The Mita Line (三田線) is a subway line run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (東京都交通局) and called the Toei subway (都営地下鉄). It runs from Meguro Station in Shinagawa ward to Nishi-Takashimadaira Station in Itabashi ward.
History
Plans for the line began in 1962. On 8 June 1962 the Urban Transport Council (都市交通審議会) named Line 6 in its report No. 6. The line was to run from Nishi-Magome to Sengakuji, Ōtemachi, Sugamo and Shimura, with a branch to Kamiita. On 29 August 1962 the route was made a city planning line. On 31 January 1964 the council revised the plan. The branch to Kamiita was dropped, and the line was extended west from Shimura to Ōwa in Saitama Prefecture (now Wako). Nishi-Magome to Sengakuji was moved to Line 1. On 31 March 1964 Tokyo applied to take over a railway permit for Sugamo to Ōtemachi from the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (帝都高速度交通営団, Eidan). On 10 April 1964 Tokyo applied to build Sengakuji to Ōtemachi and Sugamo to Shimura (now Takashimadaira). On 16 December 1964 the route change was approved (30.5 km). On 18 December 1964 Tokyo was granted a permit for Shimura (now Takashimadaira) to Mita, with Sengakuji included.
Construction began on 11 December 1965. On 27 December 1968 the Sugamo to Shimura (now Takashimadaira) section, 10.4 km, opened as Toei Line 6. Four-car 6000 series trains began service, and their band was red at the time. On 1 August 1969 Shimura Station was renamed Takashimadaira. In July 1970 the line colours were introduced. This line became blue, and the 6000 series band changed from red to blue. On 14 May 1972 six-car trains began running. On 30 June 1972 the Hibiya to Sugamo section (7.3 km) opened. On 29 August 1972 Tokyo applied to take over the Sanen-chō (now Nishi-Takashimadaira) to Takashimadaira part of a railway permit that Tobu Railway (東武鉄道) held for Wako to Takashimadaira. The permit was taken over on 21 December 1972.
On 27 November 1973 the Mita to Hibiya section (3.3 km) opened. On 31 December 1973 the overnight New Year's Eve service was cancelled because of a labour dispute. On 6 May 1976 the Takashimadaira to Nishi-Takashimadaira section (1.5 km) opened. The first automatic ticket gates in the Toei subway were tested at Shin-Takashimadaira and Nishi-Takashimadaira.
On 1 July 1978 the line was renamed the Toei Mita Line (都営三田線). On 11 July 1985 the Transport Policy Council's report No. 7 confirmed the extension of Line 6 to Meguro. On 31 December 1986 the overnight New Year's Eve service was restarted. On 18 August 1988 Tokyo signed a memorandum with Eidan. It set out the basic terms for Line 6 to use Eidan's Line 7 tracks between Meguro and Seishōkōmae.
In 1989 Tokyo applied on 30 March for a Type 1 licence for Mita to Seishōkōmae (now Shirokane-Takanawa) and a Type 2 licence for Seishōkōmae to Meguro. On 6 May 1989 the first 6000 series set was air-conditioned, the first air-conditioned train on the Mita Line. On 24 May 1989 the licence was granted, and the Sengakuji to Mita licence was cancelled. At that time the Meguro extension was planned to open in October 1995. Construction on Mita to Seishōkōmae began on 17 July 1992. On 23 June 1993 the 6300 series began service. In July 1994 all cars became air-conditioned, through the new 6300 series and the air-conditioning of the 6000 series. On 1 November 1994 AM radio reception was introduced across the whole line.
In 1999 half-height platform gates were tested at Takashimadaira on 29 March, and installation at other stations began in August. On 28 November 1999 the 6000 series made its last service, and from the next day only 6300 series trains ran. On 3 December 1999 the signalling changed from T-type ATS to the new CS-ATC, and train radio changed from induction radio to space-wave radio. In 2000 the tunnel between Mita and Shirokane-Takanawa was completed, and test trains ran on 28 March. On 20 April 2000 the official name was changed from Toei Mita Line to Mita Line. In April 2000 automatic train operation (ATO) began across the whole line, and on 10 August 2000 platform gates were complete at all stations. On 22 September 2000 a timetable change prepared the line for through running, and one-man operation began. Tokyu cars began running that day. On 26 September 2000 the Mita to Meguro section (4.0 km) opened, completing the line. Through running with the Tokyu Meguro Line (東急目黒線), operated by Tokyu (東急), began that day.
On 23 December 2004 a special train called Minato Mirai (みなとみらい号), with 6300 series cars, ran via the Tokyu Toyoko Line to Motomachi-Chūkagai Station on the Minatomirai Line (みなとみらい線), run by Yokohama Minatomirai Railway (横浜高速鉄道). Such trains ran on holidays and in summer until December 2009. On 25 September 2006 express trains began on the Tokyu Meguro Line, and Mita Line trains stopped at every station. On 22 June 2008 the Tokyu Meguro Line was extended from Musashi-Kosugi to Hiyoshi, and through running was extended to Hiyoshi. On 12 March 2015 the departure melodies at Shirokanedai and Shirokane-Takanawa were renewed, because Tokyo Metro had renewed the melodies on the Namboku Line (南北線). On 11 May 2022 the platform door replacement at all 24 stations was complete, the last one being Hibiya. On 14 May 2022 the 6500 series began running, and some trains ran as 8-car sets. On 4 February 2023 the departure sounds at each station began to be renewed, to be finished by the timetable revision on 18 March. On 18 March 2023 through running with the Tokyu Shin-Yokohama Line (東急新横浜線) began via the Tokyu Meguro Line, and one-way through running with the Sotetsu Line (相鉄線) began.
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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.