Nagoya Municipal Subway

The Nagoya Municipal Subway (名古屋市営地下鉄, Nagoya Shiei Chikatetsu), also referred to as simply the Nagoya Subway,^[3] is a rapid transit system serving Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture in Japan. It consists of six lines that cover 93.3 kilometers (58.0 mi) of route and serve 87 stations.^[1] Approximately 90% of the subway's total track length is underground.

Nagoya Municipal Subway
Overview
Native name	名古屋市営地下鉄 Nagoya Shiei Chikatetsu
Locale	Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
Transit type	Rapid Transit
Number of lines	6
Number of stations	87[1]
Daily ridership	1,171,289[2]
Website	www.kotsu.city.nagoya.jp
Operation
Began operation	15 November 1957; 67 years ago (1957-11-15)
Operator(s)	Nagoya City Transportation Bureau
Technical
System length	93.3 km (58.0 mi)[1]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (Higashiyama and Meijō/Meikō Lines) 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) (Tsurumai, Sakura-dōri, and Kamiiida Lines)
Electrification	600 V DC third rail (Higashiyama and Meijō/Meikō Lines) 1,500 V DC overhead lines (Tsurumai, Sakura-dōri, and Kamiiida Lines)
System map Map of Nagoya Municipal Subway

The subway system is owned and operated by the Nagoya City Transportation Bureau and, like other large Japanese cities including Tokyo and Osaka, is heavily complemented by suburban rail, together forming an extensive network of 47 lines in and around Greater Nagoya. Of them, the subway lines represent 38% of Greater Nagoya's total rail ridership of 3 million passengers a day.^[4]

In 2002, the system introduced Hatchii as its official mascot.

Lines and infrastructure

The six lines that comprise the Nagoya subway network are, for the most part, independent. However, Meikō Line services partially interline with the Meijō Line, and the operations of both lines are combined. Therefore, there are in fact five distinct services on the subway. They are mostly self-contained, but two of its lines have through services onto lines owned and operated by Meitetsu, the largest private railway operator in the region. One of these, the Kamiida Line, is essentially an extension of the Meitetsu Komaki Line to which it connects.

The first two subway lines, the Higashiyama and Meijō/Meikō Lines, run on standard gauge track and use 600 volt DC electrification from a third rail. They are three of the eleven subway lines in Japan which use both third-rail electrification and standard gauge track (the Ginza and Marunouchi lines in Tokyo are the only other two lines to use third rail at that voltage; five of the eight lines of the Osaka Metro and the Blue Line in Yokohama all use 750 V DC third rail). Subsequent lines were built to narrow gauge and employ 1,500 volt DC electrification from overhead lines, in common with most other rapid transit lines in the country.

As with other railway lines in Japan, tickets can be purchased from ticket vending machines in stations. Since February 2011, this has largely been supplemented by Manaca, a rechargeable smart card. In 2012, Manaca replaced Tranpass, the predecessor integrated ticketing system, which was also able to be used at subway stations and for other connected transportation systems in the region.^[5]

On January 4, 2023, four stations were renamed:^[6]

• Nakamura Kuyakusho → Taiko-dori
• Shiyakusho (City Hall) → Nagoyajo (Nagoya Castle)
• Temma-cho → Atsuta Jingu Temma-cho
• Jingu Nishi → Atsuta Jingu Nishi

List of Nagoya Municipal Subway lines

Line color	Line icon	Line number	Name	Japanese	Route	Stations	Length	Train Length	First Opened	Last Extension	Gauge	Current supply
Yellow		Line 1	Higashiyama Line	東山線	Takabata to Fujigaoka	22	20.6 km (12.8 mi)	6 cars	1957	1982	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)	600 V DC, third rail
Purple		Line 2	Meijō Line	名城線	Kanayama to Ōzone via Sakae	12[Note 1]	8.9 km (5.5 mi)		1965	1971
		Line 4			Ōzone to Kanayama via Nagoya Daigaku	17[Note 1]	17.5 km (10.9 mi)		1974	2004
Purple		Line 2	Meikō Line	名港線	Kanayama to Nagoyakō	7[Note 2]	6.0 km (3.7 mi)		1971	–
Blue		Via trackage rights	Meitetsu Inuyama Line	名鉄犬山線	Inuyama to Kamiotai	13[Note 3]	21.4 km (13.3 mi)		1993	–	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)	1,500 V DC, overhead supply
		Line 3	Tsurumai Line	鶴舞線	Kamiotai to Akaike	20	20.4 km (12.7 mi)		1977	1993
		Via trackage rights	Meitetsu Toyota Line	名鉄豊田線	Akaike to Umetsubo	8[Note 4]	15.2 km (9.4 mi)		1979	–
			Meitetsu Mikawa Line	名鉄三河線	Umetsubo to Toyotashi	2[Note 4]	1.4 km (0.87 mi)		N/A	–
Red		Line 6	Sakura-dōri Line	桜通線	Taiko-dori to Tokushige	21	19.1 km (11.9 mi)	5 cars	1989	2011
Pink		Via trackage rights	Meitetsu Komaki Line	名鉄小牧線	Inuyama to Ajima	13[Note 5]	18.3 km (11.4 mi)	4 cars	2003	–
					Ajima to Kamiiida	2[Note 6]	2.3 km (1.4 mi)		2003[Note 7]	–
		Line 7	Kamiiida Line	上飯田線	Kamiiida to Heian-dori	2[Note 8]	0.8 km (0.50 mi)		2003[Note 7]	–
Total (Subway only – not incl. trackage rights portions):						87[1]	93.3 km (58.0 mi)

Notes

1. Including Ōzone Station
2. Including Kanayama Station (Aichi)
3. Including Kamiotai Station
4. Including Akaike Station
5. Including Ajima Station
6. Including Ajima Station and Kamiiida Station
7. Owned by Kamiiida Link Line
8. Including Kamiiida Station

Platform of Nagoyajo Station

Entrance to Nagoyajo Station

Ticket gates (also referred to as "wickets" on city signage)

Ticket vending machines

Connecting services

JR Central

• Tōkaidō Shinkansen: at Nagoya

(for Shin-Yokohama, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Shin-Osaka)

• Tōkaidō Main Line: at Nagoya and Kanayama

(for Gifu, Ōgaki, Obu, Kariya, Okazaki, Toyohashi, and Hamamatsu)

• Chūō Main Line: at Nagoya, Kanayama, Tsurumai, Chikusa, and Ōzone

(for Kozoji (transfer to former Expo Site), Tajimi, and Nakatsugawa)

• Kansai Main Line: at Nagoya and Hatta

(for Yokkaichi, Tsu and Kameyama)

• Takayama Main Line: at Nagoya

(Limited Express only, for Gero and Takayama)

Meitetsu (Nagoya Railroad)

• Meitetsu Nagoya Line: at Nagoya and Kanayama

(for Meitetsu Gifu, Chiryu, Hekinan, Nishio, Higashi Okazaki, Toyohashi, and Toyokawa Inari)

• Meitetsu Tokoname Line: at Nagoya and Kanayama

(for Otagawa, Chita Handa, Kowa, Utsumi, Tokoname, and Central Japan Int'l Airport)

• Meitetsu Inuyama Line: at Nagoya, Kanayama, and Kami-Otai

(for Iwakura, Inuyama, Mikakino and Shin Kani)

• Meitetsu Tsushima Line: at Nagoya and Kanayama

(for Tsushima, Saya and Yatomi)

• Meitetsu Seto Line: at Sakae and Ōzone

(for Owari Seto)

• Meitetsu Toyota Line: at Akaike

(for Toyotashi)

Kintetsu

• Kintetsu Nagoya Line: at Nagoya and Hatta

(for Yokkaichi, Tsu, Nakagawa, Matsusaka, Ise, Toba, and Osaka)

Nagoya Rinkai Rapid Transit

• Aonami Line: at Nagoya

(for Kinjo-Futo (Nagoya International Exhibition Hall))

Aichi Rapid Transit

• Linimo: at Fujigaoka

(for Yakusa, Aichikyūhaku-kinen-kōen (Expo Memorial Park))

Network map

See also

• List of metro systems