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Okinawa Urban Monorail

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Okinawa Urban Monorail
1000 series train on the Okinawa Urban Monorail
1000 series train on the Okinawa Urban Monorail
Overview
LocaleNaha and Urasoe
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Transit typeStraddle-beam monorail
Number of lines1
Number of stations19
Daily ridership60,898 per day (2024)
Operation
Began operation10 August 2003
Operator(s)Okinawa Urban Monorail, Inc.
Technical
System length17 km (11 mi)[1]
Electrification1,500 V DC

The Okinawa Urban Monorail (沖縄都市モノレール, Okinawa Toshi Monorēru), also known as Yui Rail (ゆいレール, Yui Rēru), is a monorail line serving the cities of Naha and Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan. Operated by Okinawa Urban Monorail, Inc. (沖縄都市モノレール株式会社, Okinawa Toshi Monorēru Kabushiki-gaisha), it opened on 10 August 2003, and is the only public rail system in Okinawa Prefecture. Yui Rail is the first rail line on Okinawa since World War II. As Okinawa is the island of Japan lying farthest to the south and west that has an active rail line, Akamine Station and Naha Airport Station, the southernmost and westernmost rail stations in Japan respectively, lie on this line.

Description

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The 17.0 km (11 mi) line starts from the Naha Airport station, which, as the name suggests, connects the line to Naha Airport. The line makes several curves before reaching Shuri Station, the line's former terminus. After Ishimine Station, the line enters the city of Urasoe, where the line terminates at Tedako-Uranishi Station.[3] As Okinawa is the island of Japan lying farthest to the south and west that has an active rail line, Akamine Station and Naha Airport Station, the southernmost and westernmost rail stations in Japan respectively, lie on this line.[4]

The monorail's "Yui Rail" brand name and logo were selected in a public competition.[5] It consists of 19 stations, from Naha Airport in the west to Tedako-Uranishi in the east, running via Naha.[6] The average distance between stations is 0.93 kilometers (0.58 mi). It takes 37 minutes and costs ¥370[6] to traverse its 17 km (11 mi) length.[1]

The line supports payment via paper tickets or OKICA, the local contactless smart card; additional support for the ten major Japanese IC cards (such as Suica and SUGOCA) began on 10 March 2020.[7][8]

As of 2020, Yui Rail is free-to-ride for high school students in the prefecture.[9]

History

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Background and construction

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Main article: Rail transport in Okinawa

Prior to the construction of the line, passenger railway lines on the island of Okinawa existed since 1914, when Okinawa Electric [ja],[10] Okinawa Railroad [ja],[11] and Okinawa Prefectural Railways opened their railway lines. However, the lines operated by Okinawa Electric ceased operations after losing passengers to bus lines, while the Okinawa Railroad and Prefectural Railways were destroyed by American air raids and explosions[12] during World War II. While many supported the reconstruction of the railway post-war, the reconstruction of the road networks was prioritized and the routes were abandoned, with the remaining tracks removed due to the lack of steel on the island. The lack of rail transport forced the island to adapt to the American-style car society.[13] The number of cars on the island had caused chronic road congestion around the time when Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972. It took 24 years from 1972 for the plan to be executed, when construction began in 1996. The line opened on 10 August 2003.[14]

Urasoe extension

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After lengthy deliberation of possible route options, the monorail corporation applied for construction permission for a 4.1 kilometers (2.5 mi), 4-station extension from Shuri Station to Tedako-Uranishi Station, located in Urasoe City in August 2011.[15] Permission was granted on 26 January 2012, with construction planned to start in March 2013. Revenue operations along the extension started on 1 October 2019, using a revised schedule with extended rush hour headways for opening day.[16][17][18] Preliminary ridership data from the first week showed that year-on-year ridership was up after the extension opened on 1 October.[19] From April 2019, some 2-car formations were changed to 3-car formation in order to transport more passengers, as the average percentage for the number of passengers compared to train capacity exceeded 120%. While some of the infrastructure, such as the stations, supported 3-car formations, a new depot had to be constructed to support the extra train cars.[20][21]

Infrastructure and operations

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The line is operated by the Okinawa Urban Monorail, Inc, a third-sector railway company. The basic infrastructure of the line is constructed by the government, Okinawa Prefecture, or passing municipalities, while the company operates the line itself.[22] Trains run on the line from exactly 6:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. every day, with an interval of 4~15 minutes. All services stop at every station, although some services terminate at Shuri Station.[23]

Ridership

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The number of passengers on the line steadily grew from its opening in 2003 to 2019, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The number of passengers returned to the pre-pandemic growth by 2023.[24]

Year Avg. Passengers[24]
2003 31,905
2004 32,049
2005 35,940
2006 37,393
2007 37,713
2008 37,545
2009 35,272
2010 35,551
2011 36,689
2012 39,093
2013 40,831
2014 41,477
2015 44,145
2016 47,463
2017 49,716
2018 52,355
2019 55,766
2020 30,044
2021 32,263
2022 46,326
2023 54,803
2024 60,898

Rolling stock

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1000 series in 2024

The line has been using the Okinawa Urban Monorail 1000 series electric multiple units since its opening in 2003. The trains have two doors on each side and are mostly manufactured by Hitachi Rail. New formations entered service in April 2016 and August 2023. While the formations from 2003 and 2016 can only be operated in a two-car formation, the formation from 2023 can only be operated in a three-car formation.[25][26]

Stations

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Platform screen doors are installed on every station's platforms.[27] Although most stations are staffed, some stations may become temporarily unstaffed due to lack of staff. A single station staff member covers two adjacent stations in some areas.[28] All stations have an elevator and an escalator, and supports wheelchair users.[29] Each station features a piece of art.[30]

Station
No. 		Picture Station name Distance

between stations[31][a]

Total distance

from Naha Airport[31]

Location
English Japanese
1 Naha Airport 那覇空港 - 0.00 km (0 mi) Naha
2 Akamine 赤嶺 2 km (1.2 mi) 2 km (1.2 mi)
3 Oroku 小禄 0.7 km (0.43 mi) 2.7 km (1.7 mi)
4 Onoyama Park 奥武山公園 1 km (0.62 mi) 3.7 km (2.3 mi)
5 Tsubogawa 壺川 0.8 km (0.50 mi) 4.5 km (2.8 mi)
6 Asahibashi 旭橋 0.8 km (0.50 mi) 5.3 km (3.3 mi)
7 Prefectural Office 県庁前 0.6 km (0.37 mi) 5.9 km (3.7 mi)
8 Miebashi 美栄橋 0.7 km (0.43 mi) 6.6 km (4.1 mi)
9 Makishi 牧志 1 km (0.62 mi) 7.6 km (4.7 mi)
10 Asato 安里 0.6 km (0.37 mi) 8.2 km (5.1 mi)
11 Omoromachi おもろまち 0.8 km (0.50 mi) 9 km (5.6 mi)
12 Furujima 古島 1 km (0.62 mi) 10 km (6.2 mi)
13 Naha City Hospital 市立病院前 0.9 km (0.56 mi) 10.9 km (6.8 mi)
14 Gibo 儀保 0.9 km (0.56 mi) 11.8 km (7.3 mi)
15 Shuri 首里 1.0 km (0.62 mi) 12.8 km (8.0 mi)
16 Ishimine 石嶺 0.9 km (0.56 mi) 13.7 km (8.5 mi)
17 Kyozuka 経塚 1.2 km (0.75 mi) 14.9 km (9.3 mi) Urasoe
18 Urasoe-Maeda 浦添前田 1.0 km (0.62 mi) 15.9 km (9.9 mi)
19 Tedako-Uranishi てだこ浦西 1.0 km (0.62 mi) 16.9 km (10.5 mi)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The number is rounded and therefore will not add up to 17.0 km

References

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  1. ^ a b モノレール計画概要 Archived 9 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine, yui-rail.co.jp (Japanese)
  2. ^ "about Barrier-free", yui-rail.co.jp (Japanese)
  3. ^ "路線図｜ゆいレール". www.yui-rail.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  4. ^ "ゆいレール【前編】日本最南端、最西端の駅を訪ねて". 47NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  5. ^ "about Yui Rail" Archived 23 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine, yui-rail.co.jp (Japanese)
  6. ^ a b ご利用案內 Archived 20 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, yui-rail.co.jp (Japanese)
  7. ^ "ついに沖縄のモノレールで「Suica」が使えるように 来春めどに導入". 沖縄タイムス＋プラス (in Japanese). 24 May 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  8. ^ "「Suica」サービスが始まりました｜ゆいレール". www.yui-rail.co.jp.
  9. ^ Yonaha, Satoko (13 May 2023). "ポケモンともコラボ 満10年のOKICA "沖縄経済圏"の実現へ ハイペースで拡大中" (PDF). Okinawa Times (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  10. ^ 玉城江梨子 (21 May 2021). "100年前、沖縄に路面列車があった…レール現存 那覇と首里結ぶ". 琉球新報デジタル (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  11. ^ "馬車軌道について" City of Okinawa (https://www.city.okinawa.okinawa.jp/documents/1151/bashakidoueki.pdf)
  12. ^ 琉球新報社 (11 December 2020). "軽便鉄道爆発「青春なくなった」91歳に深い傷 76年前の弾薬爆発、友も犠牲 軍は公にせず". 琉球新報デジタル (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  13. ^ "それでも沖縄に鉄道をつくってあげたい 「ゆいれーる」で効果は証明". ITmedia ビジネスオンライン (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  14. ^ "沿革｜ゆいレール". www.yui-rail.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  15. ^ "沖縄タイムス | ［解説］中長期の展望示せず モノレール延長". www.okinawatimes.co.jp. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011.
  16. ^ "沖縄モノレールの延長許可 来年５月着工へ - Msn産経ニュース". sankei.jp.msn.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012.
  17. ^ "ゆいレール、迫る本番 延長４駅お披露目". 14 September 2019.
  18. ^ "Now operational: Monorail extension into Urasoe adds four new stations". Ryukyu Shimpo - Okinawa, Japanese newspaper, local news.
  19. ^ "沖縄のモノレール延長から1週間 利用者は1日どのくらい増えたか？". Okinawa Times. 28 August 2023.
  20. ^ "沖縄「ゆいレール」2両→3両化、"鉄道のない県"にモノレールが根付いた50年の歴史". ダイヤモンド・オンライン (in Japanese). 26 February 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  21. ^ 日本放送協会. "ゆいレール ２９日と３０日 那覇空港駅〜牧志駅 終日運休｜NHK 沖縄県のニュース". NHK NEWS WEB. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  22. ^ "モノレール計画概要｜ゆいレール". www.yui-rail.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  23. ^ "01 那覇空港駅｜ゆいレール". www.yui-rail.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  24. ^ a b "駅別乗客数｜ゆいレール". www.yui-rail.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  25. ^ "車両紹介｜ゆいレール". www.yui-rail.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  26. ^ 琉球新報社 (17 December 2020). "ゆいレール3両化へ 日立製作所と車両の製造契約". 琉球新報デジタル (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  27. ^ "モノレール「ゆいレール」、3両編成へ 19駅でホームドアを増設：朝日新聞". 朝日新聞 (in Japanese). 16 October 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  28. ^ 報道制作局, 琉球朝日放送. "ゆいレール「無人駅」化をめぐってバリアフリーの状況を確認". QAB NEWS Headline (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  29. ^ "バリアフリー｜ゆいレール". www.yui-rail.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  30. ^ "沖縄唯一の鉄道「ゆいレール」：4駅延伸で、那覇観光がもっと便利に！". nippon.com (in Japanese). 19 January 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  31. ^ a b "沖縄都市モノレール 沖縄都市モノレール線 路線図・停車駅". レイルラボ(RailLab) (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2025.
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