Yurikamome
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy datesTemplate:Infobox rail line
Template:Nihongo foot formerly the Template:Nihongo foot is an automated guideway transit service in Tokyo. It connects Template:STN to Template:STN via the artificial island of Odaiba, a corridor in which it competes with the Rinkai Line. It is operated by Yurikamome, Inc., a third-sector subsidiary of Tokyo Rinkai Holdings, Inc. (TRHC), which itself is funded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the largest shareholder of TRHC.<ref name="jptimes">Template:Cite web</ref>
The line is named after the black-headed gull (yurikamome in Japanese),<ref name="Developing Metros">Template:Cite book</ref> a common denizen of Tokyo Bay and the official metropolitan bird.<ref name="metro_bird">Template:Cite web</ref>
History
The line was one of two constructed to transport people into the Rinkai subcenter, the other being the Rinkai Line. The Rinkai subcenter was planned to be the seventh subcenter of Tokyo as far back as 1979. In April 1989, the subcenter was projected to have 60,000 residents and 110,000 workers by the start of the 21st century. This plan was revised following the collapse of the Japanese asset price bubble. The openings of the Yurikamome and the Rinkai Line in 1995 and 1996 were scheduled to be completed by the start of the Template:Interlanguage link in 1996. However, the expo was cancelled by Yukio Aoshima in April 1995.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 1 November 1995, the section between Shimbashi and Ariake opened, using a temporary Shimbashi station. In the first few months of operation, ridership hovered around 27,000 passengers per day.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1996, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government re-zoned Odaiba from purely business and residential to also permit entertainment zones. The island provided Tokyo with a livable seaside area, and within one year, ridership doubled to 60,000. As more restaurants, shopping malls, exhibition centers, and museums opened, traffic continued to grow.<ref name=":0" /> On 22 March 2001, the current Shimbashi Station opened, and the temporary station closed. Shiodome Station opened on 2 November 2002.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 27 March 2006, the section between Ariake and Toyosu opened, and the stations adopted letter-and-number codes based on Tokyo Metro.<ref name="terada2013">Template:Cite book</ref>
A plan to extend the line to Kachidoki Station had existed since at least 2000, although it was not included in the 2016 list of considered transit routes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Infrastructure
The Yurikamome is Tokyo's first fully automated and driverless transit system, controlled entirely by computers. However, the line is not the first fully driverless transit line in Japan, as the Nagoya Municipal Subway tested such systems in 1960, driverless technology was used during Expo '70 and Kobe's automated Port Island Line opened in 1981.<ref name="WSJ">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rolling stock
The line uses Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rubber-tired "Crystal Mover" technology.<ref name="mhi-crystal">Template:Cite web</ref> The trains run on rubber-tired wheels along an elevated concrete track guided by the side walls.<ref name="WSJ" /> Template:As of, the following train types are used on the line, all formed as six-car sets.<ref name="jrrprivate2016">Template:Cite book</ref>
7300 series
Template:As of, eighteen 7300 series sets (31 to 48) are in service, formed as six-car sets as follows.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
| Car No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designation | Mc1 | M2 | M3 | M4 | M5 | Mc6 |
| Numbering | 7xx1 | 7xx2 | 7xx3 | 7xx4 | 7xx5 | 7xx6 |
("xx" stands for the unit number.)
7500 series
Template:As of, eight 7500 series sets (51 to 58) are in service, formed as six-car sets as below.<ref name="jrrprivate2016" /> In November 2020, delivery of the eight six-car sets was completed.<ref name="railwaygazette-20201113">Template:Cite news</ref>
| Car No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designation | Mc1 | M2 | M3 | M4 | M5 | Mc6 |
| Numbering | 7xx1 | 7xx2 | 7xx3 | 7xx4 | 7xx5 | 7xx6 |
("xx" stands for the unit number.)
Stations
The letter "U" is used as the symbol for station numbers rather than "Y" for Yurikamome as this letter is already used as the acronym for the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line.
Ridership
Ridership on the line peaked at over 200,000 daily boardings in 2000,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but declined substantially by 2004 as the Rinkai Line, which opened a year after the Yurikamome, expanded further into the waterfront area and offered lower fares. Between 2004 and 2006, four new stations were added, which raised ridership slightly. As of 2023, daily ridership is roughly 97% of pre-pandemic levels, with patronage shifting to the eastern end of the line.
| Station | 2000 | 2004 | 2006 | 2019<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2022<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2023<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U-01 | Shimbashi | 94,217 | 63,791 | 58,824 | 63,123 | 44,343 | 56,027 |
| U-02 | Shiodome | Template:N/a | 7,500 | 7,805 | 8,755 | 5,650 | 7,463 |
| U-03 | Takeshiba | 4,681 | 9,301 | 4,701 | 4,508 | 4,126 | 4,833 |
| U-04 | Hinode | 1,675 | 2,043 | 2,271 | 2,322 | 2,015 | 2,404 |
| U-05 | Shibaura-futō | 6,970 | 5,875 | 5,166 | 5,090 | 4,313 | 4,907 |
| U-06 | Odaiba-kaihinkōen | 19,406 | 15,859 | 14,497 | 16,899 | 11,171 | 13,195 |
| U-07 | Daiba | 28,838 | 22,866 | 21,682 | 21,421 | 14,135 | 20,606 |
| U-08 | Tokyo International Cruise Terminal | 2,734 | 3,506 | 3,579 | 3,191 | 2,300 | 2,963 |
| U-09 | Telecom Center | 13,561 | 11,233 | 10,649 | 12,140 | 8,118 | 8,505 |
| U-10 | Aomi | 11,529 | 7,152 | 7,153 | 11,884 | 1,707 | 1,483 |
| U-11 | Tokyo Big Sight | 21,420 | 13,885 | 16,312 | 16,690 | 13,876 | 19,352 |
| U-12 | Ariake | 3,531 | 2,509 | 3,743 | 5,818 | 7,669 | 9,242 |
| U-13 | Ariake-Tennis-no-mori | Template:N/a | Template:N/a | 1,185 | 5,022 | 6,351 | 8,148 |
| U-14 | Shijō-mae | Template:N/a | Template:N/a | 76 | 11,393 | 11,285 | 13,997 |
| U-15 | Shin-toyosu | Template:N/a | Template:N/a | 893 | 6,796 | 7,144 | 11,256 |
| U-16 | Toyosu | Template:N/a | Template:N/a | 9,494 | 28,916 | 27,545 | 33,957 |
| Total | 208,562 | 165,520 | 168,030 | 223,968 | 171,748 | 218,338 | |