Fukutoshin line




The Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, formally the No. 13 Fukutoshin Line, is a subway line operated by Tokyo Metro in west-central Tokyo and Wako, Saitama, Japan. The newest line in the Tokyo subway network, it opened in stages between 1994 and 2008. On average, the Fukutoshin Line carried 362,654 passengers daily in 2017, the lowest of all Tokyo Metro lines and roughly one third of its sister Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line.

Overview

The Fukutoshin Line is the deepest metro line in Tokyo, with an average depth of. At Shinjuku-sanchōme Station, the line passes under the [Tokyo Metro Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line|Marunouchi Line|Marunouchi] and above the [Toei Toei Shinjuku Line|Shinjuku Line|Shinjuku] lines at a depth of, with a gap of only to the Shinjuku Line tunnel. The deepest section is at the immediately adjacent Higashi-Shinjuku Station, where the line goes down to, partly due to an underground space reservation for a possible future extension of the Jōetsu Shinkansen to Shinjuku.
It is the second Tokyo Metro line to feature express services, after the Tōzai Line; however, unlike the Tōzai Line, the Fukutoshin Line offers express services throughout the line, a first for Tokyo Metro. Express trains pass local trains at Higashi-Shinjuku, where additional tracks are installed for this purpose. Local trains stop at all stations.
When first opened, the line operated through services to Kawagoeshi Station on the Tobu Tojo Line and Hannō Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. From 16 March 2013, the Tōkyū Tōyoko Line moved to share the line's Shibuya terminus, and since then through services have operated onto the Minatomirai Line via the Tōyoko Line, terminating at Motomachi-Chūkagai Station in Yokohama. This is a rare instance of a Tokyo Metro train operating on four companies' tracks.
Since the opening of the section between Ikebukuro and Shibuya station, the Fukutoshin Line operates as a one-man operation subway line between Kotake-Mukaihara Station and Shibuya Station where chest-high platform edge doors are installed on the station platforms to aid the drivers. From 28 March 2015, one-man operation was extended from Kotake-Mukaihara to Wakōshi station, making this the third Tokyo Metro line to fully operate as one-man operation, following the Namboku Line and Marunouchi Line.
Like most Tokyo Metro lines, the first carriage of the Fukutoshin Line is designated a "women-only car" before and during the morning rush hour. During these hours only women, children of elementary school age or younger and physically disabled passengers may board the first carriage.

Station list

  • Express and commuter express trains stop at stations marked "●" and pass those marked "｜".
  • Local trains stop at all stations.

Rolling stock

Tokyo Metro

Other operators

History

Fukutoshin is Japanese for "secondary city center", and the Fukutoshin Line connects three of Tokyo's secondary city centers: Ikebukuro, Shinjuku and Shibuya. Prior to its opening, only JR East had rail service between the three. The new line was conceived to relieve congestion along this busy corridor, and to provide convenient through service between the northwest, the southwest and the central part of Tokyo served by the Yamanote Line.
The line was initially planned in 1972 as a run from Shiki to Shinjuku, with the possibility of further extension to Shibuya, and Haneda Airport. In 1985, a second Ministry of Transportation committee proposed that the line terminate at Shibuya. Part of the northern end of the original plan line became unnecessary following improvements to the Tobu Tojo Line and the beginning of through service from the Yurakucho Line.
The original plan for the Fukutoshin Line only contained fifteen stations, however in May 1999 a plan for an additional station "Shin-Sendagaya" between and was included due to an increase in demand from the area.
A segment from Kotake-Mukaihara to Ikebukuro, running parallel to the Yurakucho Line on separate tracks began operation in 1994. This segment was initially known as the Yūrakuchō New Line, and was operated with no intermediate stops.
The newest segment connecting the districts of Shinjuku and Shibuya via,, and opened for service on 14 June 2008, officially completing the Fukutoshin Line. Service to the and stations, which had been bypassed by the Yūrakuchō New Line, also started on the same day.
Technical problems resulted in delays of up to 30 minutes during the Fukutoshin Line's first few days of operation.
On 6 March 2010, express services began stopping at on weekends and holidays.
From 10 September 2012, 10-car 5050-4000 series sets entered revenue service on the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, with inter-running through to the Seibu Ikebukuro Line and Tobu Tojo Line.
From the revised timetable effective 18 March 2023, through services to and from the Sotetsu Line courtesy of the Tokyu and Sotetsu Shin-Yokohama Line began operation. This operation sees most express services continuing as far south as Shōnandai Station on the Sotetsu Izumino Line by way of the Toyoko Line.