History Of The Tokyo Subway System

Japan’s first subway

Type 1000 Car No.1 Inside the 1000 class Type 1000 driver’s seat

Tokyo Subway Type 1000

The history of Tokyo’s subway system began in 1927 when the Tokyo Subway Company started service between Asakusa and Ueno stations.
It was designed with a high level of security for its time, incorporating a third-gauge electric system, steel carbodies for flame retardance, and battering-type ATS and door engines to prevent rear-end collisions.
The line was later extended to Shimbashi Station and the Tokyo Rapid Transit began direct service between Shimbashi Station and Shibuya Station, forming the current Ginza Line. The first subway car introduced was the Type 1000, shown in photos (1) to (3) above.

From Teito Rapid Transit Company to Tokyo Subway

Teito Rapid Transit Brigade was an organization for the purpose of control and management to carry out the Sino-Japanese War. After the war, most of the brigades were dismantled by the order of GHQ, but the Teito Rapid Transit Brigade was recognized that its operation was not for the purpose of war, and it continued to operate as a special corporation funded by JNR (Japan National Railways) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
Although it was a special corporation at the time, it was a member of the Japan Association of Private Railways (JAPR) and therefore also a member of the major private railway companies.
In April 2004, the company was privatized and became Tokyo Subway Co.

Subway Museum

Type 300 ( Marunouchi Line)

The 300 class was a double-driven structure car built in 1954, the year before the Marunouchi Line opened between Ikebukuro and Ochanomizu Stations. The car was 18 m long, with three double doors on each side, and was 2,800 mm wide, one size larger than the 16 m long, 2,600 mm wide cars on the Ginza Line.
The design was licensed from the New York City Subway, and the car was manufactured under a license agreement with WH for high-performance car systems such as main electric motors and brake systems. The 30 cars from No. 301 to No. 330 were in service until 1995, when they were replaced by Series 02 cars. Type 300 car No.301 (static preservation)

driver’s seat resistive device FS301 bogie Collector shoes

Type 2000 ( Ginza Line)

Type 2000 was a standard type car for Ginza Line and 104 cars were manufactured between 1959 and 1963. In July 1993, the Ginza Line united the Series 01 and replaced the batter type ATS with the CS-ATC security system. Series 2000 (1/20 scale model)

Series 01 (Ginza Line)
Series 01 started commercial operation in January 1984, and 228 cars were manufactured until 1997.
The control system used was high-frequency divided armature chopper control from the first to the 36th trains, and IGBT VVVF inverter control from the 38th trains onward.
The main electric motors are cage type three-phase AC induction motors ( 120kW). Series 01 (1/20 scale model)

Series 5000 ( Tozai Line)

The Series 5000 was introduced on the Tozai Line in 1964.
It was the first 20-meter class car in the Eidan subway (now Tokyo subway). 428 cars were manufactured until 1981, but it was withdrawn from the Tozai Line in 2007. Series 5000 (1/20 scale model)

Series 9000 ( Namboku Line)

The Series 9000 was introduced on November 29, 1991, when the Namboku Line partially opened.
Later, when the line was extended between Yotsuya and Komagome, it was upgraded to a six-car formation.
In order to improve the safety and stopping accuracy of one-man operation, ATO, which incorporates artificial intelligence (AI), is used to automatically operate the train from acceleration to station stop by simply pressing the start button. Series 9000 (1/80 scale model)

Subway Museum

Access: In front of Kasai Station on the Tokyo Subway Tozai Line, across the pedestrian crossing on Kannana-dori.
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Admission until 4:30 p.m.)
Closed: Mondays (or the following Tuesday if Monday is a national holiday), Year-end and New Year holidays (12/30 – 1/3)
Admission: Adults 210 yen, Children 100 yen (4 years old and up to junior high school students)
The photos on this page were taken at the museum. Entrance to the Subway Museum

Ayase Rail Yard

The Ayase Railcar Yard is the collective name for the Ayase Car Inspection District and the Ayase Plant, and has the largest area (141,810 m2) of any Tokyo Metro railcar yard.
The Ayase Inspection District was established in December 1969 and has a car holding capacity of 273 cars, with cars from the Chiyoda Line, Yurakucho Line, Fukutoshin Line, Namboku Line, and Saitama Rapid Transit coming into the district. The Ayase Plant has an annual inspection capacity of about 1,500 cars. In December 1979, the Chiyoda Line Kita Ayase Branch Line was opened between Ayase and Kita Ayase Station by converting the line leading to the depot into a passenger line.

Tokyo Metro Smile Festa Rail Yard Event 2010 in AYASE] (November 28, 2010)
The event, which was open to the public at the Ayase Rail Yard, included a train photo session (Series 16000, 6000, 06, and Odakyu Type 4000), an exhibition of Hibiya Line Series 3000 trains and a train tour, a train lifting demonstration (Series 6000), a model train driving experience, a Metro Plarail corner, an electric circuit operation experience, a door opening and closing experience, and various goods for sale. and various goods for sale.

017s-11 018s-9 019s-15

020s-11 021s-10 023s-8 022s-4

Nakano rail yard

024s-10 025s-8 In 1961, the inspection area and the factory were established and it became the Nakano railcar depot.
In 1988, the Nakano Works was completely renovated after the Koishikawa Sub-base was closed down and the Nakano Works was assigned to conduct inspections of important parts and general inspections of the Ginza Line and Marunouchi Line rolling stock. The Nakano Inspection Area covers an area of 59,248 square meters and has 336 Series 02 (Marunouchi Line) cars (53 six-car trains for the main line and 6 three-car trains for the branch lines). The station is located near Nakano-Fujimicho Station on the Marunouchi Line. Because the Ginza Line and Marunouchi Line cannot be connected with other lines, new cars are basically transported from the manufacturer to Kawasaki Freight Station by Class A transport, and from there they are carried to the Nakano Inspection District by road transport using trailer trucks. All cars of Series 01 for Ginza Line and Series 02 for Marunouchi Line were carried in at this inspection area. Also, the cars transferred to Argentine Subway (Type 300, Type 500 and Type 900) were taken out from the main inspection area and transported by trailer truck to Kawasaki Wharf.

Tokyo Subway Lines

Lines in order of opening interval distance cross platform Ginza Line (shopping district in Tokyo) Asakusa – Shibuya 14.3Km – Marunouchi Line (railway in Tokyo) Between Ikebukuro and Ogikubo Nakanosakaue and Honancho 27.4Km – Hibiya Line (Hiroshima-North Okayama Railway) Kitasenju – Nakameguro 20.3Km Tokyu Corporation “Toyoko Line” Tobu Corporation “Isesaki Line east-west line Nakano – Nishi Funabashi 30.8Km JR East “Chuo Loop Line”, Toyo Rapid Transit “Toyo Rapid Transit Line Chiyoda Line Between Ayase and Yoyogi Uehara Ayase – Kita Ayase 24.0Km Odawara Line” and “Tama Line” of Odakyu Electric Railway, “Joban Loose Line” of East Japan Railway Yurakucho Line Wako-shi – Shinkiba 28.3Km Tobu Railway “Tojo Line”, Seibu Railway “Ikebukuro Line”, Tokyu Corporation “Toyoko Line” (connection planned) Hanzomon Line Shibuya – Oshiage 16.8Km Tokyu Corporation “Denentoshi Line”, Tobu Corporation “Isesaki Line”, “Nikko Line Nambu Line (south-south line of the Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line) Meguro – Akabane-Iwabuchi 21.3Km Tokyu Corporation “Meguro Line” Saitama Rapid Transit “Saitama Rapid Transit Line Fukutoshin Line Wako-shi – Shibuya 20.2Km Tobu Railway “Tojo Line”, Seibu Railway “Ikebukuro Line”, Tokyu Corporation “Toyoko Line” (connection planned)

History of Railroad Accidents

Fire accident at Kamiyacho Station on the Hibiya Line of the Eidan Subway [ January 27, 1968].
A fire broke out near Kamiyacho Station on the Hibiya Line of the Eidan Subway (now Tokyo Metro). The fire started near the main resistor of the third car of a six-car Tobu Railway Series 2000 train, which was being transported. Fortunately, no one was killed because the train was on its way to the side track at Kasumigaseki Station after it was found at Roppongi Station that the main resistor was red-hot and smoke was emitting from the area. Injured.
The car that was destroyed by the fire was restored to normal operation after its body and equipment had been rebuilt.
The cause of the fire was considered to be that the main resistor overheated due to overcurrent, and the fire started from the plastic conduit on the top and spread.
About an hour before this accident, this train was in operation bound for Nakameguro when the main controller had trouble in the advancing stage. The main resistors overheated because the polarity was not changed even if the driver operated the converter (because the unit was open) and the generator brake was always applied while the train was running.
This accident, in which one car, which was classified as a Type A-A car, the highest rank in fireproof standards at the time, burned down, triggered a review of the use of flammable car parts, and the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), taking the seriousness of the situation seriously, conducted a drastic review that included actual combustion experiments on actual cars in the Nakano Works of the Eidan, and in May 1969 (Showa 44), the conventional fireproof standards were revised as follows In May 1969, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (now the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) issued a new fireproof standard (the so-called A-A standard) by issuing a notice entitled “Measures against Fire Accidents on Trains,” which replaced the previous notice and strengthened fire accident prevention measures. These standards are strict even by global standards, and have contributed to the prevention of railway fire accidents since then.

Fire accident at Hiroo Station on the Hibiya Line [ November 21, 1972].

A B871S train (8-car 3000 Series, all-electric cars) on the Hibiya Line of the Teito Rapid Transit Company (now Tokyo Subway) lost power in the train due to an overload relay 600 meters before Hiroo Station.
The train was stopped at Hiroo Station and passengers were disembarked. The inspection immediately afterwards found no abnormality in the train.
However, after hearing a passenger report that there was a banging sound coming from under the floor of the fourth car, and that some smoke was coming from under the floor, the crew and station staff decided to move the train to the side track at Hiroo Station, lower the pantograph, and inspect the train again.
During the inspection, smoke was found coming from the disconnecting device of Car 5 (the fourth car from the front in operation). We tried to extinguish the smoke with a powder fire extinguisher, but during the operation, the smoke became stronger with an explosion sound, and we had to wait. The smoke did not subside, so the fire department was notified. 3539’s current breaker was damaged by fire, and some underfloor equipment such as a high-pressure tuna box was damaged by fire, but there were no casualties.

Train overturned on the Tozai Line of Eidan Subway [ February 28, 1978, around 9:34 p.m.].

A rapid train (10-car Eidan Series 5000) bound for Nakano on the Tozai Line of the Eidan Subway overturned on the Arakawa Nakagawa Bridge between Minamisunamachi and Kasai Stations (Nishi-Kasai Station had not yet opened at the time) when the rear two cars were hit by a gust of wind caused by a tornado and rolled over on the tracks heading toward Nishi Funabashi.

One car derailed and 23 people were injured. At the time, the Eidan had installed anemometers at key locations on the ground, and a buzzer would sound when the wind speed exceeded 15 m/s, indicating cautionary operation, while trains would be suspended at 20 m/s and operation halted at 25 m/s.
Although an anemometer was installed at a point 800m from the site, the warning buzzer did not sound at the Otemachi Transport Control Center.
At the time, the weather conditions were extremely unstable, with low pressure 988mb around 40°N 137°E and one discontinuous line passing over Tokyo at 9pm.
The tornado gusts caused damage to eight houses and blew off the roofs of 60 houses in Toda, Kawasaki City at 9:20 p.m. The damage area was a strip 300 to 500 meters wide and 30 km from Kawasaki City to the east of Ichikawa City, and the damage was concentrated within 25 to 30 minutes.
The tornado gusts were 80 to 100 km/h and are believed to have traveled directly northeast or east-northeast. The weight of the stainless steel cars was an issue, but subsequent investigations concluded that the probability of a tornado striking a moving train was 1 in 50 to 100 years, and that it was a force majeure event. The two derailed and overturned cars were dismantled on site because of the difficulty of restoring them on the bridge, and two new cars with the same number were built to replace them.

Nakameguro Station Pull-up Line Collision [ June 16, 1992, 8:50 a.m.

A Tobu 2000 Series train was entering the station and ran into the third car from the rear of an exiting Eidan 3000 Series train on the pull-up line point in Nakameguro Station. There was no damage to passengers because the collision occurred on the pull-up line.
The direct cause was that the driver on the Tobu 2000 Series train overlooked the second changeover signal, but the train was previously controlled by the first changeover signal at the target position of the main line stop. However, because ATC protection was not provided on the line, there was only 10m to the limit of obstruction, and there was no room to stop the train if it accidentally ran too fast.
This was not an accident under the ATC system, although the line was in the area where ATC was installed on the main line. This is the second accident at Nakameguro Station since 1965, when the bogie frame was damaged.

The derailment accident in Saginuma garage of Hanzomon Line [ October and December, 1992]

A series of derailments occurred in the Saginuma garage of the Hanzomon Line of the Eidan Subway. Concerns about lightweight car bodies and bolster-less bogies were voiced, and an internal investigation committee was formed jointly by the Track Section and the Inspection Section to study the issue. This is why the Hibiya Line Nakameguro accident could not be prevented. In lightweight cars, the difference in weight between the bogie and the diagonal line increases as a ratio, which increases the derailment coefficient, so wheel-weight balance adjustment is required to match the weight reduction.

Hibiya Line Derailment and Collision [ March 8, 2000, 9:01 a.m.]

A train derailed on the Hibiya Line of the Teito Rapid Transit Company (Teito Metro – now Tokyo Metro), killing five people and injuring 64 others. The last car (03-802) of the Hibiya Line train, an Eidan 03 series train from Kitasenju bound for Kikuna directly connected to the Tokyu Toyoko Line, derailed after climbing a steep curve in front of Nakameguro Station.
When it ran out of the side-taking point for the equipment line, it collided with an oncoming Tobu Line direct Takenotsuka-bound train (Tobu 20050 Series, Moha 23852-26852), and was wrecked. As a cause, it is said that the imbalance of the weight (wheel weight ratio) applied to eight wheels in one car reached 30%, but it was left unattended, and it was an accident caused by the combined factors that there was no guard rail (guard rail) and many trains were concentrated even though it was a sharp curve of 160m radius, and it was after morning rush hour when the amount of rail oil increases. It is said that the accident occurred due to a combination of factors.