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Toei Asakusa Line

The Toei Asakusa Line (都営地下鉄浅草線, Toei Chikatetsu Asakusa-sen) is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the municipal subway operator Toei Subway. The line runs between Nishi-magome in Ōta and Oshiage in Sumida. The line is named after the Asakusa district, a cultural center of Tokyo, under which it passes.

The Asakusa Line was the first subway line in Japan to offer through services with a private railway. Today, it has more through services to other lines than any other subway line in Tokyo. Keikyu operates through trains on the Keikyu Main Line to Misakiguchi and the Keikyu Airport Line to Haneda Airport Domestic Terminal. The Keisei Electric Railway operates through trains on the Keisei Oshiage Line to Inba-Nihon-Idai and the Keisei Main Line to Narita Airport Terminal 1, and the Shibayama Railway runs trains via the Keisei Main Line and the Shibayama Railway Line to Shibayama-Chiyoda. Via its through services with Keisei and Keikyu, the Asakusa line is the only train line that offers a direct connection between Tokyo's two main airports.

The Asakusa Line is often split into two routes: Oshiage–Sengakuji and Sengakuji–Nishi-magome; only some trains make all station stops on the line, as many trains travel on the Keikyu Main Line south of Sengakuji.

On maps and signboards, the line is shown in the color rose. Stations carry the letter "A" followed by a two-digit number inside a more reddish vermilion circle.

Services

Station list

  1. ^ Sengakuji is shared by both Keikyu Corporation and Toei; Toei manages the station.
  2. ^ Oshiage is shared by both Keisei Electric Railway and Toei; Keisei Electric Railway manages the station.

Rolling stock

A variety of rolling stock is in use due to the large number of through service operators on the line, all of which use standard gauge tracks and 1,500 V DC electrification via overhead lines. Currently, six operators run trains onto the Asakusa Line, the most of any Tokyo subway line, and the line is unique as the only subway line in Tokyo with through services onto standard gauge railways (all other through services are with narrow gauge lines).

Toei

Keisei Electric Railway

Keikyu

Hokuso Railway

Chiba New Town Railway

Shibayama Railway

Former rolling stock

History

The Toei Asakusa Line was the first subway line constructed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The line number is Line 1, because it was technically the first subway line in Tokyo to be planned in the 1920s as an underground route connecting the Keikyu and Keisei Electric Railway via Shinagawa, eventually allowing for through trains between these two railways. In its original plan form, the line would have actually bypassed Asakusa Station entirely. However, the plan was changed to take advantage of the existing Tobu Isesaki Line (section now named as the Tobu Skytree Line) and Tokyo Metro Ginza Line connections at Asakusa.

Construction of this line began on 27 August 1956 after years of delays, and the initial 3.2 km (2.0 mi) segment between Oshiage and Asakusabashi opened on 4 December 1960. The line then opened in stages from north to south:

The line was named Asakusa Line on 1 July 1978.[3]

From 1998 to 2002, the Asakusa Line was used as part of a rail connection between Tokyo's two major airports, Haneda and Narita. While a few trains still run between the airports, the service has greatly diminished in frequency since 2002.[citation needed]

In 2005, a research group of government, metropolitan and railway company officials proposed that the Asakusa Line be connected to Tokyo Station via a spur to the north of Takarachō Station. This would provide Tokyo Station's first direct connection to the Toei subway network. It would also make it possible to reach Haneda Airport in 25 minutes (versus 35 minutes today) and Narita Airport in 40 minutes (versus 57 minutes today).[4] This plan has yet to be finalized or formally adopted. Authorities are re-considering a similar plan as part of the infrastructure improvements for the 2020 Summer Olympics; the proposed line would cut travel time to Haneda from 30 minutes to 18 minutes, and to Narita from 55 minutes to 36 minutes, at a total cost of around 400 billion yen.[5]

References

  1. ^ 東京都交通局ホーム – 経営情報 – 交通局の概要 – 都営地下鉄 [Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation Home – Management Information – Overview of the Department of Transportation – Toei Subway] (in Japanese). 東京都交通局 [Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation]. April 1, 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
  2. ^ 東京都交通局,ピックアップ情報,「ありがとう5300形 都営まるごときっぷ」を限定発売 [Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation announces "Thank you 5300 series"]. Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (in Japanese). 7 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  3. ^ "都営交通のあらまし2020" [Toei Transportation Summary 2020] (PDF). Toei Transportation Online (in Japanese). Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  4. ^ 都営浅草線東京駅接着等の事業化推進に関する検討 調査結果のとりまとめ Archived 2007-08-24 at the Wayback Machine, May 2003.
  5. ^ "羽田・成田発着を拡大、五輪へインフラ整備急ぐ" [Race to increase slots at Haneda & Narita and build infrastructure for Olympics]. Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Nikkei Inc. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.

External links

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