Okinawa Urban Monorail

The Okinawa Urban Monorail (沖縄都市モノレール, Okinawa Toshi Monorēru), also known as Yui Rail (ゆいレール, Yui Rēru), is a monorail line serving the cities of Naha and Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan. Operated by Okinawa Urban Monorail, Inc. (沖縄都市モノレール株式会社, Okinawa Toshi Monorēru Kabushiki-gaisha), it opened on 10 August 2003, and is the only public rail system in Okinawa Prefecture. Yui Rail is the first rail line on Okinawa since World War II. As Okinawa is the island of Japan lying farthest to the south and west that has an active rail line, Akamine Station and Naha Airport Station, the southernmost and westernmost rail stations in Japan respectively, lie on this line. It uses the OKICA as its contactless smart card, and integrates with Suica and other major Japanese IC cards (such as ICOCA or SUGOCA) from 10 March 2020.[3][4]

Okinawa Urban Monorail
沖縄都市モノレール
IndustryRail transport
Founded10 August 2003
Headquarters
Naha
Area served
Naha and Urasoe
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
ServicesMonorail
OwnerOkinawa Urban Monorail, Inc.
Websitewww.yui-rail.co.jp
Okinawa Urban Monorail
1000 series train on the Okinawa Urban Monorail
1000 series train on the Okinawa Urban Monorail
Overview
LocaleNaha and Urasoe
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Transit typestraddle-beam monorail
Number of lines1
Number of stations19
Daily ridership49,716 per day (2017)
Operation
Began operation10 August 2003
Operator(s)Okinawa Urban Monorail, Inc.
Technical
System length17 km (11 mi)[1]
Electrification1,500 V DC
System map

Yui Rail - Stations
0
 Naha Airport
Car Depot
1.95
 Akamine
2.71
 Oroku
3.68
 Onoyama Park
4.52
 Tsubogawa
5.33
 Asahibashi
5.91
 Prefectural Office
6.63
 Miebashi
7.61
 Makishi
8.20
 Asato
8.95
 Omoromachi
9.96
 Furujima
10.88
 Naha City Hospital
11.84
 Gibo
12.84
 Shuri
13.90
 Ishimine
15.00
 Kyozuka
16.00
 Urasoe-Maeda
17.00
 Tedako-Uranishi
All stations are barrier-free.[2]

Yui Rail

The monorail's "Yui Rail" brand name and logo were selected in a public competition.[5] It consists of 19 stations, from Naha Airport in the west to Tedako-Uranishi in the east, running via Naha.[6] The average distance between stations is 0.93 kilometers (0.58 mi). It takes 37 minutes and costs ¥370[6] to traverse its 17 km (11 mi) length.[1]

Trains (made by Hitachi Rail and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company under the former's monorail lineup) are made up of two cars, with 65 seats and a total capacity of 165 people.[1] Trains run on an elevated track between 8 and 20 meters (26 and 66 ft) above the ground, with a top speed of 65 km/h (40 mph) and an actual average speed of 28 km/h (17 mph) counting stops.[1]

Urasoe Extension

After lengthy deliberation of possible route options, the monorail corporation applied for construction permission for a 4.1 kilometers (2.5 mi), 4-station extension from Shuri Station to Tedako-Uranishi Station (Urasoe City) in August 2011.[7] Permission was granted on 26 January 2012, with construction planned to start in March 2013. Revenue operation along the extension started on 1 October 2019, using a revised schedule with extended rush hour headways for opening day.[8][9][10]

Preliminary ridership data from the first week showed that year-on-year ridership was up after the extension opened on Oct. 1.[11]

Stations
Station
No.		 Station name Distance Total
distance		 Location
English Japanese
1 Naha Airport 那覇空港 - 0.00 km (0 mi) Naha
2 Akamine 赤嶺 1.95 km (1.21 mi) 1.95 km (1.21 mi)
3 Oroku 小禄 0.76 km (0.47 mi) 2.71 km (1.68 mi)
4 Onoyama Park 奥武山公園 0.97 km (0.60 mi) 3.68 km (2.29 mi)
5 Tsubogawa 壺川 0.84 km (0.52 mi) 4.52 km (2.81 mi)
6 Asahibashi 旭橋 0.81 km (0.50 mi) 5.33 km (3.31 mi)
7 Prefectural Office 県庁前 0.58 km (0.36 mi) 5.91 km (3.67 mi)
8 Miebashi 美栄橋 0.72 km (0.45 mi) 6.63 km (4.12 mi)
9 Makishi 牧志 0.98 km (0.61 mi) 7.61 km (4.73 mi)
10 Asato 安里 0.59 km (0.37 mi) 8.2 km (5.1 mi)
11 Omoromachi おもろまち 0.75 km (0.47 mi) 8.95 km (5.56 mi)
12 Furujima 古島 1.01 km (0.63 mi) 9.96 km (6.19 mi)
13 Naha City Hospital 市立病院前 0.92 km (0.57 mi) 10.88 km (6.76 mi)
14 Gibo 儀保 0.96 km (0.60 mi) 11.84 km (7.36 mi)
15 Shuri 首里 1.00 km (0.62 mi) 12.84 km (7.98 mi)
16 Ishimine 石嶺 1.06 km (0.66 mi) 13.90 km (8.64 mi)
17 Kyozuka 経塚 1.20 km (0.75 mi) 15.00 km (9.32 mi) Urasoe
18 Urasoe-Maeda 浦添前田 1.00 km (0.62 mi) 16.00 km (9.94 mi)
19 Tedako-Uranishi てだこ浦西 1.00 km (0.62 mi) 17.00 km (10.56 mi)

See also

References
  1. モノレール計画概要 Archived 2015-04-09 at the Wayback Machine, yui-rail.co.jp (Japanese)
  2. "about Barrier-free", yui-rail.co.jp (Japanese)
  3. okinawatimes. 24 May 2019.
  4. "令和2年3月10日より「Suica」およびSuicaと相互利用する交通系ICカードの利用が始まりました".
  5. "about Yui Rail" Archived 2008-04-23 at the Wayback Machine, yui-rail.co.jp (Japanese)
  6. ご利用案內 Archived 2014-02-20 at the Wayback Machine, yui-rail.co.jp (Japanese)
  7. "沖縄タイムス | ［解説］中長期の展望示せず モノレール延長". www.okinawatimes.co.jp. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011.
  8. "沖縄モノレールの延長許可 来年５月着工へ - Msn産経ニュース". sankei.jp.msn.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012.
  9. "ゆいレール、迫る本番 延長４駅お披露目".
  10. "Now operational: Monorail extension into Urasoe adds four new stations". Ryukyu Shimpo - Okinawa, Japanese newspaper, local news.
  11. "沖縄のモノレール延長から1週間 利用者は1日どのくらい増えたか？". Okinawa Times. 28 August 2023.
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