Midōsuji Line

Midōsuji Line

Midōsuji Line 21 series train with red line
Overview
Type Rapid transit
System Osaka Municipal Subway
Locale Osaka
Termini Esaka
Nakamozu
Stations 20
Line number 1
Operation
Opened May 20, 1933
Owner Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau
Depot(s) Nagai, Nakamozu
Rolling stock 10 series, 21 series, 30000 series
Technical
Line length 24.5 km (15.2 mi)
Track length 24.5 km (15.2 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification 750 V DC, third rail
Operating speed 70 km/h (43 mph)
Route map

The Midōsuji Line (御堂筋線 Midōsuji-sen) is a rapid transit line in Osaka, Japan, operated by the Osaka Municipal Subway. Constructed under Midōsuji, a major north-south street, it is the oldest line in the Osaka subway system and the second oldest in Japan, following the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line. Its official name is Rapid Electric Tramway Line No. 1 (高速電気軌道第1号線), while the Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau refers to it as Osaka City Rapid Railway Line No. 1 (大阪市高速鉄道第1号線), and in MLIT publications it is referred to as Line No. 1 (Midōsuji Line) (1号線（御堂筋線）). On line maps, stations on the Midōsuji Line are indicated with the letter M.

North of Nakatsu it runs above ground in the median of Shin-midōsuji, an elevated freeway.

The section between Senri-chūō and Esaka is owned and operated by Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway (北大阪急行電鉄 Kita Osaka Dentetsu), but is seamless to the passengers except with respect to fare calculations.

Line data

Stations

No. Station Japanese Distance Transfers Location
↑ Through-service to/from Senri-Chūō via the Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway ↑
M11 Esaka 江坂 0.0 Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway Suita
M12 Higashi-Mikuni 東三国 2.0   Yodogawa-ku, Osaka
M13 Shin-Ōsaka 新大阪 2.9 JR West:
M14 Nishinakajima-
Minamigata		 西中島南方 3.6 Hankyu Railway: Kyoto Main Line (Minamikata)
M15 Nakatsu 中津 5.4   Kita-ku, Osaka
M16 Umeda 梅田 6.4
M17 Yodoyabashi
(Osaka City Hall)		 淀屋橋
（市役所前）		 7.7 Keihan Railway: Main Line, Nakanoshima Line - Oebashi Chūō-ku, Osaka
M18 Hommachi
(Semba-nishi)		 本町
（船場西）		 8.6
M19 Shinsaibashi 心斎橋 9.6
M20 Namba 難波 10.5
M21 Daikokuchō 大国町 11.7 Yotsubashi Line (Y16) Naniwa-ku, Osaka
M22 Dōbutsuen-mae
(Shinsekai)		 動物園前
（新世界）		 12.9 Nishinari-ku, Osaka
M23 Tennōji 天王寺 13.9 Abeno-ku, Osaka
M24 Shōwachō 昭和町 15.7  
M25 Nishitanabe 西田辺 17.0  
M26 Nagai 長居 18.3 JR West: Hanwa Line Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka
M27 Abiko 我孫子 19.5  
M28 Kitahanada 北花田 21.4   Kita-ku, Sakai
M29 Shinkanaoka 新金岡 23.0  
M30 Nakamozu 中百舌鳥 24.5

Rolling stock

Former

History

The Midōsuji Line was the first subway line in Osaka and the first government-operated subway line in Japan. Its construction was partly an effort to give work to the many unemployed people in Osaka during the early 1930s. The initial tunnel from Umeda to Shinsaibashi, dug entirely by hand, opened in 1933 after being initially plagued by cave-ins and water leakage caused by the poor composition of the earth below northern Osaka and the equally poor engineering skills of the work crew. The first cars were hauled onto the line by manpower and pack animals from the National Railway tracks near Umeda.

Although the line only operated with single cars at first, its stations were designed from the outset to handle trains of up to eight cars. The line was gradually extended over the next few decades, completing its current length in 1987, making it the second-longest subway line in Osaka after the Tanimachi Line (excluding the Kita-Osaka Kyūkō Railway extension of the Midōsuji Line).

References

  1. ↑ "公営地下鉄在籍車数ビッグ３　大阪市交通局 (One of the big three public subway operators: Osaka Municipal Subway)". Japan Railfan Magazine. Vol. 49 no. 576. April 2009. pp. 88–99.

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