The Shinjuku Line (新宿線) is a subway line run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). It runs from Shinjuku Station in Shinjuku, Tokyo, to Motoyawata Station in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture.
History
The Shinjuku Line is the only subway in Japan with a track gauge of 1372 mm, the horse-carriage gauge. At first it was planned at the 1435 mm standard gauge, so that it could share track with the Asakusa Line. Tokyo asked Keio Teito Electric Railway (京王帝都電鉄, now Keio Electric Railway) to change the gauge of the Keio Line, and the transport ministry also wanted the 1372 mm gauge removed. Keio refused, citing the size of the work and worries about its capacity during the change, so the subway was built at 1372 mm to match Keio. The 1372 mm gauge had been chosen by the Tokyo Horse Tramway when it opened in 1882. Japanese Wikipedia does not record the reason, and Keio later matched it.
In 1968 the Urban Transport Council's report No. 10 set out Line No. 10, running from the Rokakōen direction through Shinjuku to the Sumiyoshi-chō direction. On 3 June 1968 Tokyo applied for a licence between Shinjuku and Sumiyoshi-chō, and the licence was granted on 30 October 1968. The urban plan decision for that section was made on 28 December 1968. On 20 May 1969 Chōfu to Shinjuku was added to the urban plan. On 23 July 1969 Tokyo applied for a licence from Sumiyoshi-chō to Higashi-Ōjima, which was granted on 22 December 1969. Sections were added to the plan in January and August 1970. Construction began near Morishita and Sumiyoshi on 1 May 1971. On 1 March 1972 report No. 15 set the route through Hashimoto, Chōfu and Shinjuku to Sumiyoshi-chō, Motoyawata and the Inba district of Chiba New Town.
On 27 February 1973 Tokyo applied for a licence from Higashi-Ōjima to Motoyawata, which was granted on 4 October 1973. On the same day Chiba prefecture applied for and received the licence from Motoyawata to Inba Matsumushi (now Inba Nihon Ika). On 1 July 1978 the planned Line No. 10 was renamed the Shinjuku Line, at the same time as Toei Line 1 and Line 6 were renamed the Asakusa and Mita lines. On 21 December 1978 the Iwamotochō to Higashi-Ōjima section opened. On 16 March 1980 the Shinjuku to Iwamotochō section opened, and through running with Keio began via the Keio Shinsen line, which had opened on 31 October 1978. Beyond Iwamotochō only 6-car trains could run, so Keio's 8-car and 10-car trains stopped at Iwamotochō. Urban plan decisions for Higashi-Ōjima to Motoyawata were made on 28 and 31 March 1980. Construction on that section began on 16 September 1980. On 1 September 1981 some Keio trains with 10-car sets began running through. On 23 December 1983 the Higashi-Ōjima to Funabori section opened. On 14 September 1986 the Funabori to Shinozaki section opened. On 15 July 1987 Keio cars began air-conditioned service. On 20 December 1987 platforms were lengthened along the whole line, so Keio cars could run from Iwamotochō to Ōjima.
On 19 March 1989 the Shinozaki to Motoyawata section opened, completing the whole line. Motoyawata was a temporary station at first. On 1 September 1991 the permanent Motoyawata station opened, and Keio trains were extended to Motoyawata. On 9 May 1993 an automatic transfer fare machine was installed at the Ichigaya connecting gate. Japanese Wikipedia calls it the first in Japan to settle overpayments and issue transfer tickets at the same time. In June 1995 all cars became air-conditioned. On 24 December 1997 express trains began running on the whole line, on weekday daytimes only, and through trains to Takaosanguchi began. On 20 April 2000 the official name changed from the Toei Shinjuku Line to the Shinjuku Line. On 12 December 2000 the Ōedo Line opened from Kokuritsu-Kyōgijō to Tochōmae, connecting at Morishita station, and express trains began stopping at Morishita. On 27 March 2001 daytime Keio trains from west of Sasazuka became express trains on the Shinjuku Line, and express hours were extended to Saturdays and holidays. On 1 December 2003 a timetable change extended express hours on Saturdays and holidays, and the weekday morning commuter rapid trains to Takaosanguchi ended.
On 20 January 2005 an interim 10-300R set began service, made by replacing the lead cars of 10-000 series sets. On 14 May 2005 the line switched to a new digital ATC system. On 21 May 2005 the 10-300 series, all newly built cars, began service. On 15 March 2006 Keio 9000 series 30th sub-group cars began through running. On 1 September 2006 most Keio through trains on the Hashimoto and Tama Center lines became 10-car trains, and through running to the Keio Zoo line began via the Keio Line. On 3 September 2007 Keio's 8-car operation ended, and all Keio trains became 10-car sets. In June 2009 the Keio 6000 series withdrew, so that the Keio cars were all of the 9000 series 30th sub-group type. On 1 June 2010 Toei 10-car operation began. After the Tōhoku earthquake of 11 March 2011 (東北地方太平洋沖地震), power plant shutdowns led to rolling blackouts by Tokyo Electric Power from 13 March. Express trains were greatly reduced, and through running to the Keio Zoo line was suspended. On 2 July 2011 most Keio through trains were replaced with rapid trains. On 23 September 2011 express service was fully restored. On 18 December 2011 Shinjuku-sanchōme station became barrier-free, which made the whole line barrier-free.
On 25 September 2015 a timetable change made daytime trains through to the Keio Line west of Sasazuka all-stops on the Shinjuku Line, the first such change in 14 and a half years. Express trains then ran between Sasazuka and Motoyawata. On 14 February 2017 the 10-300R sets left service. On 11 February 2018 the 10-000 series left service. On 22 February 2018 through running with the second-generation Keio 5000 series began. On 10 August 2019 platform doors at Shinjuku-sanchōme began operating, so every station on the line now has platform doors. On 22 February 2020 through express trains to the Keio Zoo line resumed, on Saturdays and holidays only. On 13 March 2021 through running to the Keio Zoo line was suspended. On 11 August 2022 all Toei trains became 10-car sets.
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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.