Okinawa Urban Monorail

The Template:Nihongo foot, also known as Template:Nihongo foot is a straddle-beam, Alweg-type monorail line serving the cities of Naha and Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan. Operated by Template:Nihongo foot 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. Akamine Station and Naha Airport Station, the southernmost and westernmost rail stations in Japan respectively, lie on this line.

The line was planned from 1972, which was the same year as Okinawa's return to Japan. The monorail's route was decided in 1977, and the opening year for the line was set to 1987. However, in order to build the monorail, bus routes in the city had to be revamped, and the discussion with bus operators regarding compensation for the revamp took until 1994. The construction began in 1996, and the line opened on 10 August 2003. The line has since then extended to Urasoe on 1 October 2019.

Trains run on the line from exactly 6:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. every day, with an interval of 4-15 minutes. All services stop at every station, although some services terminate at Shuri Station. The line has been using the Okinawa Urban Monorail 1000 series electric multiple units since its opening in 2003, which were mostly manufactured by Hitachi Rail. All stations feature a piece of art and are barrier-free.

Description

The 17.0 km (11 mi) line starts from the Naha Airport station. The line makes several curves before reaching Shuri Station, the line's former terminus. After Ishimine Station, the line enters the city of Urasoe, where the line terminates at Tedako-Uranishi Station.<ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The monorail's "Yui Rail" brand name and logo were selected in a public competition.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The system consists of 19 stations, from Template:STN in the west to Template:STN in the east, running via Naha.<ref name=":3" /> The average distance between stations is Template:Convert. It takes 37 minutes and costs ¥390<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> to traverse its Template:Cvt length.<ref name=":3" />

The line supports payment via paper tickets or OKICA, the local contactless smart card; additional support for the ten major Japanese IC cards (such as Suica and SUGOCA) began on 10 March 2020.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As of 2020, Yui Rail is free-to-ride for high school students in the prefecture.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

Background and construction

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Prior to the construction of the line, passenger railway lines on the island of Okinawa existed since 1914, when Template:Ill,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Ill,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Okinawa Prefectural Railways opened their railway lines. However, the lines operated by Okinawa Electric ceased operations after losing passengers to bus lines, while the Okinawa Railroad and Prefectural Railways were destroyed by American air raids and explosions<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> during World War II. While many supported the reconstruction of the railway post-war, the reconstruction of the road networks was prioritized and the routes were abandoned, with the remaining tracks removed due to the lack of steel on the island. The lack of rail transport forced the island to adapt to the American-style car society. The number of cars on the island had caused chronic road congestion around the time when Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the same year, a law which funded construction of urban monorails was passed. The Naha city began to seriously consider constructing a monorail around this time.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1973, a report published by the country, prefecture, and Naha city emphasized the importance of establishing a new transit system in Naha. There were two possible routes for the monorail, one passing along the Template:Interlanguage link and the other passing through the Template:Interlanguage link. The Kumoji River route was picked over the other, with the third-sector operation chosen due to financial reasons in 1977.<ref name=":1" /> The Okinawa Urban Monorail, Inc. was established on 27 September 1982.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The initial plan's opening year was 1987, with an extension to Shuri by 1990. However, in order to build the monorail, bus routes in the city had to be revamped, and the discussion with bus operators regarding compensation for the revamp took until 1994.<ref name=":0" /> The construction of the line began in 1996. On 30 November 1999, the monorail's logo was decided, and the names of the stations were officially revealed. The nickname for the line, "Yui Rail" was also decided on this day. The rolling stocks were brought to the line in August 2002. Test runs started in November that year. The line opened on 10 August 2003.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The monorail initially used trains in 2-car formations for all services.<ref name=":2" />

Urasoe extension

The monorail corporation applied for construction permission for a Template:Convert, 4-station extension from Shuri Station to Tedako-Uranishi Station, located in Urasoe City in August 2011.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Permission was granted on 26 January 2012, with construction planned to start in March 2013. Revenue operations along the extension started on 1 October 2019, using a revised schedule with extended rush hour headways for opening day.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Eight new formations entered service on 27 April 2016 to prepare for the extension.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Preliminary ridership data from the first week showed that year-on-year ridership was up after the extension opened on 1 October.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> From April 2019, some services that used 2-car formation were changed to use 3-car formation instead in order to transport more passengers, as the average percentage for the number of passengers compared to train capacity exceeded 120%. While some of the infrastructure, such as the stations, supported 3-car formations, a new depot had to be constructed to support the extra train cars.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since the previous trains used in the line did not support 3-car formations, four new train formations were introduced to the line in August 2023.<ref name=":2" />

Infrastructure and operations

The line is operated by the Okinawa Urban Monorail, Inc, a third-sector railway company. The basic infrastructure of the line is constructed by the government, Okinawa Prefecture, or passing municipalities.<ref name=":5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Trains run on the line from exactly 6:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. every day, with an interval of 4-15 minutes. All services stop at every station, although some services terminate at Shuri Station.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Ridership

The number of passengers on the line steadily grew from its opening in 2003 to 2019, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The number of passengers returned to the pre-pandemic growth by 2023.<ref name="auto1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

JFY	Daily ridership<ref name="auto1" />		JFY	Daily ridership		JFY	Daily ridership
colspan="2" rowspan=3 Template:N/a	2010		35,551	2020		30,044
2011	36,689		2021	32,263
2012	39,093		2022	46,326
2003	31,905		2013	40,831		2023	54,803
2004	32,049		2014	41,477		2024	60,898
2005	35,940		2015	44,145		colspan="2" rowspan=5 Template:N/a
2006	37,393		2016	47,463
2007	37,713		2017	49,716
2008	37,545		2018	52,355
2009	35,272		2019	55,766

Rolling stock

File:Okinawa-Monorail Series1000-1207.jpg

1000 series in 2024

The line has been using the Okinawa Urban Monorail 1000 series electric multiple units since its opening in 2003. The trains have two doors on each side and are mostly manufactured by Hitachi Rail. New formations entered service in April 2016 and August 2023. While the formations from 2003 and 2016 can only be operated in a two-car formation, the cars from 2023 can only be operated in a three-car formation.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Stations

Platform screen doors are installed on every station's platforms.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although most stations are staffed, some stations may become temporarily unstaffed due to lack of staff. A single station staff member covers two adjacent stations in some areas.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> All stations have an elevator and an escalator, and supports wheelchair users.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Each station features a piece of art.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Station No.	Picture	Station name	Distance		Location
			citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>		Total from Naha Airport<ref name=":4" />
1	File:NahaAirport-station-building-202002.jpg	Naha Airport	Template:N/A	Template:Convert	Naha
2	File:Akamine-station-building-202002.jpg	Akamine	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
3	File:Oroku Station Okinawa.jpg	Oroku	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
4	File:Onoyama Koen Station Okinawa.jpg	Onoyama Park	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
5	File:Tsubogawa Station Okinawa.jpg	Tsubogawa	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
6	File:Asahibashi Station Okinawa.jpg	Asahibashi	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
7	File:Kencho-mae Station Okinawa.jpg	Prefectural Office	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
8	File:Miebashi Station Okinawa.jpg	Miebashi	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
9	File:Makishi2012.JPG	Makishi	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
10	File:Asato Station Okinawa.jpg	Asato	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
11	File:Omoromachi Station01n3600.jpg	Omoromachi	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
12	File:Furujima Station Okinawa.jpg	Furujima	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
13	File:Naha-City-Hospital-Station-Building.jpg	Naha City Hospital	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
14	File:Gibo-Station-Building-2020.jpg	Gibo	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
15	File:Shuri-Station-Building-2020.jpg	Shuri	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
16	File:Ishimine-Station-West-Gate-building.jpg	Ishimine	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
17	File:Kyozuka-Station-building.jpg	Kyozuka	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Urasoe
18	File:Urasoe-Maeda-Station-building.jpg	Urasoe-Maeda	Template:Convert	Template:Convert
19	File:Tedako-Uranishi-Station-building.jpg	Tedako-Uranishi	Template:Convert	Template:Convert

See also

• Monorails in Japan
• List of rapid transit systems
• Rail transportation in Okinawa

External links

• Official website Template:In lang
• Official website Template:In lang
• Yui Rail Museum Template:In langTemplate:Dead link