Tokyo

HISTORY OF THE TOKYO METRO

Mister M presents
Tokyo subway

Tokyo Metro Museum

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 the 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.

  • 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.

TIMELINE STORIES

220399 people (8 seats / 130 stations) *
Number of passengers boarding and exiting at each station
The number of people getting on and off at stations that are directly connected to other railways and stations that are shared with other railways are excluded from the ranking.

The Tokyo Metro is the largest in the world in terms of the number of passengers carried, with 10 million people using its services every day. The Tokyo Metro consists of the lines of the two independent companies Tokyo Metro and Toei. The two networks are completely separate. To transfer from the line of one operator to the line of another, you need to buy a second ticket or a special ticket with the possibility of transfer. Only passengers with PASMO electronic transport cards, a Common One-day Ticket and a single Tokyo Combination Ticket can safely travel on all lines.

If this is your first time eating in Japan, then this video is for you. The Tokyo subway is one of the largest in the world and ranks first in terms of annual passenger traffic. In this video, we will show you how to buy tickets and basic rules of conduct in the Tokyo subway.