Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Line

The Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Line (横浜市営地下鉄ブルーライン, Yokohama Shiei Chikatetsu Burū Rain) is a rapid transit line serving Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is the longer of the two lines in the Yokohama Municipal Subway system operated by Yokohama City Transportation Bureau, and is the second-longest subway line in Japan at 40.4 kilometers (25.1 mi) in length, surpassed only by the 40.7-kilometer (25.3 mi) long Toei Oedo Line in Tokyo. Unlike most metro lines in Japan, it uses third rail for power instead of overhead lines. It is the most recent newly built steel-wheel railway line in Japan to do so.

Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Line
A 3000R series train on the Blue Line in October 2019
Overview
Native name横浜市営地下鉄ブルーライン
OwnerYokohama City Transportation Bureau
Line number1 & 3
LocaleYokohama, Fujisawa
Termini
Stations32
Service
TypeRapid transit
SystemYokohama Municipal Subway
ServicesLine 1 (Shonandai–Kannai)
Line 3 (Kannai–Azamino)
Operator(s)Yokohama City Transportation Bureau
Depot(s)Kaminagaya, Nippa
Rolling stock3000 series
4000 series
Daily ridership513,897 (FY2014)
History
Opened16 December 1972 (1972-12-16)
Technical
Line length40.4 km (25.1 mi) (Line 1: 19.7 km, Line 3: 20.7 km)
Number of tracks2
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification750 V DC third rail
Operating speed80 km/h (50 mph)

The Blue Line is divided into two operating segments: Line 3 from Azamino in Aoba-ku, Yokohama to Kannai, and Line 1 from Kannai to Shōnandai in Fujisawa. Local and rapid services operate continuously on both lines 1 and 3 as a single service.

Following the opening of the Green Line on 30 March 2008, the line was nicknamed the "Blue Line". The line color is blue and the line symbol used in the station numbering is B.

Operations

Rapid

Rapid trains stop at all stations from Shonandai to Totsuka, and from Nippa to Azamino. Between Totsuka and Nippa, they only stop at Kaminagaya, Kamiooka, Kannai, Sakuragicho, Yokohama, and Shin-Yokohama. Essentially, rapid trains stop at only interchange stations and Kaminagaya in this section.

Rapid services began operating on 18 July 2015.

Local

During the daytime, there are two trains that direct the Shonandai station-Azamino station between 30 minutes, Odoriba Station-Azamino station and the Shonandai station-Nippa station, each of which is operated by one.

About the interval train to the Odoriba station is usually the meeting of the fast at the Kaminagaya station, usually at the Nippa station departure and take the rapid connection with the Nippa station of the first train terminal. There are a lot of Azamino trains which depart from the Nippa station and Kaminagaya station with the garage mainly in the early morning and midnight although the whole train becomes usual time zone excluding daytime, and many trains drive directly between the station-Shonandai station.

Moreover, there is one connected to Shonandai at the Kaminagaya station on the end of the terminal by the train which goes to Kaminagaya on a weekday, six on a Saturday holiday, and the Azamino departure. Although Blue■ is mainly used in the direction curtain display of the vehicle and the guidance of the station campus, it is not necessarily united in case of green■.

Station list
  • Local trains stop at all stations.
  • Rapid trains stop at stations marked "●" and pass those marked "|".
Line No. Station Japanese Distance (km) Rapid Transfers Location Country represented
(during 2002 WC)
3 B32 Azamino あざみ野 0.0 ● DT Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line (DT16) Aoba-ku, Yokohama  Tunisia
B31 Nakagawa 中川 1.5 ● Tsuzuki-ku, Yokohama  Russia
B30 Center Kita センター北 3.1 ● Logo of the Green Line of the Yokohama Municipal Subway. Green Line (Line 4, G05)  Belgium
B29 Center Minami センター南 4.0 ● Logo of the Green Line of the Yokohama Municipal Subway. Green Line (Line 4, G04)  Japan
B28 Nakamachidai 仲町台 6.3 ●  Mexico
B27 Nippa 新羽 8.6 ● Kōhoku-ku, Yokohama  Croatia
B26 Kita Shin-Yokohama 北新横浜 9.6 |  Ecuador
B25 Shin-Yokohama 新横浜 10.9 ●
 Italy
B24 Kishine-kōen 岸根公園 12.5 |  Sweden
B23 Katakurachō 片倉町 13.7 | Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama  England
B22 Mitsuzawa-kamichō 三ツ沢上町 15.6 |  Nigeria
B21 Mitsuzawa-shimochō 三ツ沢下町 16.5 |  Argentina
B20 Yokohama 横浜 17.9 ●
Nishi-ku, Yokohama  Cameroon
B19 Takashimachō 高島町 18.8 |  Republic of Ireland
B18 Sakuragichō 桜木町 20.0 ● JK Negishi Line (JK11) Naka-ku, Yokohama  Saudi Arabia
B17 Kannai 関内 20.7 ● JK Negishi Line (JK10)  Germany
1
B16 Isezakichōjamachi 伊勢佐木長者町 21.4 |  Portugal
B15 Bandōbashi 阪東橋 22.3 | Minami-ku, Yokohama  United States
B14 Yoshinochō 吉野町 22.8 |  Poland
B13 Maita 蒔田 23.9 |  South Korea
B12 Gumyōji 弘明寺 25.0 |  Costa Rica
B11 Kami-Ōoka 上大岡 26.6 ● KK Keikyu Main Line (KK44) Kōnan-ku, Yokohama  China
B10 Kōnan-Chūō 港南中央 27.7 |  Turkey
B09 Kaminagaya 上永谷 29.4 ●  Brazil
B08 Shimonagaya 下永谷 30.7 |  South Africa
B07 Maioka 舞岡 31.4 | Totsuka-ku, Yokohama  Paraguay
B06 Totsuka 戸塚 33.0 ●
 Slovenia
B05 Odoriba 踊場 34.7 ● Izumi-ku, Yokohama  Spain
B04 Nakada 中田 35.6 ●  Denmark
B03 Tateba 立場 36.7 ●  Uruguay
B02 Shimoiida 下飯田 38.8 ●  Senegal
B01 Shōnandai 湘南台 40.4 ●
Fujisawa, Kanagawa  France

Rolling stock

As of 1 April 2016, the line is operated using a fleet of 37 six-car 3000 series EMUs based at Kaminagaya Depot.[1] The fleet is subdivided into eight first-batch 3000A series sets (numbered 24 to 31), seven-second-batch 3000N series sets (numbered 32 to 38), fourteen third-batch 3000R series sets (numbered 39 to 52), and eight fourth-batch 3000S series sets (numbered 53 to 60).[1]

A fifth-batch 3000V series six-car set entered service on the line on 9 April 2017.[2]

The 4000 series began appearing in service on 2 May 2022.[4]

  • 3000A series set 30 in September 2010
    3000A series set 30 in September 2010
  • 3000S series set 58 in September 2010
    3000S series set 58 in September 2010
  • 3000V series set 61 in April 2017
    3000V series set 61 in April 2017

Former
  • 1000 series 14 × 6-car EMUs (from December 1972 until November 2006)
  • 2000 series 9 × 6-car EMUs (from 1984 until November 2006)
  • Preserved 1000 series EMU set 01 in October 2014
    Preserved 1000 series EMU set 01 in October 2014
  • 2000 series set 15 in March 2004
    2000 series set 15 in March 2004

History
A train celebrating the extensions to Shin-Yokohama and Maioka in March 1985

In 1965, construction of Line 1 and Line 3 began. The subway was inaugurated on 16 September 1972, when the 5.2 km (3.2 mi) long initial section of Line 1 opened between Kami-Ōoka and Isezakichōjamachi stations. On 4 September 1976, Line 1 was extended in both directions: 2.8 km (1.7 mi) and 2 stations to the southwest (from Kami-Ōoka to Kaminagaya), and 0.7 km (0.43 mi) and 1 station to the north (from Isezakichōjamachi to Kannai); the 2.8 km (1.7 mi) long initial section of Line 3 between Kannai and Yokohama also opened that same day and through services between Line 1 and Line 3 began.

On 14 March 1985, two extensions opened: a 7.0 km (4.3 mi), 5 station extension of Line 3 from Yokohama to Shin-Yokohama, and a 2.0 km (1.2 mi), 2 station extension of Line 1 from Kaminagaya to Maioka. Line 1 would be extended by one station to Totsuka (a distance of 1.7 km (1.1 mi)) on 27 August 1989; a temporary station was in operation at that location from 24 May 1987 until that date. The most recent extension of Line 3, a 10.9 km (6.8 mi) section from Shin-Yokohama to Azamino opened on 18 March 1993. The final 7.4 km (4.6 mi) section of Line 1 from Totsuka to Shōnandai opened on 28 August 1999.

From July 2015, limited-stop "Rapid" services were introduced on the line, with approximately two services operating per hour during the daytime off-peak. Journey times over the entire length of the line were reduced by up to 10 minutes from the 1 hour 7 minutes taken by all-stations services.[5] From 4 March 2017, the intervals between rapid trains was decreased to 20 minutes.

On 21 January 2020, Yokohama City and Kawasaki City announced the route and four new stations for the planned 6.5 km (4.0 mi) extension from Azamino to Shin-Yurigaoka Station on the Odakyū Odawara Line.[6][7] Construction of this section is expected to complete by 2030. [6][7] In June 2020, the Transportation Bureau started environmental impact asssesment procedures of the extension project.[8]

References
  1. 私鉄車両編成表 2016 [Private Railway Rolling Stock Formations – 2016] (in Japanese). Japan: Kotsu Shimbunsha. 25 July 2016. p. 81. ISBN 978-4-330-70116-5.
  2. 4/9,横浜市交通局3000V形デビュー [April 9: Yokohama Municipal Subway 3000V series debut]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 57, no. 675. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. July 2017. p. 155.
  3. "横浜市営地下鉄ブルーラインに4000形を導入" [Yokohama Municipal Subway to introduce new 4000 series vehicles on the Blue Line]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Koyusha Co., Ltd. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  4. "横浜市営地下鉄ブルーライン「4000形」2022年5月2日運行開始" [Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Line "4000 type" starts operation on May 2, 2022]. Hamakei Online. 2 May 2022. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  5. 横浜市営地下鉄ブルーラインに快速 ７月から [Rapid trains on Yokohama Subway Blue Line from July]. Asahi Shimbun Digital (in Japanese). Japan: The Asahi Shimbun Company. 12 February 2015. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  6. "横浜市営地下鉄ブルーラインの延伸「あざみ野～新百合ヶ丘」概略ルート・駅位置が決定しました！" (PDF). City of Yokohama. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  7. "川崎市：事業計画の概要". www.city.kawasaki.jp. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  8. "3号線延伸取組状況". www.city.yokohama.lg.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 March 2023.
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