Missing link: Will Tokyo Metro soon electrify European public transport?

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When you look for iconic images of public transportation in Tokyo, this is the first one that comes to mind: During rush hour, people on a subway platform are pushed into far too full carriages by men in uniforms with white gloves, hoping that the doors will finally close so that the train can depart on time. I admit that I have (unfortunately) not yet experienced such scenes myself, and they don't seem to happen quite as often as Western TV channels (and YouTubers) make them out to be. However, the Tokyo Metro lines are full – to a level rarely seen in Germany. You stand like a sardine in the carriage, holding on to one of the many handrails and wondering what smaller people do who can't reach the handrails or the circular rubber grips. In any case, you can't fall over, the train is simply too full for that. And yet everything runs smoothly and, above all, on time.

"Missing Link"

What's missing: In the fast-paced world of technology, we often don't have time to sort through all the news and background information. At the weekend, we want to take this time to follow the side paths away from the current affairs, try out other perspectives and make nuances audible.

• All our the "Missing Links"

Tokyo Metro and the operating company behind it, Tokyo Metro Co, Ltd, is regarded as a global role model for well-functioning rapid transit, with frequent service, clean trains and efficient stations at surprisingly low prices. The company is one of two subway companies that share a huge market with countless other rail companies such as JR East or Tokyu, as Tokyo is the largest metropolis on the planet. Tokyo Metro once belonged only to the state of Japan and the city, but has since been successfully floated on the stock exchange (more on this later). Its competitor is Toei, the city's second subway company, which is still municipally owned. Tokyo Metro operates a total of nine lines on a network length of 195 km with 180 stations, Toei Subway has four lines on a network length of 109 km with 106 stations. The network map of Tokyo Metro alone is extremely impressive.

Trip to Ueno

In December, I had the opportunity to visit the company's headquarters in the Ueno district and learn about its operations. The motivation for the visit was twofold. Firstly, Tokyo Metro had only recently successfully gone public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange – a novelty for railroad companies in modern times from a European perspective. And secondly, the company is about to make the leap to Europe, more precisely to London, where it is to (co-)manage one of the most exciting new lines in the western hemisphere. This is to prove how good the Japanese are at public transport.

The company is based in a rather dreary, inconspicuous, brutalist-looking block whose lobby exudes the smell of the 1980s. This is actually not a bad sign for Japan, as it was a time of boom when people thought that Nippon would soon take over the global economy completely. (This was followed by a major crisis from the nineties onwards, from which Japan has still not fully recovered). The Tokyo Metro offices themselves, however, are like those in many Japanese companies: an open space with lots of desks, all a bit dusty and surprisingly paper-based, with a large meeting area surrounded by filing cabinets in the middle, where we retreat to. My guide here today is PR manager Takuya Yashima. He is accompanied by a colleague who grew up in America and whose language skills are indicated by a patch ("I speak English") next to her ID card.

State-owned, then public limited company, then stock exchange

"We operate a subway system with nine lines," Yashima begins by reeling off the facts. "Originally it was a public institution called Eidan Subway, but in 2004 we were transformed into a public limited company financed by the Japanese government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. So the national government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government held 100 percent of the shares. In October 2024, they each sold half of their shares to take us public."

This worked out surprisingly well. With a market capitalization of the equivalent of almost 6.2 billion euros, it was the largest IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in six years. The Japanese government used it, among other things, to pay for some of the costs incurred since the earthquake and tsunami disaster in 2011. Stock market observers called the subway a "cash cow with a high dividend" that had made a dream start. Imagine something like that only for Deutsche Bahn AG. "We believe that shareholders simply appreciate us as an infrastructure company with a good operating profit margin, and that is perhaps also the reason we are doing so well in the market," says Yashima.

On a narrow track, but not narrow gauge

Tokyo Metro operates the oldest subway in Asia, with the first lines going online in 1927. By comparison, Berlin started in 1902. Tokyo Metro had over 6.5 million passengers a day in 2023. What many visitors to Tokyo do not realize is that many of the city's most important train lines are actually narrow-gauge lines, specifically 1067 mm cape-gauge. Only some lines and the Shinkansen high-speed trains run on standard gauge with 1435 mm; there are also individual railroads with gauges in between. This means that only two of the nine Tokyo Metro lines run on standard gauge with conductor rails, as is familiar from German subways – the Ginza and Marunouchi Lines, for historical reasons. All other lines run on catenary and overhead lines. In practice, however, many passengers don't notice this and it even offers advantages, says Yashima. "The interior of our new carriages has been designed to create the impression of a spacious interior. Since subways run under the street, the narrower the gauge, the better the space can be used. I think Tokyo is a special environment in this respect. And subways and railroads are built in such a way that they fit the conditions of the respective location."

The use of the Cape gauge also has another advantage: so-called through services – in German would be called Durchbindung – with other railroad companies become possible. This means that local trains from a wide range of competitors can run in and out of the Tokyo subway, providing interesting and convenient connections. In the entertainment and administrative district of Shinjuku, for example, you can board a train that is not operated by Tokyo Metro at a normal subway station – and finally get off in the neighboring city of Yokohama without changing trains once.

A state that proceeds according to plan

However, Yashima emphasizes that through-connection is not something that each railroad or subway company decides individually. Good old-fashioned bureaucracy comes into play, but in this case it works like clockwork. "Public transport is conceived as a national project here. So it's not the case that each rail company builds its own line and then decides to connect different lines to ensure through services. Instead, there is a Transport Policy Council, which is a body of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and this council studies and deliberates on basic plans for urban transport and then submits its findings to the minister." Urban transport is then further developed based on these results –. Fascinatingly, due to the extremely high functionality of the system, it does not feel as if a state is operating here at all. (The only annoying thing is that there is usually no night train service in Tokyo; the lines usually run between 5 a.m. and midnight. Tokyo Metro emphasizes that this time is needed for maintenance in order to operate the system stably.)

The system is also designed to be user-friendly in terms of fare collection. There is no nationwide ticket for all transport systems for Japan – except for tourists with the famous Japan Rail Pass. However, pay-as-you-go systems of the Suica type, which have developed into universal electronic money in recent decades – and the increasing spread of tap-to-go alternatives – are convenient and also easy for visitors to use. Under the tariff used, Tokyo Metro was not allowed to raise its prices for what from a Western perspective seems an unfathomable 28 years; only in March 2023 was the starting fare raised by 10 yen to cover an accessibility fee mandated by the state. Following the IPO, however, further increases could be on the cards, partly due to inflation. Nevertheless, the system is inexpensive.

Expansion abroad

As there is centralized planning of rail lines in Japan, Tokyo Metro cannot simply decide to build new lines without this being coordinated. Although there will be extensions to existing lines in the coming years, the company also wants to demonstrate its expertise abroad for the first time. To date, however, this has only happened in Asia. "So far, we have been able to provide assistance in Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam, for example with employee training and planning. But now furthermore, we are looking at Europe," says Yashima. "In November, we were awarded a provisional contract to operate the Elizabeth Line by Transport for London (TfL). This contract was awarded to a joint venture involving Sumitomo Corporation, Go-Ahead and Tokyo Metro, so it's not just us." The company plans to become more involved in the operation and maintenance of local transport systems outside its home country in the future. This is reminiscent of similar projects by well-known rail companies such as the Paris-based RATP – and even Deutsche Bahn is active in Toronto via a subsidiary.

It is true that other Japanese rail companies are already active overseas, for example train manufacturers have been delivering to America for decades. However, an O&M ("operate and maintain") contract is something new for the Japanese. The Elizabeth Line is of particular importance in London. It is the most modern and convenient line that the British capital currently has to offer. With a total of 117 km and 41 stations, it crosses London and some of its outlying districts and cities from east to west and vice versa. It connects Heathrow Airport as well as the city center with the city and the Canary Wharf banking district. The Elizabeth Line, once known as Crossrail, is a mixture of subway and regional train with modern stations and frequent services. Compared to the classic "Tube" with its small stations and high noise levels, it offers significantly more comfort.

From Hong Kong to Tokyo

The previous operator of the Elizabeth Line had been given a lot of advance praise – the MTR Corporation from Hong Kong, which already has a lot of experience in international business. However, things have not always gone perfectly since the launch in 2022, with problems with punctuality. There is also the political aspect: the British do not want to become dependent on China. And so TfL opted for a new operator to take over from 2025. The contract will initially run for nine and a half years; the official name of the consortium is GTS Rail Operations. It combines Tokyo Metro with the Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo and the British transport company Go-Ahead, which has Australian and Spanish owners.

The deal was also made palatable to the Londoners by how well public transport is running in Tokyo. "The consortium will bring the best parts of Tokyo and London to the Elizabeth Line," emphasizes TfL. For example, the service is to be further expanded when the new giant Old Oak Common station goes online in 2030. Tokyo Metro could not have chosen a better start for its international expansion, especially as the complexity of the London rail system is similar to that of Tokyo. Now the takeover from the MTR Corporation just has to go smoothly. Incidentally, Germany is also looking for new operators for complex S-Bahn and U-Bahn systems. In Berlin, the tender for the light rail system and the north/south sub-network is pending.

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