The Ginza Line (銀座線) is a Tokyo Metro (東京地下鉄) line from Asakusa station in Taitō ward to Shibuya station in Shibuya ward, Tokyo. Its first section, Asakusa to Ueno, opened in 1927 as Japan's first full-scale subway.
History
The Ginza Line began as the Tokyo Underground Railway (東京地下鉄道). The plan was to build the whole line from Shimbashi to Asakusa at once. But after the Great Kantō Earthquake (1923) caused an economic slump, money was hard to raise. So the Asakusa to Ueno section was built first, because it was expected to earn good returns. Work on Asakusa to Ueno began on 27 September 1925. The section opened on 30 December 1927, after a ceremony and test rides on 29 December. It was 2.2 km long. Soil from the digging was carried out by boat on the Sumida River, through a short tunnel and a pier. Long queues formed for the new line when it opened.
Work from Ueno north to Manseibashi began on 10 July 1927. A temporary station was set up on the north bank of the Kanda River at Manseibashi, because digging under the river was expected to be hard. Work on Manseibashi to Kanda began on 7 June 1929. Ueno to Manseibashi opened on 1 January 1930. Manseibashi to Kanda opened on 21 November 1931, and Manseibashi station was closed. Work on Kanda to Mitsukoshimae began on 25 February 1931. Kanda to Mitsukoshimae opened on 29 April 1932. Mitsukoshimae to Kyōbashi opened on 24 December 1932. Work on Kyōbashi to Ginza began on 7 January 1933, and Ginza to Shimbashi on 10 April 1933. Kyōbashi to Ginza opened on 3 March 1934. Ginza to Shimbashi opened on 21 June 1934. The whole Tokyo Underground Railway line was complete by 1934.
The Shibuya to Shimbashi section was built by the Tokyo Express Railway (東京高速鉄道). It was linked with the Meguro Kamata Electric Railway (目黒蒲田電鉄), the forerunner of Tōkyū. The city of Tokyo had planned to run this section itself. So the licence was transferred under an agreement that said the two lines would merge later, and that Tokyo could buy the line whenever it chose. Work on Toranomon to Shimbashi began on 18 October 1935. Aoyama-rokuchōme to Toranomon opened on 18 November 1938. Shibuya to Aoyama-rokuchōme opened on 20 December 1938. Toranomon to Shimbashi opened on 15 January 1939. The Shibuya to Shimbashi section was complete by 1939. Through running between the two companies began on 16 September 1939. Rush-hour trains went from intervals of two and a half minutes to two minutes. In July 1941 the two companies were merged under the transport adjustment law. On 1 September 1941 the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (帝都高速度交通営団, the Eidan) took over the lines.
After the Pacific War began, the line ran close to normal for a time. From 31 December 1942 all trains ran as three-car sets. From 19 January 1943 power shortages led to an energy-saving timetable. Some trains turned back at Mitsukoshimae instead of running to Shibuya, and holiday services were cancelled. Speeds were cut and services reduced. In the last year of the war, Tokyo was bombed again and again. The line lay close to the surface, so it could not be used as an air-raid shelter like some other subways. It was shut during raids. On 27 January 1945 bombs fell on Ginza Street. They damaged Ginza and Kyōbashi stations and burst water mains, which flooded the tunnel between Nihonbashi and Shimbashi. Trains turned back in parts of the line. From 1 February Shimbashi to Mitsukoshimae was run as single track, and full service was restored on 10 March 1945. On 25 May 1945 a bomb hit the Shibuya depot and burned several cars. They were repaired and returned to service. Tabatachō and Suehirochō stations were passed without stopping, under time limits, until 14 October 1946.
After the war, services stayed slow for a time, because power was short. Gradually the line recovered to pre-war levels. On 15 March 1949 new 1300 series cars entered service. On 1 December 1953 the line was named Ginza Line (銀座線). This was the year before the Marunouchi Line opened, and the Ginza Line served the Eidan for a long time. On 1 May 1955 some trains ran as four-car sets. On 1 October 1956 some trains ran as five-car sets. From July 1957 all stations handled five-car trains. On 28 November 1960 some morning trains ran as six-car sets. From 6 January 1966 all trains ran as six-car sets. Induction radio (IR) was first used on 19 September 1966. From May to July 1968 the older cars, used since the line opened, were withdrawn.
After the war, the city's plan for the third line (which became the Ginza Line) was set out in 1946, running from Ōhashi through Shibuya to Asakusa. The railway handbook still names the line 'Line 3 Ginza' (3号線銀座線), because the plan numbers were given clockwise from the bay side. In June 1962 the transport council's report No. 6 proposed the third line from Futakotamagawa to Miwanoki. On 29 August 1962 a plan for 26.0 km was decided. In April 1968 report No. 10 cut the line to Shibuya to Miwanoki, 17.3 km. The Futakotamagawa to Shibuya section was taken into the Tōkyū Shin-Tamagawa Line plan, and it opened in April 1977. The Asakusa to Miwanoki extension, 3.2 km with no stations, is still in the city plan but is effectively frozen. The transport council removed it on 11 July 1985. In 1972 Jingūmae station was renamed Omotesandō station. On 1 August 1978 Omotesandō station was moved about 180 m towards Gaienmae. On 1 January 1984 the trial 01 series entered service, and mass production began on 30 November 1984.
On 9 October 1986 the last set with the older suspended-drive cars was taken out of service. On 13 August 1990 air-conditioned cars began running. On 30 July 1993 the 2000 and 1500N series cars ended service, which ended momentary power drops in areas without power. On 31 July 1993 the signals changed to the new CS-ATC system, with automatic stopping (TASC), and all cars became 01 series. On 2 August 1993 a timetable change, made with the new signals, raised the top speed from 55 km/h to 65 km/h and cut the Asakusa to Shibuya journey by 4 minutes. On 27 March 1995 a train operation control system (PTC) was introduced. All cars became air-conditioned on 24 August 1995. On 30 September 1997 Tameike-Sannō station opened between Toranomon and Akasaka-mitsuke. It was the first new station on the line since Shibuya station in 1938. On 12 December 2000 Ueno-Hirokōji station began linking with Naka-Okachimachi station on the Hibiya Line. On 1 April 2004 the Eidan was privatised and became Tokyo Metro (東京地下鉄). In 2008 the Asakusa to Shimbashi section was certified as a civil engineering heritage site. In 2009 the line was certified as a modern industrial heritage site. On 11 April 2012 the 1000 series began service. From 2012 to 2013 mobile phones could be used in stages in the tunnels. On 12 March 2016 platform doors were first used at Ueno station. On 10 March 2017 the 01 series ended regular service. On 27 December 2019 the last train used the old Shibuya platform, and it was closed. On 3 January 2020 the new Shibuya station building and platforms opened, after the move. The distance between Shibuya and Omotesandō was revised from 1.3 km to 1.2 km, so the whole line became 14.2 km. On 27 June 2026 one-man operation began across the whole line.
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Written by an AI from the line's history on Japanese Wikipedia, nothing else, and checked by a program for dates and numbers that are not in those facts. It can still be wrong. Adapted from Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0; this text is shared under the same licence.