Osaka Metro
The Osaka Metro is a major rapid transit system in the Osaka Metropolitan Area of Japan. It serves the city of Osaka and the adjacent municipalities of Higashiosaka, Kadoma, Moriguchi, Sakai, Suita, and Yao. Osaka Metro forms an integral part of the extensive mass transit system of Greater Osaka, having 123 out of the 1,108 rail stations in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto region. In 2010, the greater Osaka region had 13 million rail passengers daily of which the Osaka Municipal Subway accounted for 2.29 million.
Osaka Metro is the only subway system in Japan to be legally classified as a tramway, whereas all other subway systems in Japan are legally classified as railways. Despite this, it has characteristics typical of a full-fledged metro system.
Overview
The network's first service, the Midōsuji Line from to, opened in 1933. As a north-south trunk route, it is the oldest and busiest line in the whole network. 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.
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.
Management
The network is operated by a municipally owned stock company trading as the Osaka Metro Co., Ltd. Until March 31, 2018, the network was operated by the Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau as Osaka Municipal Subway, and 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 new operator was incorporated in June 1, 2017, and took over operations on April 1, 2018.The Osaka Metro Company also operates all city buses in Osaka, through its majority-owned subsidiary, the.
Branding
Osaka Metro stations are denoted by a white-on-dark-blue icon placed at ground-level entrances, depicting an "M" based on a coiled ribbon, which would form an "O" when viewed from the side, with the "Osaka Metro" wordmark set in Gotham. "Osaka Metro" is the official branding in Japanese, and is always represented as such in official media. Individual lines are represented by a public-facing name and a specific color, as well as a single Latin letter, which is paired with a different number at each station for easy identification. Icons for each line are represented by a solid roundel in the line color, superimposed with the line's letter-designation in Parisine.An older branding is the "Mio-Den" mark, which depicts an old-fashioned depth-marker, City, over the kanji for electricity, short for “electric train”. This mark is still present on newer trainsets and staff uniforms 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” symbol, which is a katakana “ko” for “transport” superimposed over a circular capital “O” for “Osaka”. This remains on many trainsets and at stations, but is slated for replacement with the Osaka Metro logo as the changeover progresses.
Lines
Currently, there are eight lines, operating on and serving 123 stations; there is also a -long, 10-station automated people mover line known as the "New Tram".;Table notes
Planned line and extensions
In addition, there are five line extensions and one 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, the government has also considered using light rail transit or bus rapid transit instead. 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 Yume-shima, 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 Yume-shima was built, but the current state of the artificial island meant it would have been unlikely to proceed had Osaka lost its bid.
| Line color | Mark | Line number | Name | Start | Terminus | Length |
| Line 3 | Yotsubashi Line | Nishi-Umeda | Jūsō, later towards Shin-Ōsaka | 2.9 km | ||
| Line 4 | Chūō Line | Yumeshima | ' | |||
| Line 5 | Sennichimae Line | Minami-Tatsumi | towards Mito | ' | ||
| Line 7 | Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line | Taishō | Tsurumachi Yonchōme | 5.5 km | ||
| Line 8 | Imazatosuji Line | Imazato | Yuzato Rokuchōme | 6.7 km | ||
| ' | - | Line 9 | Shikitsu–Nagayoshi Line ' | Suminoekōen | Kire-Uriwari | 6.9 km |
Technology and rolling stock
Osaka Municipal Subway rolling stock use two types of propulsion systems. The vast majority of lines use trains with conventional electric motors, but the two newest lines, the Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line and Imazatosuji Line, use linear motor-powered trains, which allow them to use smaller trains and tunnels, reducing construction costs. These two lines have half-height automatic platform gates installed at all station platforms, as does the Sennichimae Line.Also, unlike other rapid transit networks in Japan, 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.
Electric motored
- 10 series: Midōsuji Line
- 20 series: Chūō Line
- 21 series : Midōsuji Line
- 22 series : Tanimachi Line
- 23 series : Yotsubashi Line
- 24 series : Chūō Line
- 25 series : Sennichimae Line
- 66 series: Sakaisuji Line
- 30000 series: Tanimachi Line and Midōsuji Line
Linear motored
- 70 series: Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line
- 80 series: Imazatosuji Line
Fares
| Distance travelled | Rates |
| 1–3 km |
|
| 4–7 km | |
| 8–13 km | |
| 14–19 km | |
| 20–25 km |