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| EMU Tokyo Metro 02-80 series stands at Honancho station |
I just thought that I had already introduced all of the labyrinthine subway routes in Tokyo in this blog; but there are some left. Today, I'm going to show you the second shortest subway route in Tokyo... the Honancho branch line.
As its name suggests, Honancho branch line is a feeder route of the mainline. The main line is the Marunouchi line, which is the second oldest subway line operated by Tokyo Metro. Connecting Nakano-sakaue on the Marunouchi line and Honancho near Nakano rail yard, the total operating length is only 3.2 kilometers. The entire route is an electrified double track. 3 or 6-car trains are operated every 4 minutes to 6 minutes 40 seconds.
The rolling stock on duty on the line is the EMU 02-80, 02 and the 2000 series. The 02-80 series is a 3-car train operated only on the Honancho branch line; meanwhile, the 02 and 2000 series are 6-car trains, which are directly operated onto the main route of the Marunouchi line. A black-colored stripe is added on the bodies of the short 02-80 series to make it easier to distinguish from the long 02 series.
For your information, ATO (automatic train operation) system has been introduced on the Honancho branch line and the Marunouchi line. The conductor is not on board the train. The driver operates the passenger doors from the cockpit using multiple monitors, and just pushes the ATO start button for departure. He (or she) will just watch the automatic operation.
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| Side view of the EMU Tokyo Metro 02-80 series |