The , also referred to as the Tama Monorail, is a

monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...

system in

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. Operated by the Tokyo Tama Intercity Monorail Co., Ltd., the double tracked, monorail line carries passengers between the suburban cities of Higashiyamato and Tama via

Tachikawa file:Autumn colors in Showa memorial park.jpg, 250px, Showa Memorial Park is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 184,383 in 93,428 househ ...

, Hino, and Hachiōji in 36 minutes. , , and stations are the most important stations, enabling transfer at Tachikawa to

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

's Chūō Main Line and at Tama-Center to the Odakyu Tama Line and Keio Sagamihara Line. Tourist venues along the line include Tama Zoo and Keio Rail-Land (a railway museum), both adjacent to Tama-Dōbutsukōen Station.

Stations

All stations are located in

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. Most stations have an associated shape/image (as seen in the left-most column of the table below).

History

The line opened in two phases. The section from Kamikitadai to Tachikawa-Kita opened in November 1998 while the section south to Tama-Center opened in January 2000. Station numbering was introduced to all stations in February 2018.

Future plans

As of October 2022, there are plans to extend the route. One route is an extension north from the current terminus at Kamikitadai to Hakonegasaki Station on the Hachiko Line. The other two are southbound extensions from Tama-Center to Hachioji and Machida respectively.

Kamikitadai to Hakonegasaki

In 2016, a proposal was made to extend the line from the current northern terminus at Kamikitadai Station to Hakonegasaki Station on the Hachikō Line. The planned extension to Hakonegasaki had been considered since planning for the entire route began in 1981. The seven-station extension will be long and is projected to cost . In May 2025, Tama Toshi Monorail received a patent for extension work from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the extension was projected to cost . As of May 2025, it is scheduled to open in the mid 2030s.

Tama-Center to Hachioji

A southward expansion of the monorail line to Hachiōji Station was also considered since the planning phase of the line in the 1980s. The expansion had also been considered to be run as a separate light rail transit line, but was ultimately abandoned in December 2016 citing topographical and technological constraints. As of 2016 the projected cost is .

Tama-Center to Machida

An extension from Tama-Center to Machida Station has also been considered since the planning phase of the line in the 1980s. As of January 2022, the exact route remains undecided. The most recent estimate determined that the construction would cost .

References

External links

* * {{Rapid transit in Asia Monorail lines in Japan Railway lines in Tokyo Tama Toshi Monorail Western Tokyo Railway lines opened in 1998 Japanese third-sector railway lines