The World’s Most Important Rail Line | Tokyo Yamanote Line

Tokyo's Yamanote Line is a circular rail line that boasts more ridership than some entire systems in cities with good transit, and it just might be the most important rail line in the world.

Special thanks to JR Urbane Network & Shin Oblander for providing footage used in this 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 (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.

[RMTransit]

If you enjoy this video, make sure to share it with someone who doesn’t know about the wonders of Japanese railways!

[timbounds]

I quite like the idea of the Yamanote line App you can download - doesn't just tell you when the next train is coming to the station where you are, but how crowded each car is, and what the temperature of each car is!

[brokeafengineerwannabe]

One of the reasons why the Yamanote line did not "destroy any neighborhoods" is that the original intent of the west side route was literally to bypass the busy Tokyo city centre and the Tokaido line in general, by constructing a second freight rail in the then rural Ikebukuro/Shinjuku/Shibuya area. The idea of a loop really came as a second thought. The completion of the line connecting Tokyo and Ueno came relatively late in 1925, some 40 years after the West route's construction as it passes through the denser Ginza district.

[JamesScantlebury]

Very, very jealous of the hyper detailed screens on the trains - next station and upcoming stations, transfers at stations, how long the journey is going to take, where the exits are on the platforms are (and where they lead) - and all in multiple languages!
IMO - they’re the best in class urban rail information screens.

[umbrobose]

I am Japanese in Tokyo. I learned a lot from this video. Thank you very much. As you know, Osaka is an interesting place with a loop line and railway network similar to Tokyo. Recently, construction of new stations and new lines is booming in Osaka. please come to Japan again.

[hemangandhi]

One thing that struck me was that, when talking to a Japanese person about the Tokyo suburb I once lived in, since he was from Osaka, he got confused and then asked: "what stop on the yamanote line is it?"

[MustafaAlmosawi]

Lived in Tokyo doing a co-op work program while on university exchange in 2000 and the Yamanote-sen was such a contrast with the experience of riding the Yonge-Spadina or Bloor Lines of Toronto, where I grew up. It was like slow version teleportation - I had no sense of the city in between stations, and each station ecosystem was a world unto itself.

Shibuya or Harajuku for a fun weekend, Tokyo station was a portal to the rest of Japan, Shinjuku for meet up with friends, Ueno for a wind down. Akihabara was home, outside the crazy Electric Town, it was a cute small town neighborhood where old ladies who swept the street daily, would give me soup because they heard I was sick and were concerned they hadn’t seen me walking to work for a few days and knew I was in town alone.

[hacks]

The borders of the Yamanote line basically mark where suburban services end and the city centre begins. Big real estate in Tokyo (with the exception of small patches in Shinagawa and Ginza) all exists within the boundaries of the Yamanote line.

[JamesScantlebury]

There was a great behind the scenes clip of the control room on Japan Railway Journal. Basically, when disruption happened they stopped ALL trains for a few minutes to sort the problem (I think it was a dropped bag on the tracks or something) before restarting service with the regular headways. Very impressive!
(Sadly the clip is no longer available)

[Blakestadagangsta]

I currently live along the Yamanote line and it's one of the best places I've lived. I can't believe more cities don't model their transportation system around it.

I commute between Ikebukuro and Shibuya with ease. I can easily get almost anywhere in the city, even the country, with just one or two transfers. Ditching the car for this system is seriously a huge quality of life upgrade

[fcius]

I’m fully aware that I’m being super pedantic, but Yamanote line trains were already blasting into the platforms at around 70 ish kph before the installation of platform doors. The limitation wasn’t safety, but the difficulty of manually stopping the train at the designated point as quickly as possible, without resorting to the emergency brakes.

Platform doors require higher precision when braking, so TASC (Train Automatic Stop-position Controller) was installed to partially automate the braking process. If approach speeds are faster now, it’s probably because of TASC, rather than the added safety provided by the doors themselves.

[keiyolineeseries]

Saying Tokyo, Keiyo Line and Yamanote Line is my most favorite lines in JR East Network. But Keiyo Line seems to be underrated, and I think it should be more famous. Most of the sections are elevated and it passes along the edge of Tokyo Bay, which is really stunning especially at night.

[TorToroPorco]

I love the fact that it runs entirely above ground and passes through some iconic neighbourhoods. It’s nice to be able to look out the window and see the city. Ironically, because of this one of the few times I’ve ever experienced any sort of real delay on Tokyo’s rail network was when my train had to be stopped due to smoke from a building on fire near the tracks.

[marcustaylor]

This is exactly what a tourist needs, a solid overview with some granular detail but never getting caught in the weeds. First class

[aeotsuka]

I've often seen Yamanote Line ridership cited as 3-4 million average weekday boardings, or about five Washington Metros (before COVID). When I was in Japan in 2009 I rode an entire hour loop around the Yamanote Line at the height of the AM peak. My railcar had a peak load of approximately 300 passengers crammed cheek to jowl, and watching the riders ebb and flow on and off at each station, it appeared that about 900-1, 000 people used the railcar I was on at some point or another during the loop. Multiply that by 11 cars on the train and you're talking a peak load of 3, 000 passengers and a total of 10, 000 passengers touching this train on my hour's loop...one of the 48 trains (24 in each direction) that hour. Very impressive stuff.

Kids in Japan are also taught a children's song to memorize the stops on the Yamanote Line which has aired on national TV childrens' shows. Because elementary school kids in Japan ride the trains around Tokyo by themselves...and one-third of the country lives in the Greater Tokyo Metro area.

[alexmcwhirter]

Yes. I would agree. Was a regular user of this line when I first visited Tokyo in 1975. What amazed me (for someone used only to UK's BR network) at that time is how the units accelerated (low gearing perhaps) and how they would only brake upon entering the station platform. Service frequency incredible. A train every few mins for most of the day.

[PianistStefanBoetel]

I love you wonder around Tokyo with no special direction and when you notice there is more street life, more shops, more people you can be sure that a rail station is not far.

As you mentioned they are urban hearts, fokal points of urban life. Unlike in other countries where stations are undesirable and dirty, stations in Japan are fancy and places you like to go to, like to spend time at and are actually inspiring.

[penskepc]

Love the ads, breaks up the monotony. If you're that sensitive I suggest the suburbs.

[DonGivani]

I love the Yamanote line, every station has their music interlude. Every 3 minute interval. If you plan to visit Tokio, take a hotel on this line. A full circle takes about a full hour

[kstizuw]

I'm a Japanese person living in Tokyo. Are you a `railroad geek' in Japan, so-called ‘Tecchan’ in Japanese, or a hobbyist who loves railway engineering? Do you know why Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and Shibuya historically developed as transfer stations on the Yamanote Line? If you ever come to Japan, I would like to meet you.