Karasuma Line

Karasuma Line
Kyoto subway 20 series unit 31 at Takeda station
Overview
Native name烏丸線
LocaleKyoto
Termini
Stations15
Websitehttp://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/kotsu/
Service
TypeRapid transit
SystemThe Emblem of Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau. Kyoto Municipal Subway
OperatorKyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau
DepotTakeda
Rolling stock10 series, 20 series EMUs
History
Opened29 May 1981; 45 years ago (1981-05-29)
Last extension1997
Technical
Line length13.7 km (8.5 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 1,500 V DC
Operating speed75 km/h (47 mph)
Route map

0.0
K01 Kokusaikaikan
1.6
K02 Matsugasaki
2.6
K03 Kitayama
3.8
K04 Kitaōji
4.6
K05 Kuramaguchi
5.4
K06 Imadegawa
6.9
K07 Marutamachi
7.6
K08 Karasuma Oike
8.5
K09 Shijō
9.3
K10 Gojō
10.3
K11 Kyōto
11.1
K12 Kujō
11.8
K13 Jūjō
13.0
K14 Kuinabashi
Kintetsu Kyoto Line
Takeda Depot
13.7
K15 Takeda
Kintetsu Kyoto Line

The Karasuma Line (Japanese: 烏丸線, Hepburn: Karasuma-sen) is one of the two lines of the Kyoto Municipal Subway operated by Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau in Kyoto, Japan. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is colored green, and its stations are given numbers following the letter "K". It serves seven of Kyoto's eleven wards: Sakyō-ku, Kita-ku, Kamigyō-ku, Nakagyō-ku, Shimogyō-ku, Minami-ku, and Fushimi-ku. It connects Kokusaikaikan in Sakyō-ku and Takeda in Fushimi-ku.

Between Kitaōji and Jūjō, trains run beneath the north–south Karasuma Street, hence the name. They link to the other subway line, the Tozai Line, at Karasuma Oike. They also connect to the JR lines at Kyoto Station and the Hankyu Kyoto Line running beneath Shijō Street at the intersection of Shijō Karasuma, Kyoto's central business district. At Shijō Karasuma, the subway station is named Shijō, whereas Hankyu's station is called Karasuma.

The Transportation Bureau and Kintetsu Railway jointly operate through services, which connect the Karasuma Line with the Kintetsu Kyoto Line to Kintetsu Nara Station in Nara. The Karasuma Line and the Kyoto Line connect at Kyoto and Takeda.

This line covers a total distance of 13.7 kilometres (8.5 mi) in 26 minutes and the average daily ridership in 2009 was 411,881 passengers.

Stations

Rolling stock

Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau

Kintetsu Railway

History

Average daily passenger numbers
Year Number of passengers
2009
205,994
2010
209,615
2011
212,400
2012
215,865
2013
223,517
2014
258,604
2015
266,432
2016
271,104
2017
274,950
2018
282,105
2019
284,840
2020
182,341
2021
204,164
2022
246,008
2023
277,081
2024
289,134

The section between Kitaōji and Kyoto was completed on May 29, 1981. The line was extended from Kyoto to Takeda on June 11, 1988. Through services from Kitaōji to Shin-Tanabe on the Kyoto Line started on August 28, 1988. The line was extended from Kitaōji to Kitayama on October 24, 1990. Oike Station was renamed Karasuma Oike Station on May 22, 1997, prior to the inauguration of the Tōzai Line running beneath the east–west Oike Street (御池通, Oike-dōri). The line was extended from Kitayama to Kokusaikaikan on June 3, 1997. Express services from Kokusaikaikan to Kintetsu Nara in Nara started on March 15, 2000.[citation needed]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Terada, Hirokazu (July 2002). データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways] (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing. p. 119. ISBN 4-87366-874-3.
  2. ↑ "京都市交通局:地下鉄のあゆみと概要". www.city.kyoto.lg.jp. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  3. ↑ "京都市交通事業白書" [Kyoto City Transportation Business White Paper] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 16 May 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.

Bibliography