The Largest Rail System In the World | Tokyo’s Urban Railways Explained

Months in the making, today's video is one I'm truly proud of - Learn all about the Tokyo urban rail network in just about 20 minutes!

Special thanks to SF's Rail Depot, Shin Oblander, Jason Rabinowitz, & JR Urbane Network for helping with this video!

As always, leave a comment down below if you have ideas for our future videos. Like, subscribe, and hit the bell icon so you won't miss my next video!

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Ever wondered why your city's transit just doesn't seem quite up to snuff? RMTransit is here to answer that, and help you open your eyes to all of the different public transportation systems around the world!

Reece Martin (the RM in RMTransit) is an urbanist and public transport critic residing in Toronto, Canada, with the goal of helping the world become more connected through metros, trams, buses, high-speed trains, and all other transport modes.

[alankwok]

I was in Japan and I had to transfer from an express train to a local train. My app said I had 1 minute to make the transfer. The app also said I arrived at track 2, but the new train leaves from track 4. I was like, how can I make the transfer in one minute? Normally I have to get off the train, leave track level, go to the new track and go back up to track level. To my surprise, when I arrived, they parked a waiting train on track 3 with all the doors open, creating a "train bridge" between tracks 2 and 4. Suffice it to say, I made my transfer.

[japanesetrainandtravel]

The largest and the greatest Rail system in the world. No other country moves as many people as efficiently while maintaining spotlessly clean stations and trains and a near perfect on time performance. Last week at the Japan Fest in Canada, my friends at the JR Central booth were impressed by how many Canadians reacted in amazement to the speed and on time performance of the Shinkansen alone - in Japan, such things are considered normal.

Thanks for posting this Reece.

[winkiipinkii]

Man I can't express how helpful the Yamanote Line has been for me to get around the city and meet friends and relatives, truly one of the most useful lines in the world.

[IsaacNYC]

I live in NYC, and I’ve visited Tokyo a few times. Anytime NYC [MTA] says they can’t do something I always say, they do it in Tokyo… no excuse. Tokyo, rail is one of the most efficient transportation systems I've ever experienced, and for the most part very punctual.

[CrimsonAlchemist]

Japan has THE BEST railway system in the world. Always on time, super clean, high tech, stations with a lot of amenities and more!

[kisaragi-hiu]

7:39 "less frequent headways of 5-or-so minutes" bloody hell, that's so impressive.

[Chanemus]

This is honestly the video summarising all rail transit in Tokyo I've been waiting for. People so often overlook the private operators or smaller people movers/monorails that are essential in really understanding how the network operates. Great video!

[Sacto]

A major reason why we got the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line was to essentially solve the issue of woefully overcrowded trains going from Saitama Prefecture to central Tokyo (by connecting to Tobu and Seibu lines) and between Tokyo and Yokohama. The south end of the Fukutoshin Line become the Tokyu Toyoko Line in Shibuya, creating a very convenient way to connect to central Yokohama itself.

By the way, you forgot to mention another regional rail company in your video: the Sagami Railway, better known at Sotetsu. Originally designed to serve communities west of Yokohama, in the last few years Sotetsu now runs a through train service on JR East Lines so Sotetsu trains can run to Shinjuku; they also plan to open in 2023 a link to the Tokyu rail network so Sotetsu trains can access other parts of central Tokyo.

[urbanliner]

As a Tokyo resident, I don’t look at the Yamanote line as a subway, but if you think about it, it’s completely a subway/rapid transit in North American standards.

[BrennanZeigler]

Japan is literally the ultimate railfan and transit lover’s destination. Japan is literally in the top 3 places I wanna visit, along with Germany and the Netherlands, not just because I’m a railfan and transit lover, but I also think Japanese culture is one of the most fascinating cultures in the world with an unbelievable amount of history. I mean Tokyo’s rail system literally looks so confusing but it’s actually one of the most straightforward rail systems in the world. I mean the Japanese rail system literally gives all of the rail systems in the world a run for their money. It’s a system so complex yet so simple that I just have to experience

[chrisorr]

Absolutely love the Tokyo metro system. Moving to LA has shown me how spoilt I was in London, but there are so many things that Tokyo does better. My fav thing is that lines arnt usually defined as “westbound” or “northbound” services. They are usually defined by the points of interest they pass through. Makes it so much easier as a tourist

[pixoontube]

Thank you for mentioning that every Tokyo Metro station has its own jingle. Despite not being from Tokyo or even Japan, I fell in love with those jingles, as they represent the identity of a station or even an entire line. Ginza Line uses more calming jingles, Marunouchi and Fukutoshin lines habe more agitating jingles, Hanzomon and Namboku lines are extremely calming, Chiyoda and Hibiya lines provide a decent mix of everything. Heck, the Tozai line jingles actually form a continuos song for each direction!

[hongmaichen]

The Yamanote line is served by a fleet of 50 sets of 11-car trains and by using a very new ATC dynamic signaling and speed control system, the interval between trains during peak hours may be reduced to a whopping 45s per train for some stations. Not all the trains go in loops and some trains terminate at Osaki Station as the "origin point" of the line.

[matthewmcree]

This video was truly brilliant. The fact that you successfully managed to explain the entire massive railway network for the Tokyo Metropolitan Area (and with notable connections to connected metro areas that form the giant megalopolis around Tokyo) is a masterful example of deciding what inf ormation is most important and which is not necessary to explain. The Tokyo railway through-running system is an idea that needs to be implemented where possible in cities throughout the world. In a climate-friendly future where rail construction becomes massively accelerated around the world, I truly hope that metropolitan areas outside of Japan consider creating a similar system, albeit at smaller scale. It is videos like this that are the reason I watch nearly every video you release. Keep up the fantastic work of showing the world what make certain rail systems unique and what we should emulate elsewhere.

[mayonaissse]

I remember panicking, then being super amazed and relieved when I found out that I didn't have to leave my train at all when it ran all the way from Kamakura in the lower Yokohama area to Shibuya, all on the JR Shonan Shinjuku line. Now that is what a truly efficient and convenient rail service looks alike.

[ltankk]

Tokyo's railway system is just insane!! It's like a giant maze on its own! I like how their monorail trains are large and able to carry so many people, compared to the small claustrophobic Sentosa "Express" monorail line we have here in Singapore. There's definitely a lot of things Tokyo's rail network can teach others about rail transport.

Thank you for the great work putting this video together!

[gregorybrett]

Great to see a remastered Tokyo video! The original was one of my favourites on the channel already, so this is a real treat. I really appreciate these videos as massive systems like Tokyo's are extremely intimidating to try to comprehend. You're by far the best channel on youtube for breaking down systems that are interesting but very hard to understand what exactly is going, especially for those who've never been there. Keep up the fantastic work.

I'd be super interested to see more videos on urban heavy rail networks, rather than just metros, like an explained video on Paris' RER and Transilien networks, a video showing how NYC's various commuter rail networks operate, or a video on the private suburban railways of London that compliment the TfL services that you've covered in great detail on this channel.

[robotx]

Just simply jawdropping, there really isn't any other transit network that's equal to Tokyo's.
There are countless networks which are great in their own right, but Tokyo is clearly the best.

[brtecson]

The tokyo rail system is so good I wish they could export it, maybe in the form of design/planning consultancies or something. I usually take a long layover in Tokyo when I fly home to my motherland, and the transport experience from HND/NRT to the city or tourist attractions, to lodging, and back to the airport is so seamless. And it works so well for the local population and intranational travelers too. I show a video of my narita express train passing up the cars on the parallel expressway and my fellow americans are amazed by this.

[akira_vella]

I live in Yokohama, lived in Tokyo, Kawasaki, Saitama, Chiba, and worked in Tokyo, which means I use most of the railways in this video in my ordinary life for years. BUT this video blew my mind to realize how complicated the railway network was in Tokyo. I havent thought about that this far until now. Thank you for your great work!