Transportation in Greater Tokyo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The transportation network in Greater Tokyo includes public and private rail and highway networks; airports for international, domestic, and general aviation; buses; motorcycle delivery services, walking, bicycling, and commercial shipping. While the nexus is in the central part of Tokyo, every part of the Greater Tokyo Area has rail, road, air, or sea transportation services.
Tokyo is a rail oriented city. Public transportation within Greater Tokyo including suburban neighborhoods are dominated by the world's most extensive urban rail network[1] of clean and efficient surface trains and subways run by a variety of operators, with feeder buses, monorails and playing a secondary role. Because of such high railway use, walking and bicycling is much more common than in many cities around the globe. Despite a overwhelming dependence on rail systems, private automobiles and motorcycles (diminishing) play a secondary role in urban transport.
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[edit] Understanding the nature of transport in Japan
Rail in Japan is so integrated into Japanese urban society that the train station itself is the core of the city, it is the destination, it defines Japanese society, city development, and activities. Roads are so unimportant that most of them don't even have names. Nevertheless expansion of nationwide highway system and construction of offshore airports continued, but at an enormous cost as urban development was already extremely dense. This contributed greatly to a rapidly spiraling national debt. However, rail use has declined in popularity over the years as other alternatives become available.
[edit] Airports
Two airports handle the vast majority of commercial flights in the region. Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) in Ota, Tokyo is the primary field for domestic flights. Narita International Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture is the major gateway for international travelers.
Chofu Airport in the city of Chofu handles commuter flights to the Izu islands. Tokyo Heliport in Koto serves public-safety and news traffic. In the Izu Islands, Oshima Airport on Oshima, Hachijojima Airport on Hachijo, and Miyakejima Airport on Miyake provide air service.
In addition, the Greater Tokyo area hosts military bases with airfields:
[edit] Railway and subway
Rail is the primary mode of transportation in Tokyo, so much so that many Japanese politicans argued the uselessness of highways and airports. Tokyo has the most extensive urban railway network in the world, and an equally extensive network of surface lines. Most lines in Tokyo are privately owned and operated, with the exception of Toei Metro (run directly by the Metropolitan government). Rail and subway lines are highly integrated and dense; commuter trains from the suburbs continue directly into the subway network on many lines, often emerging on the other side of the city to serve another company's surface line at major stations. It is estimated some 20 million people take the 70 plus train and subway lines, and go through 1000 stations in the metropolitan area daily. Shinjuku Station is the busiest train station in the world by passenger throughput.
[edit] JR
East Japan Railway Company, or JR East, is the largest passenger railway company in the world. It operates throughout the Greater Tokyo area (as well as the rest of northeastern Honshū).
In addition to operating some long-haul Shinkansen ("bullet train" lines), JR East operates Tokyo's largest railway network, including the Yamanote Line loop that encircles the center of Tokyo, and commuter lines radiating from the city its suburbs. These include the Keihin-Tohoku Line between Saitama and Yokohama, the Chūō Line to West Tokyo, and the Sobu Line to Chiba. The Keiyo serves nearby parts of Chiba. The Yokohama, Tōkaidō, and Yokosuka Lines serve the southwestern parts of the area.
Many additional lines form a network outside the center of the city. Among these are the Hachiko, Itsukaichi, Joban, Joetsu, Kawagoe Line, Musashino, Ome, Negishi, Nambu, Sagami, Takasaki, and Tsurumi Lines.
JR East is also the majority stockholder in the Tokyo Monorail, one of the world's most commercially successful monorail lines.
[edit] Other carriers operating in Tokyo
Regional railways carry commuters into the center of Tokyo. These include several private railway networks.
- Keihin Kyuko Electric Railway (Keikyū) — Operates out of Shinagawa Station to Kanagawa and Haneda Airport.
- Keio Electric Railway — Operates out of Shinjuku Station and Shibuya Station to West Tokyo.
- Keisei Electric Railway — Operates out of Ueno Station to Chiba (including Narita International Airport).
- Odakyu Electric Railway — Operates out of Shinjuku Station to Kanagawa, most notably Odawara and Hakone.
- Seibu Railway — Operates out of Shinjuku Station and Ikebukuro Station to western Tokyo.
- Tobu Railway — Operates out of Ikebukuro Station and Asakusa Station to Saitama, Gunma, and Tochigi.
- Tokyo Kyuko Electric Railway (Tōkyū) — Operates out of Shibuya Station to West Tokyo and Kanagawa.
- Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company (Tsukuba Express or TX) — Linking Akihabara Station with Tsukuba since its opening in August 2005.
Some private and public carriers operate within the boundaries of Tokyo.
- Tama Toshi Monorail — Runs north/south through Tachikawa in western Tokyo.
- Toden Arakawa Line — Once a common sight before Metro and buses came to fore, the streetcar network has shrunk to only this one route between Waseda and Minowabashi.
- Tokyo Waterfront Railway (Rinkai Line) — Tokyo waterfront. Sometimes considered as a subway.
- Yurikamome — People mover in Tokyo waterfront
[edit] Subways in Tokyo
Two organizations operate the Tokyo subway network. One has the name "Tokyo Metro" and the other is a part of the government of Tokyo.
- Tokyo Metro (formerly Eidan) — Operates Japan's largest subway network.
- Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation — Operates the Toei subway lines and the Arakawa tramline.
[edit] Railways outside of Tokyo
- Chiba Urban Monorail — Chiba City
- Disney Resort Line — Monorail linking Maihama station and Tokyo Disney Resort
- Enoshima Electric Railway (Enoden) — Scenic streetcar operating between Kamakura and Fujisawa, south Kanagawa
- Hokuso Railway — North east Chiba
- Kanazawa Seaside Line — People mover in South Yokohama
- Sagami Railway (Sōtetsu) — Kanagawa
- Saitama New Urban Transit (New Shuttle) — People mover in Saitama City, Ageo and Ina
- Saitama Railway Line (SR) — North Tokyo, Saitama. Sometimes considered as subway.
- Shibayama Railway — Eastern Narita
- Shin-Keisei Electric Railway — North east Chiba
- Shonan Monorail — Hiratsuka, south Kanagawa
- Sobu Nagareyama Electric Railway — Nagareyama, north Chiba
- Toyo Rapid Railway — Funabashi and Yachiyo, central Chiba
- Yamaman Yukarigaoka Line — People mover in Sakura, western Chiba
- Yokohama Minatomirai Railway (Minatomirai Line and Kodomo-no-Kuni Line) — Yokohama. Minatomirai Line is sometimes considered as subway.
- Yokohama Subway — One line (two in official count) serves central Yokohama. Another line is scheduled to open in 2007.
[edit] Buses
Tokyo's metropolitan government operates Toei buses mainly within the 23 special wards while private bus companies operate other bus routes. Bus transportation is convenient for places far from the train or subway stations. Most bus routes stop or terminate at a train or subway station, and they can be quite complicated with no signs in English. The Toei buses charge 200 yen [1] per ride which the customer pays while boarding. Buses run by other companies may charge according to distance, and the customer pays when leaving the bus.
[edit] Roads
[edit] Local roads
National, prefectural and metropolitan, and local roads crisscross the region. Some of the major national highways are Routes 1, 4, 6, 14, 16, 17, and 20. Route 1 links Tokyo to Osaka along the old Tōkaidō, while Route 6 and Route 4 carries traffic north all the way to Sendai and Aomori respectively. Route 14 connects Nihonbashi with Chiba Prefecture. Route 16 is a heavily travelled circumferential linking Yokosuka, Yokohama, western Tokyo, Saitama, and Chiba. Route 17 originates in central Tokyo and passes through Saitama en route to Niigata Prefecture. Route 20 crosses Tokyo from east to west, continuing into Yamanashi Prefecture. The datum from which distances are reckoned is in Nihonbashi.
[edit] Local and regional expressways
The Shuto Expressway network covers central Tokyo, linking the intercity expressways together, while primarily serving commuters and truck traffic. Important regional expressways include the Tokyo Gaikan Expressway, Daisan Keihin Highway, and Keiyo Highway. Presently under construction (with some segments operating), the Ken-ō Expressway will be a major circumferential through the area.
[edit] National
Tokyo is now a focus of a nationwide expressway system. Many long-haul routes converge at Tokyo including the Tomei Expressway, Chūō Expressway, Kan'etsu Expressway, and Tōhoku Expressway.
[edit] External links
- Map of Tokyo's Train Stations
- Picturetokyo.com Transportation Guide In depth guide to transportation in Tokyo
