The number of passengers on the nine major private railways in the Tokyo metropolitan area reached an all time high in 2018, hitting 8 billion people, representing three consecutive years of record increases. Robust economic growth in the last few years has led to increasing numbers of commuters. This combined with record numbers of inbound tourists have been the main causes of record passenger numbers.
Tokyo’s nine private railway operators are: Tokyo Metro (Subway), Tokyu Corporation, Tobu Railway, Odakyu Railway, Keio Electric Railway, Seibu Railway, Keihin Electric Railway, Keisei Electric Railway and Sagami Railway. When the final 2018 numbers are tabulated, officials expect that ridership numbers in 2018 will have increased for seven consecutive years (with record-breaking numbers in the last three years), after decreasing in 2011 in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Passenger numbers for all nine private lines increased 2% in 2018, with the Tokyo Metro seeing the greatest numbers of riders. In 2018, passenger numbers on all the Tokyo Metro lines are expected to reach over 2.76 billion riders The Tokyo Metro operates the following ten lines:
- Chiyoda Line
- Fukutoshin Line
- Ginza Line
- Hanzomon Line
- Hibiya Line
- Marunouchi Line
- Namboku Line
- Tozai Line
- Yurakucho Line
- Yurakucho New Line
Large-scale developments like the 190,000-sqm mixed-use Tokyo Midtown Hibiya building that opened in March last year in Yurakucho and other developments near the National Diet Building have led to an increase in passengers going to nearby stations, including: Hibiya, Yurakocho, Ginza, and Kokkai-gijidō-mae Stations.
Inbound tourist traffic on private railways also increased last year. All railways which operate lines going to Narita and Haneda Airports saw increases in ridership last year.
At the same time, JR East also saw ridership increase by 1% in 2018.
Railway Operators Saw Sales Increases
As a result of increased ridership and the introduction of special reserved-seat-only trains (see below), railway operators in Tokyo saw sales increases across the board last year.
How to Get a Reserved Seat on a Commuter Train
A number of railway companies operate reserved-seat-only trains that require passengers to pay an additional fare in addition to the base fare, but passengers on these trains are guaranteed a seat. These trains are known as Home Liner (ホームライナー) commuter rains. The additional fare is usually between ¥300 and ¥500, which you can buy either by using a ticket machine or going to a ticket window.
JR East Lines
JR East has trains called “Home Liners” that use express train cars during rush hours to provide premium seating, with a guaranteed seat at an additional cost of ¥500. The additional fare is called raina-ken (ライナー券).
Private Railway Lines
The fare on private railway lines is usually between ¥300 and ¥410.
Please see the charts below for a summary of the special commuter trains available in the Tokyo-metro area. For more information, please check directly with the train company either online or at a ticket window.
An important thing to be aware of is that these trains are aimed at commuters, so they don’t run all day only during peak commuting hours and only between certain sections on the track.
For example, the Keio Liner leaves Shinjuku terminal, and heads to Keio-Hachioji on the Keio Line and Hashimoto on the Sagamihara Line.
The departure time at Shinjuku is between 8 and 12 pm on weekdays and between 5 and 9.20 pm on weekends and national holidays.
There are five Keio-Hachioji-bound trains and five Hashimoto-bound trains per day.
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