Linimo

Linimo (リニモ, Rinimo), formally the Aichi Rapid Transit Tobu Kyuryo Line (愛知高速交通東部丘陵線, Aichi Kōsoku Kōtsū Tōbu Kyūryō-sen) is a magnetic levitation train line in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, near the city of Nagoya. While primarily built to serve the Expo 2005 fair site, the line has since operated to serve the local community.

Linimo
Overview
Other name(s)	Aichi Rapid Transit Tobu Kyuryo Line
Native name	リニモ 愛知高速交通東部丘陵線
Owner	Aichi Rapid Transit Co., Ltd.[a]
Locale	Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Termini	Fujigaoka Yakusa
Stations	9
Website	Official website
Service
Type	Rapid transit
Rolling stock	Aichi Rapid Transit 100 series
Daily ridership	16,500
History
Opened	6 March 2005 (2005-03-06)
Technical
Line length	8.9 km (5.5 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Minimum radius	75 m (246 ft 1 in)
Electrification	1,500 V DC Third rail
Operating speed	100 km/h (62 mph)
Route diagram Legend Fujigaoka to Hongō Hanamizuki-dōri Irigaike-kōen Nagakute Kosenjō Geidai-dōri Kōen-nishi Aichikyūhaku-kinen-kōen Tōji-shiryōkan-minami to Yamaguchi Yakusa to Sasabara This diagram: view talk edit

Linimo is owned and operated by the Aichi Rapid Transit Company, Ltd. (愛知高速交通株式会社, Aichi Kōsoku Kōtsū kabushiki-gaisha) and is the first commercial maglev in Japan to use the High Speed Surface Transport (HSST) type technology.^[1] It is also the world's first uncrewed commercial urban maglev.^[2] Linimo was the fourth overall commercial urban maglev operated in the world, predated by the Birmingham Maglev (1984–1995), the Berlin M-Bahn (1989–1991) and the Shanghai Maglev (opened in 2004).

Specifications

The linear motor magnetic-levitated train has a top speed of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph), floating 8 millimetres (0.31 in) above the track when in motion, and is intended as an alternative to conventional metro systems, not high-speed operation. The line has nine stations and is 8.9 kilometres (5.5 mi) long, with a minimum operating radius of 75 metres (246 ft) and a maximum gradient of 6%. The line uses automatic train control (ATC) and automatic train operation (ATO).^[1] Construction of the track cost ¥60 billion (US$575 million) while the Linimo trains themselves, built by Nippon Sharyo, cost ¥40.5 billion (US$380 million).^[3] The construction cost came to roughly $65 million per km without rolling stock.

Rolling stock

The trains for the line were designed by the Chubu HSST Development Corporation, which also operated a test track in Nagoya.^[1] They were built by Nippon Sharyo, cost ¥40.5 billion (US$380 million).^[3] The trains are fixed 3-car train sets (Mc1+M+Mc2). The end cars (Mc Car) are 14.0 metres (45 ft 11 in) long and the middle car (M Car) 13.5 metres (44 ft 3 in), giving a total train set length of 43.3 metres (142 ft 1 in).^[1] The cars are 2.6 metres (8 ft 6 in) wide. The Mc car has a capacity of 34 seated and 46 standing, and the M car 36 seated and 48 standing, for a total capacity per train set of 244.^[1] The cars have a semi-monocoque construction of welded aluminum, with two emergency doors at each car end and two 1,200-millimetre (47 in) doors per side.^[1]

100 Series formations

The line operates eight three-car sets which are formed as follows.^[4]

Car No.	1	2	3
Designation	Mc1	M	Mc2
Numbering	1x1	1x2	1x3

Technical and financial difficulties

Being the first commercial implementation of a new type of transport system, the line suffered a number of highly publicized technical breakdowns during the Expo, with far higher demand during peak hours than the line's carrying capacity of 4,000 passengers per direction per hour. On March 19, 2005, the train stopped departing when it detected an overload of passengers, but this was immediately corrected when a later inspection revealed that the weight-detecting sensors were oversensitive. The line also has to be shut down for safety reasons when wind speed exceeds 25 m/s (56 mph), a relatively common occurrence in the area.

During the Expo, the line carried an average of 31,000 passengers per day, but ridership dropped to only 12,000 in the first six months after the Expo, and the line lost over ¥3 billion in 2006. While ridership gradually increased to 16,500 passengers per day in 2008,^[5] the line still made a financial loss of ¥2.1 billion in fiscal year 2009.^[6] In 2016, the line started turning a profit, making a net profit of ¥83.4 million that year. ^[7]

History

The Aichi Rapid Transit Corporation [ja] gained permission to build the line on October 3, 2001.^[8] The nickname of the line, "Linimo" was revealed on November 2002. The names of the stations were decided in December 2003, and the entire line opened to the public on March 6, 2005.^[9] After the end of the 2005 expo, both Yakusa Station and Aichikyūhaku-kinen-kōen Station were renamed into their current name, from their name during the expo, Expo Station and Expo-Yakusa.

Stations

No.	Icon	Name	Japanese	Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
L01		Fujigaoka	藤が丘	0.0	Nagoya Municipal Subway Higashiyama Line (H22)	Meito-ku, Nagoya	Aichi Prefecture
L02		Hanamizuki-dōri	はなみずき通	1.4		Nagakute
L03		Irigaike-kōen	杁ヶ池公園	2.3
L04		Nagakute Kosenjō	長久手古戦場	3.4
L05		Geidai-dōri	芸大通	4.5
L06		Kōen-nishi	公園西	6.0
L07		Aichikyūhaku-kinen-kōen ("Expo Memorial Park")[Note 1]	愛・地球博記念公園	7.0
L08		Toji-shiryokan-minami	陶磁資料館南	8.0		Toyota
L09		Yakusa[Note 2]	八草	8.9	Aichi Loop Line (18)

Footnotes

1. Formerly named Bampaku Kaijo Station ("Expo Site")
2. Formerly named Bampaku Yakusa Station

Cancelled plan in Taiwan

In 2006, there was a plan to use the system for the Xinyi LRT, a proposed line in Xinyi, Taipei, Taiwan.^[10] The line was cancelled in 2007.^[11]

See also

• Expo 2005
• High Speed Surface Transport

References

1. Ownership structure:
   Aichi Prefectural Government 57.19%
   Nagakute Municipal Government 15.45%
   Nagoya Municipal Government 14.70%
   Meitetsu 2.48%
   Development Bank of Japan 1.44%
   Nippon Sharyo 0.68%
   Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions 0.60%
   Kyosan Electric Mfg. Co. 0.53%
   Toyota 0.49%

1. Yasuda, Yoshihide; Fujino, Masaaki; Tanaka, Masao; Ishimoto, Syunzo (2004). "The first HSST maglev commercial train in Japan" (PDF). Proceedings of the 18th international conference on magnetically levitated systems and linear drives (MAGLEV 2004). Retrieved 2016-04-29.
2. 韓国独自技術で開発　仁川空港リニアが３日開通
3. "Nagoya builds Maglev Metro". International Railway Journal. May 2004. Archived from the original on 2007-01-29.
4. 私鉄車両編成表2021 [Private Railway Vehicle Organization Table 2021] (in Japanese). Japan: Kotsu Shimbunsha. 16 July 2021. p. 103. ISBN 9784330032214.
5. "Linimo(リニモ)愛知高速交通株式会社" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-03. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
6. "Linimo(リニモ)愛知高速交通株式会社" (PDF).
7. "平成30年度決算公告" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-04-07.
8. 国土交通省鉄道局監修『鉄道要覧』平成18年度版、電気車研究会・鉄道図書刊行会、p.245
9. "リニモとは". www.linimo.jp. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
10. 磁浮捷運 開進信義商圈? Archived 2011-10-03 at the Wayback Machine (Will manglev metro expand the commercial zone of Xinyi?), a report on China Times, June 23, 2006. The news was cited on the Institute of Transportation official website, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Republic of China, retrieved on November 12, 2008. (in Chinese)
11. 信義區輕軌捷運 市府否決 Archived 2011-10-03 at the Wayback Machine (The city council rejects Xinyi LRT), a report on China Times, August 9, 2007. The news was cited on the Institute of Transportation official website, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Republic of China, retrieved on November 12, 2008. (in Chinese)

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Official website (in English)
• The International Maglevboard