The Hanzōmon Line(半蔵門線, Hanzōmon-sen) is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by Tokyo Metro.

The line is named after the west gate of the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Hanzōmon (半蔵門), which in turn is named after 16th century samurai Hattori Hanzō, who was important to the founding of the shogunate which built the palace. The Hanzōmon Line's color on maps and station guides is purple, and stations carry the letter "Z" followed by a two-digit number.

Overview

The 16.8 km (10.4 mi) line serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chiyoda, Chūō, Kōtō, and Sumida. Despite being shorter in length than nearly all other Tokyo subway lines, the Hanzōmon Line operates some of the longest through services with private railways – namely Tōkyū Corporation and Tobu Railway. The line is connected to Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line at Shibuya Station to the south, and to the Tobu Skytree Line at Oshiage to the north. Through trains operate between Chūō-Rinkan on the Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line and Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen on the Tobu Skytree Line, onward to Kuki on the Tobu Isesaki Line and Minami-Kurihashi on the Tobu Nikko Line. Through-service trains between Chūō-Rinkan and Minami-Kurihashi cover a total distance of 98.5 km (61.2 mi) in a single run – nearly six times the length of the Hanzōmon Line alone.

The Hanzōmon Line has direct interchanges with all other Tokyo Metro and Toei lines. It connects with the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line at five stations (the four stations between Shibuya and Nagatachō, as well as at Mitsukoshimae Station.

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, as of June 2009 the Hanzōmon Line is the sixth most crowded subway line in Tokyo, at its peak running at 173%[a] capacity between Shibuya and Omotesandō stations.

History

The Hanzōmon Line was first planned in 1968, along with the Chiyoda Line and Yūrakuchō Line, as a reliever line for the heavily congested Ginza Line. Its initial routing was from Futako-Tamagawa Station on the Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line to a new station in the Fukagawa district of Kōtō. In 1985, a second draft plan from the Ministry of Transportation moved the Hanzōmon Line's final terminus to Matsudo. During the planning stage, it was known as Line 11.

Construction began in 1972 and the majority of the line was expected to open in 1975. However, the Teito Rapid Transit Authority did not have enough funds to build the line, which delayed its construction. On August 1, 1978, the first section of the Hanzōmon Line finally opened from Shibuya to Aoyama-itchōme, including through services with the Den-en-toshi Line. It was then extended to Nagatachō Station in September 1979. The line was initially operated mainly using Tokyu rolling stock, as the first TRTA 8000 series train did not enter service until 1981.

However, the next extension posed political problems, as the original plan had the line run directly under the Imperial Palace to Ōtemachi Station. TRTA decided to divert the route around the north side of the Imperial Palace, which required the construction of three new stations.[citation needed] An eminent domain battle erupted with landowners along the proposed route, which delayed the completion of the next stage of the line. Hanzōmon Station opened in December 1982, and the full extension around the Imperial Palace, terminating at Mitsukoshi-mae, was not completed until January 1989. The line was then extended to Suitengu-mae in November 1990 and finally Oshiage in March 2003, the latter also enabling through service with the Tobu Skytree Line.

The line, station facilities, rolling stock, and related assets were inherited by Tokyo Metro after the privatization of the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA) in 2004.

The Ministry of Transportation recommended in 2000 that the line be extended to its intended terminus in Matsudo by 2015. However, Tokyo Metro stated in its initial public offering that its construction operations would cease once the Fukutoshin Line is completed, which cast some doubt as to whether the Matsudo extension will actually be built.

Stations

List of Hanzomon Line and through service stations
  • All stations are located in Tokyo.
  • All services stop at every station.
No.StationJapaneseDistance (km)TransfersLocation
Between stationsFrom Shibuya
Through-services to/from Saginuma, Nagatsuta, Chūō-Rinkan via Den-en-toshi Line Den-en-toshi Line
Shibuya渋谷-0.0Den-en-toshi Line Den-en-toshi Line (DT01; through service) Tōyoko Line Tōyoko Line (TY01) Fukutoshin Line Fukutoshin Line (F-16) Ginza Line Ginza Line (G-01) Yamanote Line Yamanote Line (JY20) Saikyō Line Saikyō Line (JA10) Shōnan–Shinjuku Line Shōnan–Shinjuku Line (JS19) Keiō Inokashira Line Inokashira Line (IN01)Shibuya
Omotesandō表参道1.31.3Chiyoda Line Chiyoda Line (C-04) Ginza Line Ginza Line (G-02)Minato
Aoyama-itchōme青山一丁目1.42.7Ginza Line Ginza Line (G-04) Toei Ōedo Line Ōedo Line (E-24)
Nagatachō永田町1.44.1Yūrakuchō Line (Tokyo Metro) Yūrakuchō Line (Y-16) Namboku Line (Tokyo Metro) Namboku Line (N-07) Marunouchi Line Marunouchi Line (Akasaka-mitsuke: M-13) Ginza Line Ginza Line (Akasaka-mitsuke: G-05)Chiyoda
Hanzōmon半蔵門1.05.1
Kudanshita九段下1.66.7Tōzai Line (Tokyo Metro) Tōzai Line (T-07) Toei Shinjuku Line Shinjuku Line (S-05)
Jimbōchō神保町0.47.1Toei Mita Line Mita Line (I-10) Toei Shinjuku Line Shinjuku Line (S-06)
Ōtemachi大手町1.78.8Marunouchi Line Marunouchi Line (M-18) Chiyoda Line Chiyoda Line (C-11) Tōzai Line (Tokyo Metro) Tōzai Line (T-09) Toei Mita Line Mita Line (I-09) Tokyo Station: Tokaido Shinkansen Tōkaidō Shinkansen Tohoku Shinkansen Tōhoku Shinkansen (Hokkaido, Akita, Yamagata) Jōetsu Shinkansen Jōetsu Shinkansen Hokuriku Shinkansen Hokuriku Shinkansen Yamanote Line Yamanote Line (JY01) Keihin–Tōhoku Line Keihin–Tōhoku Line (JK26) Chūō Line (Rapid) Chūō Line (JC01) Tōkaidō Line (JR East) Tōkaidō Line (JT01) Utsunomiya LineJōban Line Ueno-Tokyo Line (JU01) Yokosuka Line Yokosuka Line/Sōbu Line (JO19) Keiyō Line Keiyō Line (JE01)
Mitsukoshimae三越前0.79.5Ginza Line Ginza Line (G-12) Sōbu Line (Rapid) Sōbu Line (Shin-Nihombashi: JO20)Chūō
Suitengūmae水天宮前1.310.8Hibiya Line Hibiya Line (Ningyocho: H-14) Toei Asakusa Line Asakusa Line (Ningyocho: A-14)
Kiyosumi-shirakawa清澄白河1.712.5Toei Ōedo Line Ōedo Line (E-14)Kōtō
Sumiyoshi住吉1.914.4Toei Shinjuku Line Shinjuku Line (S-13)
Kinshicho錦糸町1.015.4Sōbu Line (Rapid) Sōbu Line (JO22) Chūō–Sōbu Line Chūō–Sōbu Line (JB22)Sumida
Oshiage押上1.416.8Tobu Skytree Line Tobu Skytree Line (TS03; though service) Toei Asakusa Line Asakusa Line (A-20) Keisei Oshiage Line Oshiage Line (KS45)
Through-services to/from:Kita-Koshigaya, Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen via Tobu Skytree Line Tobu Skytree Line Kuki via Tobu Isesaki Line Isesaki Line Minami-Kurihashi via Tōbu Nikkō Line Nikkō Line

Rolling stock

Current

All Hanzōmon Line rolling stock owned by Tokyo Metro are stored and maintained at Saginuma Depot (ja:鷺沼車両基地), located near Saginuma Station on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line.

  • Tokyo Metro 18000 series
  • Tokyo Metro 08 series
  • Tokyo Metro 8000 series
  • Tokyu 2020 series
  • Tokyu 5000 series
  • Tobu 50050 series

Former

  • Tokyu 8500 series

Notes

a. ^ Crowding levels defined by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism:

100% — Commuters have enough personal space and are able to take a seat or stand while holding onto the straps or hand rails.

150% — Commuters have enough personal space to read a newspaper.

180% — Commuters must fold newspapers to read.

200% — Commuters are pressed against each other in each compartment but can still read small magazines.

250% — Commuters are pressed against each other, unable to move.

Bibliography

Works cited

  • Shaw, Dennis; Morokawa, Hisashi (1992). Tokyo Subways. Osaka, Japan: Hoikusha Publishing Co., Ltd. ISBN 4-586-54045-1.

External links

  • (in English)