"A Subway in the Truest Sense": Do Tokyo Trains Stop for Snow? Japanese Riders on What Keeps Running
「特に大江戸線は正真正銘の『地下鉄』だからな」——東京の電車は雪で止まるのか、雪に強い路線をめぐるコメント欄
By Rakutaro · Tokyo, Japan
Mostly the underground ones don't, according to a 2024 Japanese thread under a video on which Tokyo lines ride out snow: the most-liked comment (621 likes) calls the Toei Oedo Line a subway in the truest sense, and the rule riders keep repeating is that a line entirely underground with no through-service to other companies keeps running. Being underground is not enough on its own. The Hanzomon Line is all tunnel and still ran late because of the lines it runs through onto, and the Marunouchi Line pops above ground near Myogadani, Korakuen and Yotsuya. A few commenters add that crowds and freezing cause delays too. A rider from Mie asks why Tokyo panics over so little snow, and the thread answers that too, along with the two lines riders point to when everything else slows down.
These comments are from a video published in 2024. Prices, rules and crowds may have moved since; anything we checked ourselves is marked with a source.
“The Oedo Line especially is a subway in the truest sense.”
特に大江戸線は正真正銘の「地下鉄」だからな
Where Japanese people go instead
By the way, in the Tokyo area the Tsukuba Express apparently wasn't delayed by the snow either..
ちなみに首都圏で言うとつくばエクスプレス線も雪でも遅延しなかったらしいぞ、、
— @alextx09746 likesThe Oedo Line has every station underground! The Marunouchi Line has Korakuen and Myogadani, and the Ginza Line only has Shibuya above ground!
大江戸線は、全駅地下だからな！ 丸ノ内線は、後楽園駅と茗荷谷駅 銀座線は、渋谷駅だけ地上なんでな！
— @十六夜リコ-k5g0 likes
FAQ
- Do trains in Tokyo stop when it snows?
- Some slow down or run late, but not all. Japanese riders say lines that are fully underground and don't run through onto other companies' tracks keep going. The Hanzomon Line is all tunnel yet still ran late because of the lines it connects to (29 likes), so check for through-service, not just whether a line is underground.
- Which Tokyo train lines are most reliable in snow?
- The Toei Oedo Line is the one Japanese riders name first, since every station is underground and it has no through-service. One commenter says it would take a heavy-snow emergency warning to delay it. The Tsukuba Express was also reported as not delayed. The Marunouchi Line runs above ground near Myogadani, Korakuen and Yotsuya (151 likes).
- Why is Tokyo so affected by a little snow?
- Because settling snow is rare there. One rider explains that in Tokyo it happens once every few years, so it can't be compared with places where it settles several times a winter. Others add that cold brings condensation and freezing, not just snow (4 likes), and that underground lines still slowed from crowding that day.
This is one of 22 roundups for Tokyo. See them all →
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What Japanese people said — picked from the top 154 of 184 comments
A subway with no through-service onto other lines really is tough.
さすがに直通先がない地下鉄は強いな
The Hanzomon Line is all underground, so it shouldn't be affected, and yet, right on cue, it got delayed by the lines it runs through onto.
半蔵門線なんか全部地下だから影響ないはずなのに直通先で無事遅延
Look at Sotetsu, always running late even though nothing ever goes wrong on its own tracks, and you get it. Just having through-service makes a line prone to delays.
自社線でのトラブル全然無いのにいつも遅れてる相鉄くん見てるとわかる 直通あるとそれだけで遅延に弱くなる
The Ginza and Marunouchi lines do have short above-ground stretches, though. Looks like they were fine.
銀座線と丸ノ内線はちょっとだけ地上区間あるけどね。大丈夫だったんだな。
That said, the Marunouchi Line is above ground for almost a whole station between Myogadani and Korakuen.
とはいえ、丸ノ内線は茗荷谷から後楽園なんてほぼ一駅分地上だけだな
The Marunouchi Line comes above ground around Yotsuya and Korakuen, so it does stop once in a while.
丸ノ内線は、四谷と後楽園周りは、地上に出てるから、まれに止まるけど
…I rode the Marunouchi Line that day and it was running up to 15 minutes late, you know lol
…当日丸ノ内線乗ったけど15分以内で遅延してたわよ()
The Oedo Line got delayed by the crowds.
大江戸は混雑で遅延した
When the temperature drops you get condensation and freezing. It's not just the snow itself.
気温が下がって結露したり凍結したりする。雪そのものだけが原因じゃ無い
I heard that back in the day Seibu Railway would run trains all night at times like this to keep snow from piling up on the tracks. I wonder what they do now??
昔はこういう時に西武鉄道は夜通し電車を走らせて線路等への積雪を防止したそうだけど、今はどうなんですかね？？
It's kind of amazing that they take no measures at all when it snows every year.
毎年雪降ってるのに全く対策をしないのもすごいよね
I'm from northern Mie, where it snows maybe once a year, and we got about 20cm and everything was totally fine, so I wondered what Tokyo was making such a fuss about over a little snow.
三重県北部民で年一ぐらいしか雪降らなくて20cmくらい積もったけど全然大丈夫やから、東京はちょっとの雪で何騒いどんのって思った。
Because in Tokyo, snow actually settling is an event that happens once every few years. Somewhere it settles several times a year is a different world. It's nothing like the Tokyo area, so you can't really compare.
都内は「雪が積もる」こと自体が数年に一回のイベントだからです。 年に何回か積もるならそれはもう別世界。首都圏とは全く異なるので比べられませんね。