamome Kōtō
Y23 Tatsumi 辰巳 1.7 26.8  
Y24 Shin-kiba 新木場 1.5 28.3
  1. Wakoshi is shared by both Tobu and Tokyo Metro; Tobu manages the station.
  2. The S-Train service runs between Toyosu and Tokorozawa on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line on weekday mornings and evenings.
  3. Kotake-mukaihara is shared by both Seibu Railway and Tokyo Metro; Tokyo Metro manages the station.
  4. The S-Train service stops at Ikebukuro on weekends and national holidays, when it runs between Seibu-Chichibu on the Seibu Chichibu Line and Motomachi-Chukagai on the Minatomirai Line via the Fukutoshin Line. Passengers cannot board the S-Train service at Ikebukuro.

Rolling stock

All types are operated as 10-car sets.

Tokyo Metro


  • A Tokyo Metro 7000 series EMU
  • A Tokyo Metro 10000 series EMU

Other operators
  • Seibu 40000 series EMU
  • Seibu 6000 series EMU
  • Tobu 9000 series EMU
  • Tobu 50070 series EMU

Former rolling stock
  • A Tokyo Metro 07 series EMU

Depots
A 7000 series undergoing inspection at Shin-Kiba Depot
  • 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
Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line plan
Sakuradamon Station exit in front of the former Ministry of Justice building
  • 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.[6]

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.[7]

References
  1. Tokyo Metro station ridership in 2010 Train Media (sourced from Tokyo Metro) Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  2. 株式会社電気車研究会・鉄道図書刊行会。鉄道要覧 (Tetsudō Yōran)。 (Issued every September)
  3. Metropolis, "Commute", June 12, 2009, p. 07. Capacity is defined as all passengers having a seat or a strap or door railing to hold on to.
  4. 3月6日（土）有楽町線・副都心線のダイヤ改正 (in Japanese) February 3, 2010. Accessed March 6, 2010.
  5. Shiina, Takayuki (February 2009). 東京地下鉄07系 転籍計画の概要 [Outline of Tokyo Metro 07 series reallocation plan]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 49 no. 574. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. pp. 80–83.
  6. 東急5050系4000番台が東武東上線・地下鉄有楽町線で営業運転開始 [Tokyu 5050-4000 series enters service on the Tobu Tojo Line and Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 11 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  7. 平成22年度予算案プレス発表（仮称）江東区地下鉄8号線建設基金を創設 (in Japanese)
  • Shaw, Dennis and Morioka, Hisashi, "Tokyo Subways", published 1992 by Hoikusha Publishing
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