The Tokyo Toden (東京都電, Tōkyō Toden) or simply Toden, is the tram network of Tokyo, Japan. Of all its former routes, only one, the Tokyo Sakura Tram, remains in service. The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation operates the Toden. The formal legal name is Tokyo-to Densha. Its nickname, "Toden," distinguished it from the "Kokuden" (the Japanese National Railways electrified lines).

Tokyo Toden
Toden cars crossing
Toden cars crossing
Overview
Transit typeTram
Number of lines1
Line numberArakawa Line
Number of stations30
Daily ridership47,504 (2018)
Websitewww.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp
Operation
Began operation1903 (1903)
Operator(s)Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation
Number of vehicles
Technical
System length12.2 km (7.6 mi)
Track gauge1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in)
Electrification600 DC (Overhead line)
Top speed40 km/h (25 mph)

The network had a track gauge of 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in), except for the former Seibu Railway lines which were 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in).

History

edit

At its peak, the Toden system boasted 41 routes with 213 kilometres (132 mi) of track. However, the increase in reliance on automobile traffic resulted in reductions in ridership, and from 1967 to 1972, 181 kilometres (112 mi) of track were abandoned as the Bureau changed its emphasis to bus and subway modes of transportation.

  • 1903: The Tokyo Horse-drawn Railway changed its motive power to electricity and, under the name Tokyo Electric Railway (or Tōden, 東電) commenced operations between Shinagawa and Shimbashi.
  • 1903: The Tokyo Urban Railway (or Gaitetsu, 街鉄) began operations between Sukiyabashi (in Ginza) and Kandabashi.
  • 1904: The Tokyo Electric Railway (Sotobori Line) connecting Shimbashi Station and Ochanomizu opened.
  • 1905: The three companies published the "Tokyo Geography Education Streetcar Song" to promote knowledge of the geography of Tokyo.
  • 1906: The three companies merged to form the Tokyo Railways.
  • 1911: Tokyo City purchased the Tokyo Railways, established its Electric Bureau, and inaugurated the Tokyo City Streetcar (東京市電) system.
  • 1911–1922: The streetcar network expands, with various new companies and lines serving areas in the city and to the west.
  • 1933: The route from Shinagawa Station to North Shinagawa Station is abandoned.
  • 1933–1943: New companies, mergers, and realignments alter the network.
  • 1943: Tokyo City is abolished and the larger Tokyo Prefecture assumes its administrative functions. The Tokyo City Streetcar bureau becomes the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation.
  • 1944: Service is stopped on nine segments.
  • 1945–1951: During the Occupation of Japan, the network evolved slowly.
  • 1952: The segment of the Imai Line between Higashi-arakawa and Imaibashi Stations was replaced with trolley buses.
  • 1953, 1961: Two segments (one in Shinjuku and the other connecting Shimbashi Station and Shiodome) stop operating.
  • 1963: In preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, two segments (Kita-Aoyama Itchome – Miyakezaka and HanzōmonKudanshita) cease operations. The Suginami Line (ShinjukuOgikubo) closes because it duplicates a line of the Eidan Subway.
  • 1967–1972: A plan for financial restructuring is put into effect in seven stages, resulting in the closure of most of the network.
  • 1974: A plan for abandoning the remaining track is cancelled. The remaining routes are consolidated into a single line, named the Arakawa Line.
  • 1978: One-man operation begins.
  • 1990: The 8500 Series rolling stock is introduced. It is the first new design in 28 years.
  • 2000: A new station, Arakawa-itchūmae, opens between two existing stations.
  • 2007: 9000 Series rolling stock was scheduled for introduction.

Former lines

edit
 
The network in 1961

This is the list of former lines, listed according to their official names. Corresponding routes are those of 1962. The first section of the lines opened in the listed opening years, while the last section of the lines closed in the listed closing years.

Line Route(s) Termini Opened Closed Notes
Tōkyō Electric Railway (Tōden) lines
Azumabashi Line  24   30  Ueno-Ekimae – Honjo-Azumabashi 1904 1972
Hondōri Line  1   4   19   22   40  Shimbashi – Sudachō 1903 1971
Kanasugi Line  1   4  Mita – Shimbashi 1903 1969
Kuramae Line  22   31  Kaminarimon – Asakusabashi 1904 1971
Muromachi Line  22   31  Asakusabashi – Marunouchi-Itchōme 1904 1971
Shinagawa Line  1   3   7  Kita-Shinagawa – Mita 1903 1967 Keihin Electric Railway trains (the present Keihin Electric Express Railway) operated over the ShinagawaKita-Shinagawa section
Ueno Line  1   19   20   24   30   37   40  Sudachō – Ueno-Ekimae 1903 1972
Tōkyō Urban Railway lines
Aoyama Line  6   9   10  Miyakezaka – Shibuya-Ekimae c. 1904 1968
Bammachi Line  10  Hanzōmon – Kudanshita c. 1905 1963
Chiyodabashi Line  15   28   38  Ōtemachi – Eitaibashi c. 1904 1972
Edogawa Line  15   39  Kudanshita – Waseda c. 1905 1968
Hamachō Line Ningyōchō – Ryōgoku c. 1904 1944
Hanzōmon Line  8   9   10   11  Hibiya-Kōen – Hanzōmon 1903 1968
Hongō Line  19  Circa Sudachō – Hakusan-ue 1904 1971
Hōraibashi Line Miharabashi – Hōraibashi c. 1904 c. 1909
Ichigaya Line  12  c. 1905 1970
Kandabashi Line  2   5   15   25   35   37  Hibiya-Kōen – Ogawamachi 1903 1968
Kiridōshi Line  16   39  Bunkyō-Kuyakusho-mae – Ueno-Hirokōji c. 1904 1971
Kōtōbashi Line  25   29   38  Ryōgoku-Nichōme – Kinshibori c. 1905 1972
Kudan Line  10   12   15  Ogawamachi – Kudanshita c. 1904 1970
Mita Line  2   5   35   37  Mita – Hibiya-Kōen c. 1904 1968
Narihira Line  16   23   24  Midorichō-Itchōme – Fukujimbashi
Narihirabashi – Asakusa-Ekimae (the present Tōbu Narihirabashi Station.)
c. 1905 1972
Ryōgokubashi Line  10   12   25   29  Ogawamachi – Ryōgoku-Nichōme 1903 1972
Shinjuku Line  11   12   13  Hanzōmon – Shinjuku-Ekimae 1903 1970
Suzaki Line  28   38  Eitaibashi – Tōyō-Kōen-mae
Fukushimabashi (Eitai-Nichōme) – Kamezumichō (Fukagawa-Itchōme)
c. 1904 1972
Toranomon Line  3   8  Sakuradamon – Kamiyachō
Toranomon – Reinanzaka
c. 1905 1968
Tsukiji Line  8   9   11   36  Hibiya-Kōen – Kayabachō ( – Ningyōchō) 1903 1971
Umayabashi Line  16   39  Ueno-Hirokōji – Honjo-Itchōme c. 1905 1971
Tōkyō Electric Railway (Sotobori Line) lines
Dobashi Line  17  Shin-Tokiwabashi – Shimbashi-eki-Kitaguchi c. 1904 1968
Hiroo Line  7  Aoyama-Itchōme – Tengenjibashi c. 1905 1969
Hōraibashi Line  6  Miharabashi – Toranomon c. 1905 1967
Nishikichō Line Ochanomizu – Shin-Tokiwabashi c. 1904 1944
Ochanomizu Line  13   19  Iidabashi – Akihabara-eki-Higashiguchi c. 1905 1971
Shinanomachi Line  7   33  Yotsuya-Sanchōme – Kita-Aoyama-Itchōme c. 1905 1969
Tameike Line  3   6  Toranomon – Yotsuya-Mitsuke c. 1905 1967
Ushigome Line  3   12  Yotsuya-Mitsuke – Iidabashi c. 1905 1970
Tōkyō Railways lines
Furukawa Line  4   5   7   8   34  Tengenjibashi – Kanasugibashi c. 1910 1969 tracks were in a center median near Ichinohashi
Hakusan Line  2   18   35  Bunkyō-Kuyakusho-mae – Hakusan-ue c. 1910 1968
Izumibashi Line  13   21  Doshūbashi – Ueno-Ekimae c. 1910 1970 tracks were in a center median on Shōwa Street near Ueno Station
Minowa Line  21   31  c. 1910 1969
Ōtsuka Line  16   17  Denzūin-mae – Ōtsuka-Ekimae c. 1910 1971
Senju Line  22  Komagata-Nichōme – Minami-Senju c. 1910 1971
Sugamo Line  2   18   35  Hakusan-ue – Sugamo-Shako-mae c. 1910 1968
Suidōbashi Line  2   17   18   35  Shin-Tokiwabashi – Bunkyō-Kuyakusho-mae c. 1910 1968
Takahashi Line  23  Monzen-Nakachō – Midorichō-Itchōme c. 1910 1972
Tomisaka Line  16   17   39  Ōmagari – Bunkyō-Kuyakusho-mae c. 1910 1971
Ōji Electric Tramway lines
Akabane Line  27  Ōji-Ekimae – Akabane 1926 1972
Arakawa Line  27   32  Kumanomae – Ōji-Ekimae 1913 still open present Arakawa Line
Mikawashima Line  27  Minowabashi – Kumanomae 1913 still open present Arakawa Line
Takinogawa Line  32  Ōji-Ekimae – Ōtsuka-Ekimae 1911 still open present Arakawa Line
Waseda Line  32  Ōtsuka-Ekimae – Waseda 1925 still open present Arakawa Line
Jōtō Electric Tramway lines
Ichinoe Line  26  Higashi-Arakawa – Imaibashi 1925 1952 commonly called Imai Line; an isolated line with no connection stations to other lines in the network
Komatsugawa Line  25   29   38  Kinshibori – Nishi-Arakawa 1917 1972 tracks were in a center median on Keiyō Road near Kameido Station
Sunamachi Line  29   38  Suijimmori – Suzaki 1921 1972
Tamagawa Electric Railway lines
Naka-Meguro Line  8  Shibuyabashi – Naka-Meguro 1927 1967
Tengenjibashi Line  8   34  Shibuya-Ekimae – Tengenjibashi 1921 1969
the former Seibu Railway lines
Kōenji Line  14  Shinjuku-Ekimae – Kōenji-Itchōme 1921 1963 commonly called Suginami Line
Ogikubo Line  14  Kōenji-Itchōme – Ogikubo-Ekimae 1921 1963 commonly called Suginami Line
Other
Asukayama Line  19  Komagome-Ekimae – Asukayama c. 1920 1971
Awajimachi Line  37  Awajimachi – Soto-Kanda-Sanchōme c. 1920 1967
Dōzaka Line  20   37   40  Ueno-Kōen – Sengoku-Itchōme late 1910s 1971 private right-of-way between Ueno-Kōen-mae and Nezu-Itchōme, beside Shinobazu Pond
Ebisu Line Tengenjibashi – Ebisu-Chōjamaru 1913 1944 also called Toyosawa Line or Tengenji Line
Fudanotsuji Line  3   8  Iikura-Itchōme – Fudanotsuji c. 1912 1967
Gokokuji Line  17   20  Sengoku-Itchōme – Gokokuji-mae c. 1920 1971
Gotanda Line  4  Seishōkō-mae – Gotanda-Ekimae late 1920s 1967
Hatchōbori Line  5  Baba-Sakimon – Eitaibashi c. 1920 1967
Ikebukuro Line  17  Gokokuji-mae – Ikebukuro-Ekimae early 1930s 1969
Isarago Line  4   5   7  Furukawabashi – Sengakuji c. 1912 1969
Ishiwara Line  16  Ishiwarachō-Itchōme – Kinshichō-Ekimae (Kitaguchi)
Taiheichō-Sanchōme – Kameido-Tenjimbashi
late 1920s 1971
Itabashi Line  18   41  Sugamo-Shako-mae – Itabashi-Ekimae late 1920s 1966 sometimes included with the Shimura Line
Kachidokibashi Line  11  Tsukiji-Tsukishima 1947 1968
Kasaibashi Line  29  Sakaigawa – Kasaibashi early 1940s 1972
Kasumichō Line  6  Tameike – Minami-Aoyama-Gochōme late 1910s 1967
Kita-Senju Line  21  Senju-Ōhashi – Senju-Yonchōme late 1920s 1968
Komagome Line  19  Mukōgaoka-Nichōme – Komagome-Ekimae late 1910s 1971
Marunouchi Line  28   31  Marunouchi-Itchōme – Tochō-mae c. 1920 1969
Meguro Line  4   5  Gyoranzaka-shita – Meguro-Ekimae c. 1912 1967
Mukōjima Line  30  Honjo-Azumabashi – Higashi-Mukōjima-Nichōme late 1920s 1969
Otowa Line  20  Gokokuji-mae – Yaraishita late 1920s 1971
Roppongi Line  3   8   33  Hamamatsuchō-Itchōme – Kita-Aoyama-Itchōme 1912 1969
Ryōgoku-eki Leading Line  12  Ryōgoku-Nichōme – Ryōgoku-Ekimae 1923 1968
Sarue Line  28   36  Kinshichō-Ekimae (Minamiguchi) – Tōyō-Kōen-mae late 1920s 1972
Senzoku Line  31  Kuramae-Itchōme – Minowa-Shako-mae c. 1920 1969
Shibaura Line Tōkyō-Kōguchi – Shibaura-Nichōme 1910 1969 passenger service started in the 1920s
Shimura Line  18   41  Itabashi-Ekimae – Shimurabashi early 1940s 1966
Shin-Ōhashi Line  9   36  Kayabachō – Sumiyoshichō-Nichōme c. 1912 1971
Totsuka Line  15  Takadanobaba-Ekimae – Omokagebashi ? 1968 opening year unknown
Tsukishima Line  23  Monzen-Nakachō – Tsukishima c. 1920 1972
Tsunohazu Line  13  Iidabashi – Yotsuya-Sankōchō c. 1912 1970

Routes

edit

As of 1962, there were 41 routes in operation; the maximum for the system:

Terminus via Terminus
 1  Shinagawa-Ekimae Shinagawa Line – Kanasugi Line – Hondōri Line – Ueno Line Ueno-Ekimae
 2  Mita Mita Line – Kandabashi Line – Suidōbashi Line – Hakusan Line – Sugamo Line Tōyō-Daigaku-mae
 3  Shinagawa-Ekimae Shinagawa Line – Fudanotsuji Line – Roppongi Line – Toranomon Line – Tameike Line – Ushigome Line Iidabashi
 4  Gotanda-Ekimae Gotanda Line – Meguro Line – Isarago Line – Furukawa Line – Kanasugi Line – Hondōri Line Ginza-Nichōme
 5  Meguro-Ekimae Meguro Line – Isarago Line – Furukawa Line – Mita Line – Kandabashi Line – Hatchōbori Line Eitaibashi
 6  Shibuya-Ekimae Aoyama Line – Kasumichō Line – Tameike Line – Hōraibashi Line Shimbashi
 7  Yotsuya-Sanchōme Shinanomachi Line – Hiroo Line – Furukawa Line – Isarago Line – Shinagawa Line Shinagawa-Ekimae
 8  Naka-Meguro Naka-Meguro Line – Tengenjibashi Line – Furukawa Line – Fudanotsuji Line – Roppongi Line – Toranomon Line – Hanzōmon Line – Tsukiji Line Tsukiji
 9  Shibuya-Ekimae Aoyama Line – Hanzōmon Line – Tsukiji Line – Shin-Ōhashi Line Hamachō-Nakanohashi
 10  Shibuya-Ekimae Aoyama Line – Hanzōmon Line – Bammachi Line – Kudanshita Line – Ryōgokubashi Line Sudachō
 11  Shinjuku-Ekimae Shinjuku Line – Hanzōmon Line – Tsukiji Line – Kachidokibashi Line Tsukishima
 12  Shinjuku-Ekimae Shinjuku Line – Ushigome Line – Ichigaya Line – Kudan Line – Ryōgokubashi Line – Ryōgoku-eki Leading Line Ryōgoku-Ekimae
 13  Shinjuku-Ekimae Shinjuku Line – Tsunohazu Line – Ochanomizu Line – Izumibashi Line Suitengū-mae
 14  Shinjuku-Ekimae Kōenji Line – Ogikubo Line Ogikubo-Ekimae
 15  Takadanobaba-Ekimae Totsuka Line – Waseda Line – Edogawa Line – Kudan Line – Kandabashi Line – Chiyodabashi Line Kayabachō
 16  Ōtsuka-Ekimae Ōtsuka Line – Tomisaka Line – Kiridōshi Line – Umayabashi Line – Narihira Line – Ishiwara Line Kinshichō-Ekimae
 17  Ikebukuro-Ekimae Ikebukuro Line – Gokokuji Line – Ōtsuka Line – Tomisaka Line – Suidōbashi Line – Dobashi Line Sukiyabashi
 18  Shimura-Sakaue Shimura Line – Itabashi Line – Sugamo Line – Hakusan Line – Suidōbashi Line Kandabashi
 19  Ōji-Ekimae Takinogawa Line – Asukayama Line – Komagome Line – Hongō Line – Ochanomizu Line – Ueno Line – Hondōri Line Tōri-Sanchōme
 20  Edogawabashi Otowa Line – Gokokuji Line – Dōzaka Line – Ueno Line Sudachō
 21  Senju-Yonchōme Kita-Senju Line – Minowa Line – Izumibashi Line Suitengū-mae
 22  Minami-Senju Senju Line – Kuramae Line – Muromachi Line – Hondōri Line Shimbashi
Kaminarimon Kuramae Line – Muromachi Line – Hondōri Line (additional service) Shimbashi
 23  Fukujimbashi Narihira Line – Takahashi Line – Tsukishima Line Tsukishima
 24  Fukujimbashi Narihira Line – Azumabashi Line – Ueno Line Sudachō
 25  Nishi-Arakawa Komatsugawa Line – Kōtōbashi Line – Ryōgokubashi Line – Kandabashi Line Hibiya-Kōen
 26  Higashi-Arakawa Ichinoe Line Imaibashi
 27  Minowabashi Mikawashima Line – Arakawa Line – Akabane Line Akabane
 28  Kinshichō-Ekimae Sarue Line – Suzaki Line – Chiyodabashi Line – Marunouchi Line Tochō-mae
 29  Kasaibashi Kasaibashi Line – Sunamachi Line – Komatsugawa Line – Kōtōbashi Line – Ryōgokubashi Line Sudachō
Kasaibashi Kasaibashi Line – Sunamachi Line – Suzaki Line – Chiyodabashi Line (morning and evening only) Nihombashi
 30  Higashi-Mukōjima-Nichōme Mukōjima Line – Azumabashi Line – Ueno Line Sudachō
 31  Minowabashi Mikawashima Line – Senzoku Line – Kuramae Line – Muromachi Line – Marunouchi Line Tochō-mae
 32  Arakawa-Shako-mae Arakawa Line – Takinogawa Line – Waseda Line Waseda
 33  Yotsuya-Sanchōme Shinanomachi Line – Roppongi Line Hamamatsuchō-Itchōme
 34  Shibuya-Ekimae Tengenjibashi Line Tengenjibashi
 35  Sugamo-Shako-mae Sugamo Line – Hakusan Line – Suidōbashi Line – Kandabashi Line – Mita Line Nishi-Shimbashi-Itchōme
 36  Kinshichō-Ekimae Sarue Line – Shin-Ōhashi Line – Tsukiji Line Tsukiji
 37  Mita Mita Line – Kandabashi Line – Ryōgokubashi Line – Awajichō Line – Ueno Line – Dōzaka Line Sendagi-Nichōme
 38  Kishinbori-Shako-mae Kōtōbashi Line – Komatsugawa Line – Sunamachi Line – Suzaki Line – Chiyodabashi Line Nihombashi
 39  Waseda Edogawa Line – Tomisaka Line – Kiridōshi Line – Umayabashi Line Umayabashi
 40  Shimmeichō-Shako-mae Dōzaka Line – Ueno Line – Hondōri Line Ginza-Nanachōme
 41  Shimurabashi Shimura Line – Itabashi Line Sugamo-Shako-mae

Note: Route 26 discontinued by 1952.