Meijō Line

Meijō Line
Entrance to Nagoyajo (Nagoya Castle) Station
Overview
Native name	名城線
Locale	Nagoya, Aichi
Stations	28
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Nagoya Municipal Subway
Operator(s)	Nagoya City Transportation Bureau
Depot(s)	Daiko (between Nagoya Dome-mae Yada and Sunadabashi)
Rolling stock	2000 series
Daily ridership	197,082 (2008) (including Meikō Line)
History
Opened	15 October 1965 (15 October 1965)
Technical
Track length	26.4 km (16.4 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	Third rail 600 V DC
Operating speed	65 km/h (40 mph)

Nagoya Daigaku Station

The Meijō Line (名城線, Meijō-sen) is a subway line in Nagoya, Japan, part of the Nagoya Municipal Subway system. It is a loop line that runs from Kanayama, via Sakae, Ōzone, Nagoya Daigaku, and back to Kanayama, all within Nagoya. The Meijō Line's color on maps is wisteria purple and stations are labeled with the prefix "M". Officially, the line consists of the Nagoya City Rapid Railway Line 2 (名古屋市高速度鉄道第2号線, Nagoya-shi Kōsokudo Tetsudō Dai-ni-gō-sen), the western part, and Line 4 (第4号線, Dai-yon-gō-sen), the eastern part. All stations accept manaca, a rechargeable contactless smart card, and other major Japanese IC cards.

The Meijō Line is the second loop subway line built in Japan, after the Toei Ōedo Line. The Ōedo Line, however, is not a true loop line as it is operated like a figure 6, with trains from the western Hikarigaoka terminus running anticlockwise around the loop and terminating at Tochōmae, returning around the loop to Hikarigaoka. Thus the Meijō Line is the first (and currently only) true loop subway line in the nation. The line is longer than the JR Ōsaka Loop Line (21.7 km or 13.5 mi), but shorter than the JR Yamanote Line (34.5 km or 21.4 mi). It takes 48 minutes to complete the loop.

The name Meijō is derived from the abbreviated kanji of Nagoya Castle (名古屋城, Nagoya-jō).

Stations

Stations listed clockwise

Number	Station name	Japanese	Total distance	Transfers	Location
M01	Kanayama	金山	0.0	Nagoya Municipal Subway: Kanayama Line 1 Meikō Line (E-01) 2 Chūō Main Line Tōkaidō Main Line Meitetsu Nagoya Line	Naka	Nagoya
M02	Higashi Betsuin	東別院	0.7
M03	Kamimaezu	上前津	1.6	Tsurumai Line (T-09)
M04	Yabachō	矢場町	2.3	Nagoya Municipal Subway: Tōbu Line 1
M05	Sakae	栄	3.0	Meitetsu Seto Line (Sakaemachi) Higashiyama Line (H-10)
M06	Hisaya-ōdōri	久屋大通	3.4	Sakura-dōri Line (S-05)
M07	Nagoyajo (Nagoya Castle)	名古屋城	4.3
M08	Meijō Kōen	名城公園	5.4		Kita
M09	Kurokawa	黒川	6.4	Nagoya Municipal Subway: Kanayama Line 1
M10	Shiga-hondōri	志賀本通	7.4
M11	Heian-dōri	平安通	8.2	Kamiiida Line (K-02)
M12	Ōzone	大曽根	8.9	Chūō Main Line Meitetsu Seto Line Yutorito Line (Y01)
M13	Nagoya Dome-mae Yada	ナゴヤドーム前矢田	9.7	Yutorito Line (Y02)	Higashi
M14	Sunadabashi	砂田橋	10.6	Yutorito Line (Y03)
M15	Chayagasaka	茶屋ヶ坂	11.5		Chikusa
M16	Jiyūgaoka	自由ヶ丘	12.7
M17	Motoyama	本山	14.1	Higashiyama Line (H-16)
M18	Nagoya Daigaku	名古屋大学	15.1	Nagoya Municipal Subway: Tōbu Line 1
M19	Yagoto Nisseki	八事日赤	16.2		Shōwa
M20	Yagoto	八事	17.2	Tsurumai Line (T-15)
M21	Sōgō Rihabiri Center	総合リハビリセンター	18.5		Mizuho
M22	Mizuho Undōjō Higashi	瑞穂運動場東	19.5
M23	Aratama-bashi	新瑞橋	20.7	Sakura-dōri Line (S-14)
M24	Myōon-dōri	妙音通	21.4
M25	Horita	堀田	22.2
M26	Atsuta Jingu Temma-cho	熱田神宮伝馬町	23.4		Atsuta
M27	Atsuta Jingu Nishi	熱田神宮西	24.4
M28	Nishi Takakura	西高蔵	25.3
M01	Kanayama	金山	26.4		Naka

¹: Planned lines.

²: Through service to/from Meijō Line.

Meikō Line

Meikō Line
Overview
Native name	名港線
Locale	Nagoya
Termini	Kanayama Nagoyakō
Stations	7
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Nagoya Municipal Subway
Operator(s)	Nagoya City Transportation Bureau
Depot(s)	Nagoyakō
Rolling stock	2000 series
History
Opened	29 March 1971 (29 March 1971)
Technical
Track length	6.0 km (3.7 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	600V DC Third rail
Route map km Meijō Line to Sakae 0.0 Kanayama Meijō Line Hori River 1.5 Hibino 2.6 Rokuban-chō Tōkaidō Main Line 3.8 Tōkai-dōri 4.6 Minato Kuyakusho 5.4 Tsukiji-guchi Nagoyakō Depot 6.0 Nagoyakō

The Meikō Line (名港線, Meikō-sen) acts as a branch line from the Meijō line, with roughly every other anticlockwise train running toward Nagoyakō instead of Nagoya Daigaku. The Meikō Line's color on maps is a stripe of wisteria purple and white, and stations are labeled with the prefix "E". Officially, the line is part of Nagoya City Rapid Railway Line 2. The line provides through service to the Meijō Line.

Stations

Number	Station name	Japanese	Total distance	Transfers	Location
Through service to/from Meijō Line
E01	Kanayama	金山	0.0	Nagoya Municipal Subway: Kanayama Line 1 Meijō Line (M-01) 2 Chūō Main Line Tōkaidō Main Line Meitetsu Nagoya Line	Naka	Nagoya
E02	Hibino	日比野	1.5		Atsuta
E03	Rokuban-chō	六番町	2.6
E04	Tōkai-dōri	東海通	3.8		Minato
E05	Minato Kuyakusho	港区役所	4.6
E06	Tsukiji-guchi	築地口	5.4
E07	Nagoyakō (Nagoya Port)	名古屋港	6.0

History

The line was originally part of the Meijō Line. When the eastern part ("Line 4") of the current loop line was completed in 2004, the entire loop was renamed the Meijō Line, with the remaining section (between Kanayama and Nagoyakō, outside the loop) being renamed to the Meikō Line.

The name Meikō is derived from the abbreviated kanji of Nagoya Port (名古屋港, Nagoya-kō).

Rolling stock

Current

A 2000 series train in August 2020

• 2000 series (since 1989)

Former

A 1200 series train in September 1999

• 1000/1100/1200 series (from 1965 until 2000)

History

The first section of Line 2, between Sakae-machi (now named Sakae) and Shiyakusho (now named Nagoyajo), opened in 1965. The line was named the Meijō Line in 1969, and the extension was completed in 1971. Line 4 opened its first section between Aratama-bashi and Kanayama in 1974. The extension project was completed in 2004, making a loop line together with Line 2.

Women-only cars were introduced on the line on 4 July 2016, operating in the mornings until 09:00.

See also

• List of railway lines in Japan

External links

• Nagoya City Transportation Bureau official website (in Japanese)