Osaka Metro is the only subway system in Japan to be partially legally classified as a tram system,[b] whereas all other subway systems in Japan are legally classified as railways. Despite this, it has characteristics typical of a full-fledged metro system.[1]
Overview
The network's first service, the Midōsuji Line from Umeda to Shinsaibashi, opened in 1933.[6] As a north–south trunk route, it is the oldest and busiest line in the whole network.[7][8][2] Both it and the main east–west route, the Chūō Line, were later extended to the north and east, respectively. These extensions are owned by other railway companies, but both Osaka Metro and these private operators run their own set of trains through between the two sections.
All but one of the remaining lines of the network, including the Yotsubashi Line, Tanimachi Line, and Sennichimae Line, are completely independent lines with no through services. The lone exception is the Sakaisuji Line, which operates through trains to existing Hankyu Railway lines and is the only line to operate through services to existing railway lines that are not isolated from the national rail network (which is the case with the Midōsuji and Chūō Lines). As such, it is not compatible with the rest of the lines.
Nearly all stations have a letter number combination, the letter identifying the line served by the station and the number indicating the relative location of the station on the line. For example, Higobashi Station on the Yotsubashi Line is also known as Y12. This combination is heard in bilingual Japanese-English automated next-station announcements on board all trains, which also provide information on local businesses near the station. Only Hankyu stations served by the Sakaisuji Line do not follow this convention.
June 1, 2017; 7 years ago (2017-06-01) (incorporation) April 1, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-04-01) (effective corporatization of Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau)
The network is operated by a municipally ownedstock company trading as the Osaka Metro Company, Ltd.[c] The Osaka Metro Co. is the direct legal successor to the Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau, which operated the subway as the Osaka Municipal Subway[d]; under the Bureau's management, the subway was the oldest publicly operated subway network in Japan, having begun operations in 1933. A proposal to corporatize the Osaka subway was sent to the city government in February 2013 and was given final approval in 2017. The rationale behind corporatization is that it would bring private investors to Osaka and could help revive Osaka's economy. The Osaka Metro Co. was incorporated on June 1, 2017, and took over operations on April 1, 2018.
The Osaka Metro Co. also operates all city buses in Osaka, through its majority-owned subsidiary, the Osaka City Bus Corporation [ja].
Branding
"moving M"
Osaka Metro stations are denoted by the Osaka Metro Co.'s corporate logo, a white-on-dark-blue icon placed at ground-level entrances, depicting an "M" (for "Metro") based on a coiled ribbon, which would form an "O" (for "Osaka") when viewed from the side (this symbol is officially called the "moving M"), with the "Osaka Metro" wordmark set in the Gotham typeface. "Osaka Metro" (in Latin characters) is the official branding in Japanese, and is always represented as such in official media. (News outlets have been seen to use 大阪メトロ, presumably to better flow with article text.) Individual lines are represented by a public-facing name (e.g. “Midōsuji Line” for Rapid Electric Tramway Line No. 1) and a specific color, as well as a single Latin letter, which is paired with a different number at each station for easy identification (see below). Icons for each line (featured in station wayfinding signage) are represented by a solid roundel in the line color, superimposed with the line's letter-designation in the Parisine typeface.
Mio-den (still used in rolling stock exteriors and staff uniforms and retained by Osaka Metro as its monsho corporate emblem)
Maruko used from 1933 to 2020
An older branding (also used on the original tram network run by the city until 1969) is the "Mio-Den" mark, which depicts an old-fashioned depth-marker, (澪標, mio-tsukushi), the logo for Osaka City, over the kanji for electricity (電, den), short for “electric train” (電車, densha). This mark is still present on newer trainsets and staff uniforms as Osaka Metro retained it as its monsho, as well as a connection to the subway network's roots.
When it was run by the Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau, the subway used a logo known as the “Circle-Ko” (マルコ, Maru-Ko) symbol, which is a katakana “ko” (コ) for “Urban rail transit” (高速鉄道, kōsoku tetsudō) superimposed over a circular capital “O” for “Osaka” (see infobox, above). This remained on many older trainsets and at stations, until it was completely replaced by the Osaka Metro logo by 2020.
Lines
Currently, there are eight lines, operating on 129.9 kilometers (80.7 mi) of track and serving 123 stations; there is also a 7.9-kilometer (4.9 mi)-long, 10-station automated people mover line known as the "New Tram".[2]
In addition, there are five line extensions and one entirely new line that are planned. However, on August 28, 2014, the Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau met about creating the extensions of the later five of the six lines listed below, and have stated considering the current cost of the new extensions (and the possibly of privatization at the time), the government has also considered using light rail transit or bus rapid transit instead.[10] Osaka Metro is now experimenting with bus rapid transit on the route of the Imazatosuji Line extension, with “Imazato Liner” service between Imazato and Yuzato-Rokuchōme slated to begin in April 2019.
With Osaka being the host of Expo 2025, there are also plans to extend the Chuo Line northwest onto Yumeshima (the event's planned site), with a terminus on Sakura-jima north of Universal Studios Japan. Provisions were put in place for such an extension when the existing road tunnel between Cosmosquare and Yumeshima was built, but the current state of the artificial island (with only industrial facilities and a single convenience store for the workers) meant it would have been unlikely to proceed had Osaka not won the bid.
Also, unlike most other rapid transit networks in Japan (but like the preceding Tokyo Metro Ginza Line [the only rapid transit line in Asia at the time], and the subsequent Marunouchi line, the early lines in Nagoya and the Blue line in Yokohama), most Osaka subway lines use a third rail electrification system for trains. Only three lines use overhead catenary: the Sakaisuji Line, to accommodate through services on Hankyu trackage; and the linear-motor Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi and Imazatosuji Lines. Also unusually, all lines use standard gauge; there are no narrow gauge sections of track due to the network being almost entirely self-enclosed (although Kyoto and Kobe also have entirely standard gauge metros with through services to private railways).
On April 8, 1970, a gas explosion occurred during an expansion of the Tanimachi Line at Tenjimbashisuji Rokuchōme Station, killing 79 people and injuring 420.[14][15] The gas leaked out from a detached joint and filled the tunnel and exploded when a service vehicle's engine sparked over leaking gas, creating a fire column over 10 metres (33 ft) tall that burned around 30 buildings and damaged or destroyed a total of 495 buildings.[16]
^ abThe official name of the network in Japanese is still written as Osaka Metro (in English).
^ abThe Osaka Metro Company de jure operates transit that is subject to both the Tram Act and Railway Business Act.
^in Japanese: Ōsaka-shi Kōsoku Denki Kidō kabushiki gaisha (大阪市高速電気軌道株式会社, lit. "Osaka Municipal Rapid Electric Tramway Share Company"). The "rapid electric tramway" (高速電気軌道, kōsoku denki kidō) part is used due to the fact that Osaka Metro lines are officially named "Rapid Electric Tramway Line No. X" (with X referring to the line number); see individual line articles for example
^ abKokudo Kōtsū Shō Tetsudō Kyoku (2005). Tetsudō Yōran (Heisei 17 Nendo) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Denkisha Kenkyūkai. p. 228. ISBN4-88548-106-6.
^ abcdefghijk営業線の概要 [Overview of operating lines] (in Japanese). 大阪市営交通局 [Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau]. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
^"交通局の予算・決算について" [For budget and balance sheet of Transportation Bureau] (in Japanese). 大阪市営交通局 [Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau]. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on 2018-05-08. Retrieved 2011-10-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"公営地下鉄在籍車数ビッグ３ 大阪市交通局 (One of the big three public subway operators: Osaka Municipal Subway)". Japan Railfan Magazine. Vol. 49, no. 576. April 2009. pp. 88–99.
^大阪府内で働く人の通勤時間は「52分」――理想の路線は？. bizmakoto.jp (in Japanese). September 9, 2014. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
"長堀鶴見緑地線の歴史を辿る"(PDF). SUBWAY (in Japanese). Vol. 8, no. 218. Japan: Japan Subway Association. 31 August 2018. pp. 42–45. ISSN0289-5668. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
External links
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