Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line

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Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line
A Yūrakuchō Line 17000 series train
Overview
Other name(s)	Y
Native name	東京メトロ有楽町線
Owner	Tokyo Metro
Line number	8
Locale	Tokyo
Termini	Wakōshi Shin-Kiba
Stations	24
Color on map	Gold (#C1A470)
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Tokyo Subway
Operator(s)	Tokyo Metro
Depot(s)	Wakō, Shin-Kiba
Rolling stock	Tokyo Metro 10000 series Tokyo Metro 17000 series Seibu 6000 and 6050 series Seibu 40000 and 40050 series Tobu 9000 and 9050 series Tobu 50070 series Tokyu 5050-4000 series (less commonly used)
Daily ridership	1,124,478[1]
History
Opened	30 October 1974; 49 years ago (1974-10-30)
Last extension	8 June 1988; 36 years ago (1988-06-08)
Technical
Line length	28.3 km (17.6 mi)
Number of tracks	Double-track
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Minimum radius	150 m (490 ft)
Electrification	1,500 V DC (overhead line)
Operating speed	80 km/h (50 mph)
Train protection system	New CS-ATC, ATO
Maximum incline	3.5%
Route map

The Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line (東京メトロ有楽町線, Tōkyō Metoro Yūrakuchō-sen) is a subway line in Japan owned and operated by Tokyo Metro. The line connects Wakōshi Station in Wakō, Saitama and Shin-Kiba Station in Kōtō, Tokyo. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is shown using the color "gold", and its stations are given numbers using the letter "Y".

The line was named after the Yūrakuchō business district in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The proper name as given in an annual report of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is Line No. 8 Yūrakuchō Line (8号線有楽町線, Hachi-gō-sen Yūrakuchō-sen).^[2] According to the Tokyo urban transportation plan, however, it is more complicated. The line number assigned to the section south from Kotake-Mukaihara to Shin-Kiba is Line 8, but that north of Kotake-Mukaihara to Wakōshi is Line 13, which indicates the section is a portion of Fukutoshin Line which shares the same number.^{[citation needed]}

The Yurakucho Line runs generally northwest to southeast between Wakōshi Station in Saitama Prefecture and Shin-Kiba Station in Kōtō Ward. Although it was originally planned as a bypass for the established Marunouchi Line through central Tokyo, it was also built to serve the developing wards of Itabashi, Nerima, Toshima, and Koto. The section between Wakōshi and Kotake-mukaihara shares tracks with its sister line, the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line.

The Yurakucho Line has inter-running counterparts on its northern side, both of which are "major" Japanese private railway companies in Greater Tokyo. One is the Tobu Railway at Wakōshi, north to Shinrin-kōen. The other is the Seibu Railway at Kotake-Mukaihara with its bypass line Seibu Yūrakuchō Line connecting to its main Ikebukuro Line, through trains north to Kotesashi or Hannō.

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, as of June 2009 the Yurakucho Line is the fifth most crowded subway line in Tokyo, at its peak running at 173% capacity between Higashi-Ikebukuro and Gokokuji stations.^[3]

Semi-express (準急) services ran on the Yurakucho Line between June 14, 2008 and March 6, 2010, operating twice hourly between Wakōshi and Shin-Kiba. Between Wakōshi and Ikebukuro, semi-express trains stopped only at Kotake-Mukaihara; between Ikebukuro and Shin-Kiba, trains stopped at all stations. The semi-express trains ran between rush hours during weekdays and more frequently on weekends and holidays. These services were abolished and replaced with local services on March 6, 2010.^[4]

• All stations are located in Tokyo.
• Local trains stop at every station.
  • S-Train services stop at the stations indicated by "●" and "↑" (alighting only during the morning, boarding only during the evening) and pass all stations indicated by "|".

No.	Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		S-Train	Transfers	Location
			Between stations	From Y-01
↑ Through-service to/from Shinrin-kōen via the TJ Tobu Tojo Line ↑
Y01	Wakoshi	和光市[* 1]	-	0.0	[* 2]	F Fukutoshin Line (F-01) (same tracks) TJ Tobu Tojo Line (some through services)	Wakō, Saitama
Y02	Chikatetsu-narimasu	地下鉄成増	2.2	2.2		F Fukutoshin Line (F-02) (same tracks) TJ Tobu Tojo Line (Narimasu)	Itabashi	Tokyo
Y03	Chikatetsu-akatsuka	地下鉄赤塚	1.4	3.6		F Fukutoshin Line (F-03) (same tracks) TJ Tobu Tojo Line (Shimo-Akatsuka)	Nerima
Y04	Heiwadai	平和台	1.8	5.4		F Fukutoshin Line (F-04) (same tracks)
Y05	Hikawadai	氷川台	1.4	6.8		F Fukutoshin Line (F-05) (same tracks)
Through services via the Seibu Yūrakuchō Line					To/from Hannō via the Seibu Ikebukuro Line
Y06	Kotake-mukaihara	小竹向原[* 3]	1.5	8.3	|	F Fukutoshin Line (F-06) (same tracks) Seibu Yūrakuchō Line (some through services)
Y07	Senkawa	千川	1.0	9.3	|	F Fukutoshin Line (F-07)	Toshima
Y08	Kanamecho	要町	1.0	10.3	|	F Fukutoshin Line (F-08)
Y09	Ikebukuro	池袋	1.2	11.5	[* 4]	M Marunouchi Line (M-25) F Fukutoshin Line (F-09) JY Yamanote Line JA Saikyō Line JS Shōnan-Shinjuku Line TJ Tobu Tojo Line Seibu Ikebukuro Line
Y10	Higashi-ikebukuro	東池袋	0.9	12.4	|	Toden Arakawa Line (Higashi-ikebukuro-yonchome)
Y11	Gokokuji	護国寺	1.1	13.5	|		Bunkyō
Y12	Edogawabashi	江戸川橋	1.3	14.8	|
Y13	Iidabashi	飯田橋	1.6	16.4	↑	T Tozai Line (T-06) N Namboku Line (N-10) E Ōedo Line (E-06) JB Chūō-Sōbu Line	Shinjuku
Y14	Ichigaya	市ケ谷	1.1	17.5	|	N Namboku Line (N-09) S Shinjuku Line (S-04) JB Chūō-Sōbu Line	Chiyoda
Y15	Kojimachi	麹町	0.9	18.4	|
Y16	Nagatacho	永田町	0.9	19.3	|	Z Hanzōmon Line (Z-04) N Namboku Line (N-07) G Ginza Line at Akasaka-mitsuke (G-05) M Marunouchi Line at Akasaka-mitsuke (M-13)
Y17	Sakuradamon	桜田門	0.9	20.2	|
Y18	Yurakucho	有楽町	1.0	21.2	↑	JY Yamanote Line JK Keihin-Tōhoku Line H Hibiya Line (Hibiya: H-08) C Chiyoda Line (Hibiya: C-09) I Mita Line (Hibiya: I-08)
Y19	Ginza-itchome	銀座一丁目	0.5	21.7	|	G Ginza Line (Ginza: G-09) M Marunouchi Line (Ginza: M-16) H Hibiya Line (Ginza: H-09)	Chūō
Y20	Shintomicho	新富町	0.7	22.4	|	H Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (Tsukiji: H-11)
Y21	Tsukishima	月島	1.3	23.7	|	E Toei Oedo Line (E-16)
Y22	Toyosu	豊洲	1.4	25.1	●	Yurikamome	Kōtō
Y23	Tatsumi	辰巳	1.7	26.8
Y24	Shin-kiba	新木場	1.5	28.3		JE Keiyo Line R Rinkai Line

All types are operated as 10-car sets.

• Tokyo Metro 10000 series (from September 2006)
• Tokyo Metro 17000 series (from 21 February 2021)

• 
  A Tokyo Metro 10000 series EMU
• 
  A Tokyo Metro 17000 series EMU

• Seibu 6000 series
• Seibu 40000 series (S-Train services)
• Seibu 40050 series
• Tobu 9000 series
• Tobu 9050 series
• Tobu 50070 series
• Tokyu 5050-4000 series could run on the line, but only in the special case of emergency schedule adjustments.

• 
  Seibu 40000 series EMU
• 
  Seibu 6000 series EMU
• 
  Tobu 9000 series EMU
• 
  Tobu 50070 series EMU

• Tokyo Metro 7000 series (from 1974 until 29 October 2021^{[citation needed]})
• Tokyo Metro 07 series (from 1992 until 2007)^[5]
• Odakyu 60000 series MSE (Romancecar, as Limited Express Bay Resort, occasionally)

• 
  A Tokyo Metro 7000 series EMU
• 
  A Tokyo Metro 07 series EMU
• 
  Seibu 6050 series EMU

• Wakō Depot (和光検車区) (main depot)
• Shin-Kiba Depot (新木場検車区) (responsible for minor inspections; for major ones, EMUs are forwarded to the Ayase Depot (綾瀬車両基地) on the Chiyoda Line via underground connecting tracks)
• Shin-Kiba Car Renewal (新木場CR) (specializes in railcar refurbishment: also used for Chiyoda and Hanzōmon Line railcars)

The Yurakucho line was first proposed in 1962 along with the Chiyoda Line. It was originally envisioned to run between Nakamurabashi Station and Kinshicho Station. In 1968, it was later revised to run between Chikatetsu-narimasu Station in the northwest and Shintomichō Station in the southeast; the extensions to Wakoshi and Shin-kiba were not confirmed at the time.

Line 8 was planned to serve areas that were not served by the Tokyo subway network such as Nerima and Koto Wards, while providing an adequate bypass for the overcrowding Marunouchi Line from Ikebukuro to Ginza-itchōme. ^[6] This initial section began construction in 1970 and opened for revenue service on 30 October 1974 as the Yūrakuchō Line. In the late 1970s, the extensions towards Wakoshi and Shin-kiba were authorized. On 27 March 1980, the second section between Ginza-itchōme and Shintomichō section opened, while the third section between Eidan-narimasu (now Chikatetsu-narimasu) and Ikebukuro opened on 24 June 1983.

Through services with the Seibu Railway Seibu Yūrakuchō Line began on 1 October 1983 with the opening of the Kotake-Mukaihara – Shin-Sakuradai section. The northwestern extension to Wakōshi opened on 25 August 1987, allowing through service with the Tōbu Tōjō Line. The final section from Shintomichō to Shin-kiba opened on 8 June 1988, completing the current line.

On 18 March 1993, 07 series EMUs introduced. On 7 December 1994, the "Yūrakuchō New Line" (now the Fukutoshin Line) opened from Kotake-mukaihara to Ikebukuro. All trains on it made Ikebukuro their terminus and did not stop at Senkawa or Kanamechō. Through service from Shin-kiba or Ikebukuro (on the New Line) to Nerima on the Seibu Yūrakuchō Line began on that same day, with through operation to the Seibu Ikebukuro Line beyond Nerima beginning on 26 March 1998.

On 1 April 2004, the owner of the line changed from Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA, Eidan) to Tokyo Metro due to the former's privatization.^[7] Women-only cars were introduced on 31 October 2005. 10000 series were introduced to the line on 1 September 2006.

On 3 May 2008, Limited Express "Bay Resort" (operated first from/to Odakyu Line) services began operating. On 14 June 2008, the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line began service, and the Yurakuchō New Line was absorbed into it. The Yurakuchō Line shares tracks with the Fukutoshin Line between Wakōshi and Kotake-Mukaihara. Semi-Express services began running until they were abolished on 6 March 2010.

In October 2008, Automatic train control was enabled on the Yurakuchō Line. On 10 September 2012, 10-car 5050-4000 series sets entered revenue service on the Yurakucho Line, with inter-running through to the Tobu Tojo Line.^[8] Since March 26, 2017, Seibu operates the S-Train limited-stop express service between Toyosu and Tokorozawa on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line on weekday mornings and evenings.

On 6 August 2022, "Wanman" one-person operation began on the section between Kotake-Mukaihara and Shin-Kiba^[9]

In 2021, plans were announced to branch the Yurakucho line at Toyosu Station, traveling north for 5.2 km (3.2 mi) connecting with Toyocho on the Tozai Line and Sumiyoshi Station on the Shinjuku Line and Hanzomon Line. An additional two stations (Edagawa and Sengoku) would also be added in the Koto Ward serving the Sengoku and Toyo districts.^[10][11] Tentative names for the new stations were determined in August 2022.^[12] The branch line (nicknamed the Toyozumi Line according to official city documents) is intended to aid in redevelopment efforts in Koto Ward.^[12] As of 28 January 2022 the expected cost of construction is ¥269 billion (2021). There are also plans for a spur branching off from the planned Tokyo Rinkai Subway line at Kachidoki to link up to the future Toyozumi Line (Yurakucho Line branch) platforms at Toyosu Station. The branch line is expected to be in service in the mid-2030s.

No.	Station (tentative)	Japanese	Distance (km) Between stations	Transfers	Location
	Toyosu	豊洲	0000	Y Yurakucho Line (for Ikebukuro and Shin-Kiba; some trains through) Yurikamome	Kōtō
	Edagawa	枝川	0000
	Toyocho	東陽町	1.6	T Tozai Line
	Sengoku	千石	0.9
	Sumiyoshi	住吉	0.9	Z Hanzōmon Line S Shinjuku Line

A branch line from Toyosu Station has been planned since the early 1980s, heading north via Kameari Station (on the Jōban Line) to Noda in northwest Chiba Prefecture.^[13]

• Tokyo Metro website