The Namboku Line (南北線) is a Tokyo Metro (東京地下鉄) railway line. It runs from Meguro Station in Shinagawa ward to Akabane-iwabuchi Station in Kita ward, Tokyo.
History
The line was first planned as Subway Route 7 (地下鉄7号線). The plan grew out of a campaign by Kita ward. In 1959 Kita ward began asking for a subway at Akabane Station to ease crowding. Public housing was being built on former military land nearby, and more passengers were expected. A 17 June 1957 Ministry of Construction notice had set a City Planning Route 5 with a branch from Otemachi to Shimo-Itabashi. Kita ward asked for the branch to reach Akabane. In late 1960 the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly said the branch should be built by Tokyo. Eidan, the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (帝都高速度交通営団), objected, and the campaign stalled. On 8 June 1962 Transport Council Report No. 6 split the branch off as part of Toei Subway Line 6, and set a new Route 7 from Meguro to Akabane. On 16 October 1962 Eidan applied for a licence for Route 7 from Meguro to Akabane-cho (Kirigaoka), 22.5 km long. The application included the depot siding because it would carry passengers. On 4 June 1964 Tokyo also applied for a 21.0 km licence from Meguro to Akabane, so the two applications competed.
On 23 October 1972 Tokyo withdrew its application. The next day Eidan changed its route, because Route 7 was now to extend toward Saitama. The stretch between Nagatacho and Ichigaya was changed to run through Yotsuya, to ease crowding on the Marunouchi Line. In 1973 Eidan planned a depot at Nishigaoka in Kita ward, reached by a 2.2 km siding from Iwabuchi-cho. On 12 February 1973 Eidan announced a survey briefing for the area without telling residents first. Residents opposed the plan. The ground was soft, the area could flood, and it was a designated evacuation site. Eidan proposed a fully underground depot, but residents were not satisfied. In June 1973 the site moved to a former Self-Defence Forces site at Akabane, planned as a two-level underground depot. On 29 July 1974 Kita ward's assembly committee adopted the depot plan. After a public notice period, residents asked for a hearing in October 1974, and the Ministry of Transport held back the licence. In February 1975 residents sued over the survey permit. The Tokyo District Court dismissed the case on 5 July 1977, and residents appealed. Eidan did not reapply when its survey permit expired on 5 November 1977, so the Nishigaoka plan was dropped in practice. The appeal was dismissed on 29 March 1978. Kita ward was told that the licence could not be issued because of the oil shock, Eidan's planning faults and the lawsuits. Route 7 was put on hold until 1979. Eidan had planned construction budgets for fiscal 1973 to 1976. No budget was granted from fiscal 1976, so the plan was frozen. The next budget came in fiscal 1985.
Residents kept up their opposition. In September 1980 residents presented a petition signed by many residents to the transport minister, asking for the line to be built. On 31 March 1983 Eidan changed its application to Meguro to Iwabuchi-cho, 21.0 km long, with the depot moved to Kamiyabori Park and the terminus moved to Iwabuchi-cho. On 22 June 1983 the court recommended a settlement, and on 27 July 1983 residents accepted it. The siding and the Nishigaoka depot plan were withdrawn. Seven months later Eidan received the Route 7 licence. On 20 April 1984 the licence for Meguro to Iwabuchi-cho was granted. Kamiyabori Park's small depot is now the Oji depot.
Construction then went ahead in stages. Komagome to Iwabuchi-cho was approved on 21 January 1986, and work started on 2 February 1986. Tameike to Komagome was approved on 5 August 1988, and work started on 5 April 1989. Meguro to Tameike was approved on 5 April 1991, and work started on 22 November 1991. On 27 June 1991 the line was named Namboku Line, after its north to south route through Tokyo. The name became official on 1 July 1991. On 29 November 1991 the Komagome to Akabane-iwabuchi section, 6.3 km long, opened with 4-car 9000 series trains.
On 27 August 1993 heavy rain from a typhoon flooded the construction site at Ichigaya station. On 3 February 1996 six-car trains began running. On 26 March 1996 the section from Yotsuya to Komagome, 7.1 km long, opened. On 30 September 1997 the 2.2 km section from Tameike-Sanno to Yotsuya opened.
On 26 September 2000 the line opened from Meguro to Tameike-Sanno, 5.7 km, which completed the whole line. Through services with the Tokyu Meguro Line began that day. From 22 September the 9000 series ran on the Tokyu Meguro Line, and Tokyu 3000 series trains ran on the Namboku Line, during a trial period until 25 September. On 28 March 2001 through services with the Saitama Rapid Railway line began. On 1 April 2004 Eidan was privatised and its business passed to Tokyo Metro (東京地下鉄). On 22 June 2008 the Tokyu Meguro Line extended to Hiyoshi, and the through services were extended to Hiyoshi as well.
Mobile phone use was added station by station from 2012 to 2013. From 10 to 13 March 2015 each station from Shirokanedai to Akabane-iwabuchi got its own departure chime. On 28 January 2022 a first-class railway licence was applied for on the Shinagawa to Shirokane-Takanawa section, 2.5 km long, and the transport minister approved it on 28 March 2022. From 1 April 2022 eight-car trains began running. On 18 March 2023 through services with the Tokyu Shin-Yokohama Line and the Sotetsu line began, via the Tokyu Meguro Line. On 16 December 2023 eight-car 9000 series operation began. On 5 November 2024 construction began on the Shinagawa to Shirokane-Takanawa section.
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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.