Midōsuji Line

Midōsuji Line
Midōsuji Line 21 series train with red line
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	Osaka Municipal Subway
Locale	Osaka
Termini	Esaka Nakamozu
Stations	20
Line number	1
Operation
Opened	May 20, 1933
Owner	Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau
Depot(s)	Nakamozu
Rolling stock	10 series, 21 series
Technical
Line length	24.5 km (15.2 mi)
Track length	24.5 km (15.2 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	750 V DC, third rail
Operating speed	70 km/h (43 mph)

Route diagram

Legend Connections are of Osaka Municipal Subway lines unless otherwise noted 5.9 M08 Senri-Chūō Osaka Monorail Main Line (temporary) Senri-Chūō / Expo Central Gate right: Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway: Expo Line 3.9 M09 Momoyama-dai Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway Momoyamadai Depot 1.9 M10 Ryokuchi-kōen 0.0 M11 Esaka boundary of Osaka Municipal Subway/Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway 2.0 M12 Higashi-Mikuni Osaka Higashi Line (projected) Tōkaidō Shinkansen and Sanyō Shinkansen 2.9 M13 Shin-Osaka Tōkaidō Main Line (JR Kyoto Line) 3.6 M14 Nishinakajima-Minamigata Hankyu Kyoto Line (Minamikata) Hankyu Kobe Line. Takarazuka Line, Kyoto Line (Juso) Yodo River Nakatsu (Hankyu) 5.4 M15 Nakatsu Tōkaidō Main Line (JR Kyoto Line, JR Kobe Line, JR Takarazuka Line) Kita-Umeda Hankyu Kobe Line. Takarazuka Line, Kyoto Line (Umeda) Osaka: Osaka Loop Line 6.4 M16 Umeda left: Hanshin Main Line Yotsubashi Line Nishi-Umeda (Y11), Tanimachi Line Higashi-Umeda (T20) JR Tōzai Line (Kitashinchi) Dojima River Tosabori River Keihan Nakanoshima Line (Ōebashi) 7.7 M17 Yodoyabashi left: Higobashi / right: Keihan Main Line 8.6 M18 Hommachi Yotsubashi Line (Y13) Chūō Line (C16) Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line (N15) 9.6 M19 Shinsaibashi Yotsubashi Line (Yotsubashi: Y14) Sennichimae Line (S16) Kintetsu Namba Line (Osaka Namba) Hanshin: Hanshin Namba Line (Osaka Namba) 10.5 M20 Namba Yotsubashi Line (Y15) Nankai Main Line, Nankai Kōya Line Nankai Main Line, Nankai Kōya Line 11.7 M21 Daikokuchō Yotsubashi Line (Y16) Nankai (Shin-Imamiya); Nankai Line and Kōya Line Osaka Loop Line, Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line) (Shin-Imamiya) Hankai Tramway Hankai Line (Minamikasumichō) Sakaisuji Line (K19) 12.9 M22 Dōbutsuen-mae Tanimachi Line (T27) 13.9 M23 Tennōji Hankai Uemachi Line Tennōji-eki-mae Osaka Abenobashi Osaka Loop Line Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line) Kintetsu Minami-Osaka Line : Tanimachi Line (T29: Fuminosato) 15.7 M24 Shōwachō 17.0 M25 Nishitanabe Nagai Maintenance Base 18.3 M26 Nagai JR-W Hanwa Line 19.5 M27 Abiko Abiko Depot abandoned in 1987 Yamato River 21.4 M28 Kita-Hanada 23.0 M29 Shinkanaoka Nakamozu Depot 24.5 M30 Nakamozu Nankai Koya Line Semboku Rapid Railway

The Midōsuji Line (御堂筋線, Midōsuji-sen^?) is one of the Osaka Municipal Subway lines, of the rapid transit system in Osaka, Japan. Constructed under Midōsuji, a major north-south street, it is the oldest line in the Osaka subway system and the second oldest in Japan, following the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line. Its official name is Rapid Electric Tramway Line No. 1 (高速電気軌道第1号線^?), while the Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau refers to it as Osaka City Rapid Railway Line No. 1 (大阪市高速鉄道第1号線^?), and in MLIT publications it is referred to as Line No. 1 (Midōsuji Line) (1号線（御堂筋線）^?). On line maps, stations on the Midōsuji Line are indicated with the letter M.

North of Nakatsu it runs above ground in the median of Shin-midōsuji, an elevated freeway.

The section between Senri-chūō and Esaka is owned and operated by Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway (北大阪急行電鉄, Kita Osaka Dentetsu^?), but is seamless to the passengers except with respect to fare calculations.

History

The Midōsuji Line was the first subway line in Osaka and the first government-operated subway line in Japan. Its construction was partly an effort to give work to the many unemployed people in Osaka during the early 1930s. The initial tunnel from Umeda to Shinsaibashi, dug entirely by hand, opened in 1933 after being initially plagued by cave-ins and water leakage caused by the poor composition of the earth below northern Osaka and the equally poor engineering skills of the work crew. The first cars were hauled onto the line by manpower and pack animals from the National Railway tracks near Umeda.^{[citation needed]}

Although the line only operated with single cars at first, its stations were designed from the outset to handle trains of up to eight cars. The line was
gradually extended over the next few decades, completing its current length in 1987, making it the second-longest subway line in Osaka after the Tanimachi Line (excluding the Kita-Osaka Kyūkō Railway extension of the Midōsuji Line).

• May 20, 1933 - Umeda (temporary station) - Shinsaibashi (opening).^[1] Trains started running in single car formation.
• October 6, 1935 - Umeda Station (present station) opened.
• October 30, 1935 - Shinsaibashi - Namba (opening). Trains started running in 2-car formation.
• April 21, 1938 - Namba - Tennōji (opening). Trains started running in 3-car formation.
• Construction stopped during World War II.
• December 20, 1951 - Tennōji - Shōwachō (opening)
• October 5, 1952 - Shōwachō - Nishitanabe (opening)
• August 1, 1953 - Trains started running in 4-car formation.
• April 1, 1957 - Trains started running in 5-car formation.
• May 1, 1958 - Trains started running in 6-car formation.
• July 1, 1960 - Nishitanabe - Abiko (opening)
• June 1, 1963 - Trains started running in 8-car formation.
• September 1, 1964 - Umeda - Shin-Osaka (opening)
• August 29, 1968 - 30 series EMUs began operation.
• February 24, 1970 - Shin-Osaka - Esaka together with Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway (Kitakyu) (opening). This section of track was the first in the Midōsuji Line to utilize Automatic Train Control instead of Automatic Train Stop.
• April 1, 1971 - Centralized traffic control introduced.
• February 16, 1976 - 10 series EMUs begin operation.
• April 18, 1987 - Abiko - Nakamozu (opening). Refurbishment of stations to accommodate 9-car trainsets began.
• August 24, 1987, Refurbishment of stations complete, hence all trains were regrouped into 9-car formation.
• May 14, 1991 - 21 series EMUs begin operation.
• 1993 - All trains on the Midōsuji Line are fully air-conditioned after the withdrawal of the 30 series and the Kitakyū 2000 series the same year.
• December 9, 1995 - Refurbishment of stations to accommodate 10-car trainsets began.
• September 1, 1996 - Refurbishment of stations completed, hence all trains were regrouped into 10-car formation.
• December 2011 - 30000 series trains scheduled to enter service.

Stations

For connections and distances, see route diagram.

Station		Location
M11	Esaka	Suita
M12	Higashi-Mikuni	Yodogawa-ku, Osaka
M13	Shin-Osaka
M14	Nishinakajima- Minamigata
M15	Nakatsu	Kita-ku, Osaka
M16	Umeda
M17	Yodoyabashi	Chūō-ku, Osaka
M18	Hommachi
M19	Shinsaibashi
M20	Namba
M21	Daikokuchō	Naniwa-ku, Osaka
M22	Dōbutsuen-mae	Nishinari-ku, Osaka
M23	Tennōji	Abeno-ku, Osaka
M24	Shōwachō
M25	Nishitanabe
M26	Nagai	Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka
M27	Abiko
M28	Kitahanada	Kita-ku, Sakai
M29	Shinkanaoka
M30	Nakamozu

Rolling stock

Current

• 10 series (from 1976) (transferred from Tanimachi Line)
• 21 series (from 1991)
• Kitakyū 8000 series (from 1987)

Former

A preserved 100 series car, November 2006

30 series on the Midōsuji Line, c.1987

• 100 series (1933–1969)
• 200 series (1935–1969)
• 300 series (1938–1969)
• 400 series (1943–1969)
• 500 series (1949–1969)
• 600 series (1951–1969)
• 1000 series (1953–1969)
• 1100 series (1957–1969)
• 1200 series (1958–1969)
• 50 series (1960–1969) (50 series and 30 series trains also ran on the Tanimachi Line.)
• 30 series (1968–1993)
• Kitakyū 7000/8000 series (1970–1988)
• Kitakyū 2000 series (1970–1993)

Future

• 30000 series (from December 2011)

References

1. ^ "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 49 (576): p.88–99. April 2009. 

External links

• Preview of the new 30000 series trains for Midōsuji Line