Toei Oedo Line

A Toei subway opened in full in 2000, running 40.7 kilometres across 38 stations. A linear-motor 'mini subway' with a small tunnel cross-section, it was built to run economically through the deep underground. Roppongi Station, about 42 metres down, is the deepest on the Toei network.

2000: The Newest Ring Beneath the Centre

The Oedo Line opened in full on 12 December 2000, the newest line on the Toei subway. It runs 40.7 kilometres across 38 stations, tracing a figure-eight through the city centre on the map: from Hikarigaoka in Nerima it runs radially inward, then loops around the central ring past Tochomae. Though it looks like a loop line, it does not actually run in a circle — services switch at Tochomae in a distinctive operating pattern.

The line could thread beneath the existing subway network because it uses an iron-wheel linear motor. Supported on wheels and rails but driven by a linear motor under the floor, this system allows a smaller car cross-section. Thinner tunnels meant lower construction costs and the ability to run in deep strata, dodging the lines already in place.

The Deepest Line on the Toei Network

The ability to shrink the cars and dive deep made the Oedo Line Tokyo’s “deep subway.” Roppongi Station, about 42 metres below ground, is the deepest station on the entire Toei network. The length of the escalators and lifts down to the platform makes vivid just how far beneath the existing infrastructure the line was laid.

The Oedo Line stitched together many districts that had been subway blank spots — Ryogoku, Monzen-nakacho, Tsukishima, Azabu-juban, Roppongi, Shinjuku-nishiguchi — placing stations in neighbourhoods slightly off the existing network and tightening the mesh of Tokyo travel. Because it crosses the centre diagonally, it also works as a bypass that spares passengers the trouble of connecting between radial lines.

Summary

Since its full opening in 2000, the Toei Oedo Line has run deep beneath Tokyo on iron-wheel linear-motor technology. It spans 40.7 kilometres and 38 stations, and Roppongi Station holds the record as the deepest at about 42 metres down. Ride this line — invisible from the surface — and descend its long escalators, and you feel in your body just how many layers make up the underground of Tokyo.

Related: Roppongi Hills Mori Tower / Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No.1

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