Tokyo Subway
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Image:TokyoMetroHibiyaLine0873.jpg Image:Saikyo.jpg Image:Tokyo subway map black.PNG
The Tokyo Subway (地下鉄 chikatetsu) is one of the world's most extensive metro/subway systems. The two primary networks are operated by
- Tokyo Metro Co. Ltd (formerly Teito Rapid Transit Authority [Eidan]), 8 lines. The lines are called Tokyo Metro in English. Minimum price for one ride: 160 yen.
- Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei), 4 lines. The lines are called Toei Subway in English. Minimum price for one ride: 170 yen.
Several other railways in the capital, notably the Tokyo Waterfront Railway, also qualify as metro (subway) by most definitions.
The Tokyo Subway often has direct service to other types of train lines including JR and private lines such as the Keio, Odakyu, and Tobu lines.
It is important to not confuse the Tokyo Subway with Japan Rail (JR), which charges a separate fee from the Toei and other private lines.
On April 1, 2004, the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA) was privatized and renamed the Tokyo Metro Co. Ltd (東京地下鉄株式会社, Tōkyō Chikatetsu K.K.). The company also uses the name Tokyo Metro (東京メトロ) in Japanese for promotional purposes.
The privatization affected only the TRTA, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government continues to operate its own Toei lines separately. (The word toei (都営) means "metropolitan-operated.")
Image:OedoShinjukuJP13Jan2005-2.jpg The separate administration of two metro systems in the same city causes several inconveniences for customers:
- The same ticket cannot be used on both systems. An additional 90 or 100 yen is charged to switch to the other system regardless of the length of the ride.
- The two systems represent the metro network differently in station, train and customer information diagrams. For example, the Toei map represents the Toei Oedo Line as a circle in the centre, implying a key function for Tokyo's whole public transport system; the Tokyo Metro's map saves the central ring line for the marunouchi line and JR Yamanote Line.
Currently (as of September 2005), there are 168 train stations operated by Tokyo Metro, with an average of 5.69 million passengers per day. They employ 8,721 staff, and the busiest station is Shinjuku (which is also the world's busiest, and second largest, with an estimated traffic of 2 million passengers per day).