Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation

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The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (東京都交通局 Tōkyō-to Kōtsū-kyoku?) is Tokyo's public transportation authority. Its subway lines are commonly described as 都営 Toei, meaning "operated (ei) by the metropolitan government (to)."

Contents

[edit] Toei Subway

Toei Lines in comparison to Metro lines
Toei Lines in comparison to Metro lines

TMBT is one of the two rapid transit operators in Tokyo, which along with Tokyo Metro and, effectively, the JR East Yamanote Line make up the Tokyo Subway.

The Toei lines were originally licensed to the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (the predecessor of Tokyo Metro) but were constructed by the Tokyo metropolitan government following transfers of the licenses for each line. The subway has run at a financial loss for most of its history due to high construction expenses, particularly for the Oedo Line. However, it runs at a strong operating profit, and reported its first net profit of ¥3.13bn in FY 2006.

Tokyo Metro and Toei trains form completely separate networks. While users of prepaid rail passes can freely interchange between the two networks, regular ticket holders must purchase a second ticket, or a special transfer ticket, to change from a Toei line to a Tokyo Metro line and vice versa. The sole exception is on the segment of the Toei Mita Line between Meguro and Shirokane-Takanawa, where the platforms are shared with the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line and it is therefore possible to change between the networks without passing through a ticket gate.

Color Name Route Length Gauge Current System
rose Asakusa Line Nishi-magome to Oshiage 18.3km 1435 mm 1500 VDC, overhead supply
blue Mita Line Meguro to Nishi-takashimadaira 26.5km 1067 mm 1500 VDC, overhead supply
leaf green Shinjuku Line Shinjuku to Moto-yawata 23.5km 1372 mm 1500 VDC, overhead supply
ruby Oedo Line Hikarigaoka to Tochōmae via Tochōmae, Roppongi and Ryogoku 40.7km 1435 mm 1500 VDC, overhead supply

The different gauges of the Toei lines arose in part due to the need to accommodate through services with private suburban railway lines. Through services currently in regular operation include:

The Oedo Line does not have through service with any other line.

[edit] Light rail lines

The Ueno Zoo Monorail carries passengers within the Ueno Zoo.
The Ueno Zoo Monorail carries passengers within the Ueno Zoo.

In addition to the subways, Toei also operates the Toden Arakawa Line streetcar, the Ueno Zoo Monorail, and the Nippori-Toneri Liner automated guideway transit.

[edit] Bus lines

Main article: Toei Bus

Toei operates local bus service in central Tokyo, generally to fill in the gaps unserved by the Tokyo Metro and Toei subway network.

Most routes are designated by a Chinese character followed by a two-digit route number. The initial character usually indicates the main railway station where the line terminates: for instance, 渋66 (Shibu 66) is a suburban route from Shibuya Station. Some routes replace the initial character with Latin letters, one prominent example being the RH01 service between Roppongi Hills and Shibuya. Others use a special character derived from the route, such as 虹01 (Niji [Rainbow] 01) which crosses the Rainbow Bridge. Some cross-town routes begin with the character 都 (to "metropolitan").

[edit] Other services

Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation also maintains a large fiber optic cable network in the city, as well as several electric power generators.

[edit] History

[edit] Establishment

Tokyo City purchased the Tokyo Railway Company, a streetcar operator, in 1911, and placed its lines under the authority of the Tokyo Municipal Electric Bureau (東京市電気局 Tokyo-shi Denki Kyoku?). The TMEB began bus service in 1924 as an emergency measure after the Great Kanto Earthquake knocked out streetcar service in the city. (The TMEB was also responsible for providing electric power to Tokyo, but this service was privatized in 1942 as Tokyo Electric).

In 1942, the Japanese government forced a number of private transit businesses in Tokyo to merge into the TMEB. These included the bus lines of the Tokyo Underground Railway (whose Ginza Line remained independent), the Keio Electric Railway and the Tokyu Corporation, as well as the Oji Electric Tramway (operator of the Arakawa Line) and several smaller bus companies.

In 1943, Tokyo City was abolished and the TMEB's operations were transferred to the new TMBT.

[edit] Trolley buses

TMBT operated electric "trolley buses" between 1952 and 1968 on four routes:

  • Route 101: Imai - Kameido - Oshiage - Asakusa - Ueno
  • Route 102: Ikebukuro - Shibuya - Naka-meguro - Gotanda - Shinagawa
  • Route 103: Ikebukuro - Oji - San'ya - Kameido
  • Route 104: Ikebukuro - Oji - Asakusa

The trolley buses were short-lived, however, mostly owing to their vulnerability to weather: rain caused problems with the overhead power supply, and snow required tire chains to be installed on vehicles in order to maintain grounding.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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v • d • e
Mass transit in the Tokyo area (Number of lines indicated in parentheses)
JR lines
■Yamanote • ■Chūō • ■Chūō-Sōbu • ■Jōban • ■Keihin-Tōhoku • ■Keiyō • ■Saikyō •■Shōnan-Shinjuku • ■Sōbu Rapid • ■Tōkaidō • ■Utsunomiya • ■Yokosuka
Tokyo Metro lines
○Chiyoda (C) • ○Fukutoshin (F) • ○Ginza (G) • ○Hibiya (H) • ○Marunouchi (M) • ○Namboku (N) • ○Tōzai (T) • ○Yūrakuchō (Y) • ○Hanzōmon (Z)
Toei lines
Subway: ○Asakusa (A) • ○Ōedo (E) • ○Mita (I) • ○Shinjuku (S) • Guideway: Nippori-Toneri • Streetcar: Arakawa
Major / semi-major lines
Keikyū (5) • Keiō (7) • Keisei (7) • Odakyū (5) • Seibu (13) • Shin-Keisei • Sōtetsu (2) • Tōbu (12) • Tōkyū (8)
Other lines
Suburban, JR
■Hachikō • ■Kawagoe • ■Mito • ■Musashino • ■Nambu • ■Narita • ■Negishi • ■Ōme • ■Ryōmō • ■Sagami • ■Sōbu Main • ■Sotobō • ■Takasaki • ■Tōgane • ■Tsurumi • ■Uchibō • ■Yokohama
Suburban, Non-JR
Terminals
Miscellaneous