Chiyoda line




The Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro in Tokyo, Japan. On average, the line carries 1,447,730 passengers daily, the second highest of the Tokyo Metro network, behind the Tozai Line.
The line was named after the Chiyoda ward, under which it passes. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is shown using the color green, and its stations are given numbers using the letter "C".

Overview

The line serves the wards of Adachi, Arakawa, Bunkyō, Chiyoda, Minato and Shibuya, and a short stretch of tunnel in Taitō with no station. Its official name, rarely used, is Line 9 Chiyoda Line. The Chiyoda Line was built as a bypass for the older Hibiya Line, with both lines following a similar route and having direct interchanges at three stations. Trains have through running onto other railway lines on both ends. More than half of these are trains to the northeast beyond Ayase onto the East Japan Railway Company Joban Line to . The rest run to the southwest beyond Yoyogi-Uehara onto the Odakyu Odawara Line to.
Services on the Kita-Ayase branch consist of a combination of shuttle services to Ayase and through services to Yoyogi-Uehara.
The Chiyoda Line has direct interchanges with all other Tokyo Metro and Toei lines with the exception of the Toei Oedo Line. However, Yushima Station is located relatively close to Ueno-okachimachi Station on the Oedo Line without being marked as an official transfer between the lines.
According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, as of June 2009 the Chiyoda Line was the second most crowded subway line in Tokyo, at its peak running at 181% capacity between and stations. In 2016 congestion was reported at 178%. In both fiscal years 2021 & 2022 the congestion rate had dropped to 139%, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Basic data

  • Distance:
  • Double-tracking: Entire line
  • Railway signalling: New CS-ATC

    Metro Morning Way, Metro Homeway and Metro Hakone

Metro Morning Way and Metro Homeway and are fully reserved seat commuter trains operating between Hon Atsugi on the Odakyu Odawara Line and Kita-Senju on the Chiyoda Line using 60000 series MSE Romancecar trains. These services require a seat reservation as well as payment of the Limited Express fee. Tickets can be purchased online or at ticket vending machines or ticket counters at Odakyu stations. Travel wholly within the Chiyoda Line is not permitted.
As of July 2024, on weekdays there are 2 Metro ''Morning Way services to Kita-Senju arriving 07:53 & 09:40, and there are 5 Metro Homeway services departing Otemachi hourly between 17:30 & 21:30 of which only the 18:30 departure commences from Kita-Senju at 18:14. On weekends and holidays there is one Metro Morning Way service to Kita-Senju arriving 09:46 and 2 Metro Homeway services departing Kita-Senju at 19:35 & 20:35.
Metro Hakone'' is a similar service operating in the counter-peak direction between Kita-Senju and Hakone-Yumoto on the Hakone Tozan Line to serve visitors to Hakone, with a travel time of approximately 2 hours. On weekdays there is 1 trip in each direction, departing Kita-Senju at 09:47 and arriving back at Kita-Senju at 16:46. On weekends and holidays there are 3 trips in each direction: departing Kita-Senju at 08:33, 10:37 & 15:22, arriving back at Kita-Senju at 12:47, 18:21 & 19:53.

Station list

  • All stations are located in Tokyo.
  • Stopping patterns:
  • * Commuter Semi Express, Local, Semi Express, and Express trains stop at every station.
  • * Odakyu Romancecar ''Metro Morning Way and Metro Homeway'' limited express services stop at stations marked "●" and does not stop at those marked "｜".

    Rolling stock

, the following train types are used on the line, all running as ten-car formations unless otherwise indicated.

Tokyo Metro

The Chiyoda Line was originally proposed in 1962 as a line from Setagaya in Tokyo to Matsudo, Chiba; the initial name was "Line 8". In 1964, the plan was changed slightly so that through service would be offered on the Joban Line north of Tokyo, and the number was changed to "Line 9".
Line 9 was designed to pass through built-up areas in Chiyoda, and also intended to relieve the busy Ginza Line and Hibiya Line, which follow a roughly similar route through central Tokyo.
The first stretch was opened on December 20, 1969 between and. The line was almost completed by October 10, 1972 when it reached, although the section to was not completed until March 31, 1978.
The branch line to was opened on December 20, 1979. This branch primarily serves as a connection to Ayase Depot, but also serves Kita-Ayase Station constructed in the area. A three-car shuttle service operated between Ayase and Kita-Ayase.
The Chiyoda Line was one of the lines targeted in the Aum sarin gas attack on March 20, 1995.
On May 15, 2006, women-only cars were introduced on early-morning trains from on the Joban Line to.
On March 18, 2008, the Chiyoda Line became the first subway line in Japan with operations by reserved-seating trains when Odakyu Romancecar limited express services began running between Kita-Senju and and . Trains also run from/to using tracks connecting to the Yurakucho Line.
On March 16, 2019, 10-car trains commenced operation on the branch line to Kita-Ayase station after platforms were lengthened by 135m, allowing direct services from Kita-Ayase to Yoyogi-Uehara.