As of 2023[update], the combined subway network of the Tokyo and Toei metros comprises 286 stations and 13 lines covering a total system length of 304.0 kilometers (188.9 mi). The Tokyo Metro and Toei networks together carry a combined average of over eight million passengers daily.[5] Despite being ranked second overall in worldwide subway usage (after the Shanghai Metro) as of 2019, subways make up a relatively small fraction of heavy rail rapid transit in Tokyo alone—only 286 out of 938 railway stations, as of 2020.[6] The Tokyo subway at 8.7 million daily passengers only represents 22% of Tokyo's 40 million daily rail passengers (see Transport in Greater Tokyo).[7] Other urban commuter rail systems include Keikyu Corporation (formerly the Keihin Electric Express Railway), Keio Corporation, Keisei Electric Railway, Odakyu Electric Railway, Seibu Railway, Tobu Railway and Tokyu Corporation.
The Yamanote Line and Chūō Line (Rapid) are not subway lines, but a surface commuter loop line (Yamanote Line) and a cross-city line that operate with metro-like frequencies. They are owned by JR East, act as key transportation arteries in central Tokyo, and are often marked on Tokyo subway maps.
1927: Tokyo Underground Railway Co., Ltd. (東京地下鉄道株式会社, Tōkyō Chika Tetsudō Kabushiki Gaisha) opened Japan's first underground line of the subway Ginza Line on 30 December 1927, and publicized as "the first underground railway in the Orient." The distance of the line was only 2.2 km between Ueno and Asakusa.
1938: Tokyo Rapid Transit Railway Co., Ltd. (東京高速鉄道株式会社, Tōkyō Kōsoku Tetsudō Kabushiki Gaisha) opened its subway system between Aoyama 6-chome (present-day Omotesando) and Toranomon.
1939: Tokyo Rapid Transit Railway extended its line from Toranomon to Shimbashi, and started an reciprocal operation with Tokyo Underground Railway.
1941: During World War II, the two subway companies merged under the name Teito Rapid Transit Authority (帝都高速度交通営団, Teito Kōsokudo Kōtsu Eidan) by the local government.
1995: On 20 March, the Tokyo subway sarin attack occurred on the Marunouchi, Hibiya, and Chiyoda Lines during the morning rush hour. Over 5,000 people were injured and 13 people were killed. All three lines ceased operation for the whole day.
Both the Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway systems are closely integrated with a unified system of line colors, line codes, and station numbers. However, the separate administration of metro systems has some ramifications:
For single rides across Metro and Toei systems, a special transfer ticket is required. It costs 70 yen less than the sum of the Metro fare and the Toei fare, calculated based on the shortest possible route between the origin and destination stations.[9] The Passnet system simplified such ticketing problems, by allowing one stored-fare card to be used on most of the rail operators in the Greater Tokyo Area (with the noticeable exception of JR East which continued to use its own Suica system). The new Pasmo system was introduced in 2007 and completely replaced the Passnet in 2008, finally allowing for one unified stored fare system for most of the Tokyo transit system, including JR East. The fare charged by the stored fare system may be slightly less than for users of paper tickets, as fares are calculated in ¥1 increments on stored fare cards whereas paper tickets are calculated at ¥10 increments.
The systems represent the metro network differently in station, train, and customer information diagrams. For example, the Toei map represents the Toei Ōedo Line as a circle in the centre, whereas the Tokyo Metro's map saves the central ring line for the Marunouchi Line and the JR Yamanote Line. As well, each system's lines are generally rendered with thicker lines on their respective system maps.
As is common with Japanese subway systems, many above-ground and underground lines in the Greater Tokyo Area operate through services with the Tokyo Metro and Toei lines. Through services operate on all lines except Tokyo Metro Ginza and Marunouchi Lines and Toei Oedo Line. In a broader sense they are considered a part of the Tokyo subway network, allowing it to reach farther out into the suburbs.
Tokyo Metro 6000 series and Odakyu 60000 series MSE Romancecar EMUs at Yoyogi-Uehara
^平成17年 大都市交通センサス 第10回 [2005 Metropolitan transportation census (10th)] (PDF) (in Japanese). 国土交通省 総合政策局 交通計画課 [Land, Infrastructure and Transportation Ministry, Transport Policy Bureau]. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
