Toei Subway

The Toei Subway is a major rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation under the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Ordinance on Underground High-Speed Trains. The Toei Subway lines were originally licensed to the Teito Rapid Transit Authority but were constructed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government following transfers of the licenses for each line in 1958.
It is the one of Tokyo's two subway operators, with an average daily ridership of 2.85 million; the other operator, the Tokyo Metro, carries approximately 6.52 million passengers per day, as of 2023. 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 reported its first net profit of ¥3.13bn in FY2006.
Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway 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 exceptions are 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 at Kudanshita on the Shinjuku Line, where the platform is shared with the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line. At these stations, it is possible to change between the networks without passing through a ticket gate. It is one of only two rapid transit systems operating on 3 track gauges, the other being the Barcelona Metro, Spain, using narrow, standard and broad gauge.

History

In 1920, Tokyo City, the administrative predecessor of today’s 23 special wards, announced its first formal subway development proposal through Tokyo City Notification No. 2 of 1920, designating seven routes. Consistent with the city’s broader policy of public ownership and operation of urban transportation, the network was intended to be constructed and managed municipally. However, the Great Kantō Earthquake struck on September 1, 1923, inflicting catastrophic damage on central Tokyo and altering the city’s urban and transportation planning priorities.
In 1925, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued Ministry of Home Affairs Notification No. 56 of 1925, which formally designated five routes. Under this framework, Tokyo City obtained operating licenses for four of the five proposed subway lines. However, burdened by substantial public debt in the aftermath of earthquake reconstruction, the city faced strong opposition from both the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Finance. As a result, Tokyo City was unable to secure final approval to commence construction, effectively halting its municipal subway plans.
At the time, the only subway line, now known as the Ginza Line, was constructed and operated separately by two private companies, the Tokyo Underground Railway and the Tokyo Rapid Railway, with through services between the two operators.
After the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese government integrated these two companies in 1941 to form the Teito Rapid Transit Authority, commonly known as Eidan, which later became the predecessor of today's Tokyo Metro.

Postwar construction

In Tokyo during the 1950s, post–World War II economic expansion led to rapid population growth and a sharp increase in road traffic. As a result, the effectiveness of existing public transport infrastructure, such as the Tokyo Toden system, steadily declined due to chronic road congestion, while the existing Teito Rapid Transit Authority subway network alone was unable to keep pace with rising transportation demand.
In 1954, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly adopted a resolution to construct a public subway system in addition to the network operated by the Teito Rapid Transit Authority. In accordance with urban planning directives, the Tokyo Metropolitan government Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation and Keikyu corporation obtained a license from the Teito Rapid Transit Authority to build its first line between Kuramae and Magome, and began construction of the line as part of the Toei Subway system in 1958.
Since the Toei Subway began operations on the Asakusa Line between Asakusabashi and Oshiage in 1960, with through services to the Keisei Line, the system has expanded steadily, with the opening of the Mita Line in December 1968, the Shinjuku Line in December 1978, and the Ōedo Line in December 1991. The Mita Line was extended between Meguro and Mita stations, and the Ōedo Line entered full operation.

Lines

The Toei Subway is made up of four lines operating on of route.

Through services to other lines

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:

Line	Through Lines
	Keikyū Kurihama Line and Keikyū Airport Line both via the Keikyū Main Line
	Keisei Oshiage Line, Keisei Main Line, Keisei Narita Airport Line, Hokusō Line, Keisei Higashi-Narita Line and Shibayama Railway
	Meguro Line, then Tōkyū Shin-Yokohama Line, then Sōtetsu Shin-Yokohama Line, then Sōtetsu Main Line or Sōtetsu Izumino Line
	Keiō New Line and Keio Sagamihara Line both via the Keiō Line

Mita Line shares tracks of the section from Meguro to Shirokane-takanawa with Tokyo Metro Namboku Line,.
Revenue and ridership

According to the company, an average of 2.34 million people used the company's four subway routes each day in 2008. The company made a profit of ¥12.2 billion in 2009.

Line	Revenue	Expenses	Net profit/	Revenue/day	Passengers/day	Operating ratio
	32,777	24,111	8,666	80.996	683,003	74
	33,256	26,954	6,302	77.935	606,811	81
	37,770	31,521	6,249	93.375	704,235	83
	53,294	56,498		102.764	836,179	106

Note: All financial figures are in million yen.

Branding

Apart from its own logo, a stylized ginkgo leaf used as the symbol of the Tokyo Metropolis, Toei Subway shares a design language in common with Tokyo Metro. Lines are indicated by a letter in Futura Bold on a white background inside a roundel in the line color, with signs indicating stations adding the station number as well. Line colors and letter-designations are complementary with Tokyo Metro's, with none overlapping.
Informational signage is also designed identically, with platform-level station placards differing only in the placement of the bands in the line color: Toei Subway has two thin bands at the top and bottom, while Tokyo Metro has one wider band at the bottom.

Stations

There are a total of 99 unique stations on the Toei Subway network, or 106 total stations if each station on each line counts as one station. Almost all stations are located within the 23 special wards, with many located in areas not served by the complementary Tokyo Metro network.

Rolling stock

Current vehicles

Asakusa Line – 5500 series and E5000 series
Mita Line – 6300 series and 6500 series
Shinjuku Line – 10-300 series
Oedo Line – 12-000 series and 12-600 series
Former vehicles
Asakusa Line – 5000 series, 5200 series and 5300 series
Mita Line – 6000 series and 10-000 series
Shinjuku Line – 10-000 series and 10-300R series
Network map