The Osaka Metro Midōsuji Line (御堂筋線) is a rapid transit line in Osaka, Japan, operated by Osaka Metro. Constructed under Midōsuji, a major north-south street, it is the oldest line in the Osaka subway system and the second oldest in Japan, following the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line. Its official name is Rapid Electric Tramway Line No. 1 (高速電気軌道第1号線), while the Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau refers to it as Osaka City Rapid Railway Line No. 1 (大阪市高速鉄道第1号線), and in MLIT publications it is referred to as Line No. 1 (Midōsuji Line) (1号線（御堂筋線）). On line maps, stations on the Midōsuji Line are indicated with the letter "M". North of Nakatsu it runs above ground in the median of Shin-midōsuji, an elevated freeway. The section between Minoh-kayano and Esaka is owned and operated by Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway (北大阪急行電鉄), but is seamless to the passengers except with respect to fare calculations. In June 2018, the Midosuji line is the most congested railway line in the Kansai region of Japan, at its peak running at 151% capacity between Umeda and Yodoyabashi stations.

Line data

Stations

Rolling stock

Since 1987, all Midōsuji Line rolling stock operated by Osaka Metro are stored and maintained at Nakamozu Depot, the first underground depot in the Osaka Metro system. Additionally, said rolling stock can also access Midorigi Depot on the Yotsubashi Line via a crossover located after Daikokuchō Station and Morinomiya Depot on the Chūō Line via the Daikokuchō crossover and then onto a spur track near Hommachi Station, built in 2014. The first depot for the Midōsuji Line was located near Umeda station, which was replaced by Abeno Depot in 1950, Nagai Depot in 1954 (now used mainly for maintenance-of-way vehicles), and Abiko Depot in 1960 (closed in 1987).

Former

History

The Midōsuji Line was the first subway line in Osaka and the first government-operated subway line in Japan. Its construction was partly an effort to give work to the many unemployed people in Osaka during the early 1930s. The initial tunnel from Umeda to Shinsaibashi, as well as the Umeda depot, were constructed entirely by hand and opened in 1933 after being initially plagued by cave-ins and water leakage caused by the poor composition of the earth below northern Osaka and the equally poor engineering skills of the work crew. The first cars were hauled onto the line by manpower and pack animals from the Government Railway tracks near Umeda. Although the line only operated with single cars at first, its stations were designed from the outset to handle trains of up to eight cars. The line was gradually extended over the next few decades, completing its current length in 1987, making it the second-longest subway line in Osaka after the Tanimachi Line (excluding the Kita-Osaka Kyūkō Railway extension of the Midōsuji Line).

Women-only passenger cars

Women-only cars were introduced on the line from 11 November 2002. There is one such designated car in each train (Car No. 6), the use of which is restricted all day on weekdays.