Tokyo Toden

The Tokyo Toden (東京都電, Tōkyō Toden) or simply Toden, is the tram network of Tokyo, Japan. Of all its former routes, only one, the Toden Arakawa Line, remains in service. The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation operates the Toden. The formal legal name is Tokyo-to Densha. Its nickname, "Toden," distinguished it from the "Kokuden" (electrified lines of the Japanese National Railways).

History

At its peak, the Toden system boasted 41 routes with 213 kilometers of track. However, the increase in reliance on automobile traffic resulted in reductions in ridership, and from 1967 to 1972, 181 km of track were abandoned as the Bureau changed its emphasis to bus and subway modes of transportation.

• 1903: The Tokyo Horse-drawn Railway changed its motive power to electricity and, under the name Tokyo Electric Railway (or Tōden, 東電) commenced operations between Shinagawa and Shinbashi.
• 1903: The Tokyo Urban Railway (or Gaitetsu, 街鉄) began operations between Sukiyabashi (in Ginza) and Kandabashi.
• 1904: The Tokyo Electric Railway (Sotobori Line) connecting Shinbashi Station and Ochanomizu opened.
• 1905: The three companies published the "Tokyo Geography Education Streetcar Song" to promote knowledge of the geography of Tokyo.
• 1906: The three companies merged to form the Tokyo Railways.
• 1911: Tokyo City purchased the Tokyo Railways, established its Electric Bureau, and inaugurated the Tokyo City Streetcar (東京市電) system.
• 1911–1922: The streetcar network expands, with various new companies and lines serving areas in the city and to the west.
• 1933: The route from Shinagawa Station to North Shinagawa Station is abandoned.
• 1933–1943: New companies, mergers, and realignments alter the network.
• 1943: Tokyo City is abolished and the larger Tokyo Prefecture assumes its administrative functions. The Tokyo City Streetcar bureau becomes the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation.
• 1944: Service is stopped on nine segments.
• 1945–1951: During the Occupation of Japan, the network evolved slowly.
• 1952: The segment of the Imai Line between Higashi Arakawa and Imaibashi Stations was replaced with trolley buses.
• 1953, 1961: Two segments (one in Shinjuku and the other connecting Shinbashi Station and Shiodome) stop operating.
• 1963: In preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, two segments (Kita-Aoyama Itchome – Miyakezaka and Hanzomon – Kudanshita) cease operations. The Suginami Line (Shinjuku – Ogikubo) closes because it duplicates a line of the Eidan Subway.
• 1967–1972: A plan for financial restructuring is put into effect in seven stages, resulting in the closing of routes.
• 1974: A plan for abandoning the remaining track is cancelled. The remaining routes are consolidated into a single line, named the Arakawa Line.
• 1978: One-man operation begins.
• 1990: The 8500 Series rolling stock is introduced. It is the first new design in 28 years.
• 2000: A new station, Arakawa Itchūmae, opens between two existing stations.
• 2007 (projected): 9000 Series rolling stock is scheduled for introduction.

Former lines

Lines

This is the list of former lines, listed according to their official names. Correspnding routes are those of 1962. The first section of the lines opened in the listed opening years, while the last section of the lines closed in the listed closing years.

Lines primary made by Tōkyō Electric Railway (Tōden)

• Azumabashi Line; ■ Route 24 and ■ 30.

Ueno-Ekimae — Honjo-Azumabashi

1904 — 1972

• Hondōri Line; ■ Route 1, ■ 4, ■ 19, ■ 22 and ■ 40.

Shimbashi — Sudachō

1903 — 1971

• Kanasugi Line; ■ Route 1 and ■ 4.

Mita — Shimbashi

1903 — 1969

• Kuramae Line; ■ Route 22 and ■ 31.

Kaminarimon — Asakusabashi

1904 — 1971

• Muromachi Line; ■ Route 22 and ■ 31.

Asakusabashi — Marunouchi-Itchōme

1904 — 1971

• Shinagawa Line; ■ Route 1, ■ 3 and ■ 7.

Kita-Shinagawa — Mita

1903 — 1967

Trains from the Keihin Electric Railway (the current Keihin Electric Express Railway) directly entered a section from Shinagawa Station to Kita-Shinagawa Station.

• Ueno Line; ■ Route 1, ■ 19, ■ 20, ■ 24, ■ 30, ■ 37 and ■ 40.

Sudachō — Ueno-Ekimae

1903 — 1972

Lines primary made by Tōkyō Urban Railway

• Aoyama Line; ■ Route 6, ■ 9 and ■ 10.

Miyakezaka — Shibuya-Ekimae

c. 1904 — 1968

• Bammachi Line; ■ Route 10.

Hanzōmon — Kudanshita

c. 1905 — 1963

• Chiyodabashi Line; ■ Route 15, ■ 28 and ■ 38.

Ōtemachi — Eitaibashi

c. 1904 — 1972

• Edogawa Line; ■ Route 15 and ■ 39.

Kudanshita — Waseda

c. 1905 — 1968

• Hamachō Line

Ningyōchō — Ryōgoku

c. 1904 — 1944

• Hanzōmon Line; ■ Route 8, ■ 9, ■ 10 and ■ 11.

Hibiya-Kōen — Hanzōmon

1903 — 1968

• Hongō Line; ■ Route 19.

Circa Sudachō — Hakusan-ue

1904 — 1971

• Hōraibashi Line

Miharabashi — Hōraibashi

c. 1904 — c. 1909

• Ichigaya Line; ■ Route 12.

c. 1905 — 1970

• Kandabashi Line; ■ Route 2, ■ 5, ■ 15, ■ 25, ■ 35 and ■ 37.

Hibiya-Kōen — Ogawamachi

1903 — 1968

• Kiridōshi Line; ■ Route 16 and ■ 39.

Bunkyō-Kuyakusho-mae — Ueno-Hirokōji

c. 1904 — 1971

• Kōtōbashi Line; ■ Route 25, ■ 29 and ■ 38.

Ryōgoku-Nichōme — Kinshibori

c. 1905 — 1972

• Kudan Line; ■ Route 10, ■ 12 and ■ 15.

Ogawamachi — Kudanshita

c. 1904 — 1970

• Mita Line; ■ Route 2, ■ 5, ■ 35 and ■ 37.

Mita — Hibiya-Kōen

c. 1904 — 1968

• Narihira Line; ■ Route 16, ■ 23 and ■ 24.

Midorichō-Itchōme — Fukujimbashi

Narihirabashi — Asakusa-Ekimae (the current Tōbu Narihirabashi Station.)

c. 1905 — 1972

• Ryōgokubashi Line; ■ Route 10, ■ 12, ■ 25 and ■ 29.

Ogawamachi — Ryōgoku-Nichōme

1903 — 1972

• Shinjuku Line; ■ Route 11, ■ 12 and ■ 13.

Hanzōmon — Shinjuku-Ekimae

1903 — 1970

• Suzaki Line; ■ Route 28 and ■ 38.

Eitaibashi — Tōyō-Kōen-mae

Fukushimabashi (Eitai-Nichōme) — Kamezumichō (Fukagawa-Itchōme)

c. 1904 — 1972

• Toranomon Line; ■ Route 3 and ■ 8.

Sakuradamon — Kamiyachō

Toranomon — Reinanzaka

c. 1905 — 1968

• Tsukiji Line; ■ Route 8, ■ 9, ■ 11 and ■ 36.

Hibiya-Kōen — Kayabachō (— Ningyōchō)

1903 — 1971

• Umayabashi Line; ■ Route 16 and ■ 39.

Ueno-Hirokōji — Honjo-Itchōme

c. 1905 — 1971

Lines primary made by Tōkyō Electric Railway (Sotobori Line)

• Dobashi Line; ■ Route 17.

Shin-Tokiwabashi — Shimbashi-eki-Kitaguchi

c. 1904 — 1968

• Hiroo Line; ■ Route 7.

Aoyama-Itchōme — Tengenjibashi

c. 1905 — 1969

• Hōraibashi Line; ■ Route 6.

Miharabashi — Toranomon

c. 1905 — 1967

• Nishikichō Line

Ochanomizu — Shin-Tokiwabashi

c. 1904 — 1944

• Ochanomizu Line; ■ Route 13 and ■ 19.

Iidabashi — Akihabara-eki-Higashiguchi

c. 1905 — 1971

• Shinanomachi Line; ■ Route 7 and ■ 33.

Yotsuya-Sanchōme — Kita-Aoyama-Itchōme

c. 1905 — 1969

• Tameike Line; ■ Route 3 and ■ 6.

Toranomon — Yotsuya-Mitsuke

c. 1905 — 1967

• Ushigome Line; ■ Route 3 and ■ 12.

Yotsuya-Mitsuke — Iidabashi

c. 1905 — 1970

Lines primary made by Tōkyō Railways

• Furukawa Line; ■ Route 4, ■ 5, ■ 7, ■ 8 and ■ 34.

Tengenjibashi — Kanasugibashi

c. 1910 — 1969

Near Ichinohashi, the tracks ran on the center lane of the roadways.

• Hakusan Line; ■ Route 2, ■ 18 and ■ 35.

Bunkyō-Kuyakusho-mae — Hakusan-ue

c. 1910 — 1968

• Izumibashi Line; ■ Route 13 and ■ 21.

Doshūbashi — Ueno-Ekimae

c. 1910 — 1970

On Shōwa Street near Ueno Station, the tracks ran on the center lane of the roadways.

• Minowa Line; ■ Route 21 and ■ 31

c. 1910 — 1969

• Ōtsuka Line; ■ Route 16 and ■ 17.

Denzūin-mae — Ōtsuka-Ekimae

c. 1910 — 1971

• Senju Line; ■ Route 22.

Komagata-Nichōme — Minami-Senju

c. 1910 — 1971

• Sugamo Line; ■ Route 2, ■ 18 and ■ 35.

Hakusan-ue — Sugamo-Shako-mae

c. 1910 — 1968

• Suidōbashi Line; ■ Route 2, ■ 17, ■ 18 and ■ 35.

Shin-Tokiwabashi — Bunkyō-Kuyakusho-mae

c. 1910 — 1968

• Takahashi Line; ■ Route 23.

Monzen-Nakachō — Midorichō-Itchōme

c. 1910 — 1972

• Tomisaka Line; ■ Route 16, ■ 17 and ■ 39.

Ōmagari — Bunkyō-Kuyakusho-mae

c. 1910 — 1971

Lines made by Ōji Electric Tramway

• Akabane Line; ■ Route 27.

Ōji-Ekimae — Akabane

1926 — 1972

• Arakawa Line; ■ Route 27 and ■ 32.

Kumanomae — Ōji-Ekimae

1913 — still operational

The current Arakawa Line.

• Mikawashima Line; ■ Route 27.

Minowabashi — Kumanomae

1913 — still operational

The current Arakawa Line.

• Takinogawa Line; ■ Route 32.

Ōji-Ekimae — Ōtsuka-Ekimae

1911 — still operational

The current Arakawa Line.

• Waseda Line; ■ Route 32.

Ōtsuka-Ekimae — Waseda

1925 — still operational

The current Arakawa Line.

Lines made by Jōtō Electric Tramway

• Ichinoe Line; ■ Route 26.

Higashi-Arakawa — Imaibashi

1925 — 1952

Commonly called Imai Line. An isolated line with no transfer stations to other lines in the network.

• Komatsugawa Line; ■ Route 25, ■ 29 and ■ 38.

Kinshibori — Nishi-Arakawa

1917 — 1972

On the Keiyō Road near Kameido Station, the tracks ran on the center lane of the roadways.

• Sunamachi Line; ■ Route 29 and ■ 38.

Suijimmori — Suzaki

1921 — 1972

Lines made by Tamagawa Electric Railway

• Naka-Meguro Line; ■ Route 8.

Shibuyabashi — Naka-Meguro

• Tengenjibashi Line; ■ Route 8 and ■ 34.

Shibuya-Ekimae — Tengenjibashi

Lines made by the former Seibu Railway

They were the only lines with a gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in). The rest of the network had a gauge of 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in).

• Kōenji Line; ■ Route 14.

Shinjuku-Ekimae — Kōenji-Itchōme

1921 — 1963

Commonly called Suginami Line.

• Ogikubo Line; ■ Route 14.

Kōenji-Itchōme — Ogikubo-Ekimae

1921 — 1963

Commonly called Suginami Line.

Other lines

• Asukayama Line; ■ Route 19.

Komagome-Ekimae — Asukayama

c. 1920 — 1971

• Awajimachi Line; ■ Route 37.

Awajimachi — Soto-Kanda-Sanchōme

c. 1920 — 1967

• Dōzaka Line; ■ Route 20, ■ 37 and ■ 40.

Ueno-Kōen — Sengoku-Itchōme

Late 1910s — 1971

Ueno-Kōen-mae — Nezu-Itchōme (the line along the edge of Shinobazu Pond) ran on its own right-of-way.

• Ebisu Line

Tengenjibashi — Ebisu-Chōjamaru

1913 — 1944

Also called Toyosawa Line, or Tengenji Line.

• Fudanotsuji Line; ■ Route 3 and ■ 8.

Iikura-Itchōme — Fudanotsuji

c. 1912 — 1967

• Gokokuji Line; ■ Route 17 and ■ 20.

Sengoku-Itchōme — Gokokuji-mae

c. 1920 — 1971

• Gotanda Line; ■ Route 4.

Seishōkō-mae — Gotanda-Ekimae

Late 1920s — 1967

• Hatchōbori Line; ■ Route 5.

Baba-Sakimon — Eitaibashi

c. 1920 — 1967

• Ikebukuro Line; ■ Route 17.

Gokokuji-mae — Ikebukuro-Ekimae

Early 1930s — 1969

• Isarago Line; ■ Route 4, ■ 5 and ■ 7.

Furukawabashi — Sengakuji

c. 1912 — 1969

• Ishiwara Line; ■ Route 16.

Ishiwarachō-Itchōme — Kinshichō-Ekimae (Kitaguchi)

Taiheichō-Sanchōme — Kameido-Tenjimbashi

Late 1920s — 1971

• Itabashi Line; ■ Route 18 and ■ 41.

Sugamo-Shako-mae — Itabashi-Ekimae

Late 1920s — 1966

Sometimes included to Shimura Line.

• Kachidokibashi Line; ■ Route 11.

Tsukiji-Tsukishima

1947 — 1968

• Kasaibashi Line; ■ Route 29.

Sakaigawa — Kasaibashi

Early 1940s — 1972

• Kasumichō Line; ■ Route 6.

Tameike — Minami-Aoyama-Gochōme

Late 1910s — 1967

• Kita-Senju Line; ■ Route 21.

Senju-Ōhashi — Senju-Yonchōme

Late 1920s — 1968

• Komagome Line; ■ Route 19.

Mukōgaoka-Nichōme — Komagome-Ekimae

Late 1910s — 1971

• Marunouchi Line; ■ Route 28 and ■ 31.

Marunouchi-Itchōme — Tochō-mae

c. 1920 — 1969

• Meguro Line; ■ Route 4 and ■ 5.

Gyoranzaka-shita — Meguro-Ekimae

c. 1912 — 1967

• Mukōjima Line; ■ Route 30.

Honjo-Azumabashi — Higashi-Mukōjima-Nichōme

Late 1920s — 1969

• Otowa Line; ■ Route 20.

Gokokuji-mae — Yaraishita

Late 1920s — 1971

• Roppongi Line; ■ Route 3, ■ 8 and ■ 33.

Hamamatsuchō-Itchōme — Kita-Aoyama-Itchōme

1912 — 1969

• Ryōgoku-eki Leading Line; ■ Route 12.

Ryōgoku-Nichōme — Ryōgoku-Ekimae

1923 — 1968

• Sarue Line; ■ Route 28 and ■ 36.

Kinshichō-Ekimae (Minamiguchi) — Tōyō-Kōen-mae

Late 1920s — 1972

• Senzoku Line; ■ Route 31.

Kuramae-Itchōme — Minowa-Shako-mae

c. 1920 — 1969

• Shibaura Line

Tōkyō-Kōguchi — Shibaura-Nichōme

1910 — 1969; The passenger service started from 1920s.

• Shimura Line; ■ Route 18 and ■ 41.

Itabashi-Ekimae — Shimurabashi

Early 1940s — 1966

• Shin-Ōhashi Line; ■ Route 9 and ■ 36.

Kayabachō — Sumiyoshichō-Nichōme

c. 1912 — 1971

• Totsuka Line; ■ Route 15.

Takadanobaba-Ekimae — Omokagebashi

? — 1968; The opening year unknown.

• Tsukishima Line; ■ Route 23.

Monzen-Nakachō — Tsukishima

c. 1920 — 1972

• Tsunohazu Line; ■ Route 13.

Iidabashi — Yotsuya-Sankōchō

c. 1912 — 1970

Routes

As of 1962, there were 41 routes in operation; the largest number in Japanese history.

■ Route 1

Shinagawa-Ekimae — Shinagawa Line — Kanasugi Line — Hondōri Line — Ueno Line — Ueno-Ekimae

■ Route 2

Mita — Mita Line — Kandabashi Line — Suidōbashi Line — Hakusan Line — Sugamo Line — Tōyō-Daigaku-mae

■ Route 3

Shinagawa-Ekimae — Shinagawa Line — Fudanotsuji Line — Roppongi Line — Toranomon Line — Tameike Line — Ushigome Line — Iidabashi

■ Route 4

Gotanda-Ekimae — Gotanda Line — Meguro Line — Isarago Line — Furukawa Line — Kanasugi Line — Hondōri Line — Ginza-Nichōme

■ Route 5

Meguro-Ekimae — Meguro Line — Isarago Line — Furukawa Line — Mita Line — Kandabashi Line — Hatchōbori Line — Eitaibashi

■ Route 6

Shibuya-Ekimae — Aoyama Line — Kasumichō Line — Tameike Line — Hōraibashi Line — Shimbashi

■ Route 7

Yotsuya-Sanchōme — Shinanomachi Line — Hiroo Line — Furukawa Line — Isarago Line — Shinagawa Line — Shinagawa-Ekimae

■ Route 8

Naka-Meguro — Naka-Meguro Line — Tengenjibashi Line — Furukawa Line — Fudanotsuji Line — Roppongi Line — Toranomon Line — Hanzōmon Line — Tsukiji Line — Tsukiji

■ Route 9

Shibuya-Ekimae — Aoyama Line — Hanzōmon Line — Tsukiji Line — Shin-Ōhashi Line — Hamachō-Nakanohashi

■ Route 10

Shibuya-Ekimae — Aoyama Line — Hanzōmon Line — Bammachi Line — Kudanshita Line — Ryōgokubashi Line — Sudachō

■ Route 11

Shinjuku-Ekimae — Shinjuku Line — Hanzōmon Line — Tsukiji Line — Kachidokibashi Line — Tsukishima

■ Route 12

Shinjuku-Ekimae — Shinjuku Line — Ushigome Line — Ichigaya Line — Kudan Line — Ryōgokubashi Line — Ryōgoku-eki Leading Line — Ryōgoku-Ekimae

■ Route 13

Shinjuku-Ekimae — Shinjuku Line — Tsunohazu Line — Ochanomizu Line — Izumibashi Line — Suitengū-mae

■ Route 14

Shinjuku-Ekimae — Kōenji Line — Ogikubo Line — Ogikubo-Ekimae

■ Route 15

Takadanobaba-Ekimae — Totsuka Line — Waseda Line — Edogawa Line — Kudan Line — Kandabashi Line — Chiyodabashi Line — Kayabachō

■ Route 16

Ōtsuka-Ekimae — Ōtsuka Line — Tomisaka Line — Kiridōshi Line — Umayabashi Line — Narihira Line — Ishiwara Line — Kinshichō-Ekimae

■ Route 17

Ikebukuro-Ekimae — Ikebukuro Line — Gokokuji Line — Ōtsuka Line — Tomisaka Line — Suidōbashi Line — Dobashi Line — Sukiyabashi

■ Route 18

Shimura-Sakaue — Shimura Line — Itabashi Line — Sugamo Line — Hakusan Line — Suidōbashi Line — Kandabashi

■ Route 19

Ōji-Ekimae — Takinogawa Line — Asukayama Line — Komagome Line — Hongō Line — Ochanomizu Line — Ueno Line — Hondōri Line — Tōri-Sanchōme

■ Route 20

Edogawabashi — Otowa Line — Gokokuji Line — Dōzaka Line — Ueno Line — Sudachō

■ Route 21

Senju-Yonchōme — Kita-Senju Line — Minowa Line — Izumibashi Line — Suitengū-mae

■ Route 22

Minami-Senju — Senju Line — Kuramae Line — Muromachi Line — Hondōri Line — Shimbashi

■ Route 22 Temporal

Kaminarimon — Kuramae Line — Muromachi Line — Hondōri Line — Shimbashi

The branch route was treated as a temporal route.

■ Route 23

Fukujimbashi — Narihira Line — Takahashi Line — Tsukishima Line — Tsukishima

■ Route 24

Fukujimbashi — Narihira Line — Azumabashi Line — Ueno Line — Sudachō

■ Route 25

Nishi-Arakawa — Komatsugawa Line — Kōtōbashi Line — Ryōgokubashi Line — Kandabashi Line — Hibiya-Kōen

■ Route 26

Higashi-Arakawa — Ichinoe Line — Imaibashi

Already discontinued in 1952.

■ Route 27

Minowabashi — Mikawashima Line — Arakawa Line — Akabane Line — Akabane

■ Route 28

Kinshichō-Ekimae — Sarue Line — Suzaki Line — Chiyodabashi Line — Marunouchi Line — Tochō-mae

■ Route 29

Kasaibashi — Kasaibashi Line — Sunamachi Line — Komatsugawa Line — Kōtōbashi Line — Ryōgokubashi Line — Sudachō

■ Route 29 Temporal

Kasaibashi — Kasaibashi Line — Sunamachi Line — Suzaki Line — Chiyodabashi Line — Nihombashi

The temporal route operated at morning and evening.

■ Route 30

Higashi-Mukōjima-Nichōme — Mukōjima Line — Azumabashi Line — Ueno Line — Sudachō

■ Route 31

Minowabashi — Mikawashima Line — Senzoku Line — Kuramae Line — Muromachi Line — Marunouchi Line — Tochō-mae

■ Route 32

Arakawa-Shako-mae — Arakawa Line — Takinogawa Line — Waseda Line — Waseda

■ Route 33

Yotsuya-Sanchōme — Shinanomachi Line — Roppongi Line — Hamamatsuchō-Itchōme

■ Route 34

Shibuya-Ekimae — Tengenjibashi Line — Tengenjibashi

■ Route 35

Sugamo-Shako-mae — Sugamo Line — Hakusan Line — Suidōbashi Line — Kandabashi Line — Mita Line — Nishi-Shimbashi-Itchōme

■ Route 36

Kinshichō-Ekimae — Sarue Line — Shin-Ōhashi Line — Tsukiji Line — Tsukiji

■ Route 37

Mita — Mita Line — Kandabashi Line — Ryōgokubashi Line — Awajichō Line — Ueno Line — Dōzaka Line — Sendagi-Nichōme

■ Route 38

Kishinbori-Shako-mae — Kōtōbashi Line — Komatsugawa Line — Sunamachi Line — Suzaki Line — Chiyodabashi Line — Nihombashi

■ Route 39

Waseda — Edogawa Line — Tomisaka Line — Kiridōshi Line — Umayabashi Line — Umayabashi

■ Route 40

Shimmeichō-Shako-mae — Dōzaka Line — Ueno Line — Hondōri Line — Ginza-Nanachōme

■ Route 41

Shimurabashi — Shimura Line — Itabashi Line — Sugamo-Shako-mae

See also