The line is named after the black-headed seagull (yurikamome in Japan), a common denizen of Tokyo Bay and the official prefectural bird.
Yurikamome is often incorrectly called a monorail, and the
elevated concrete track does look monoraily at first glance, but the
track is actually just a funnel and the trains are supported by
two rows of rubber wheels. The rail in the center of the track
serves only to guide the train, not support it, so it doesn't
qualify as a monorail.
Yurikamome is Tokyo's first fully automated transit system,
controlled entirely by computers with no drivers on board.
This is actually not even particularly new technology -- Japan's
first AGT, Kobe's Port Liner, opened in 1981, 14 years
before the Yurikamome -- but it still surprises many a tourist.
Before its 1995 opening, it was widely feared that the Yurikamome
would end up as a multibillion-yen boondoggle. The artificial island of Odaiba, which it serves, had been
designed and constructed at prodigeous expense before Japan's
economic crash and, much like London's equally beleaguered
Canary Wharf, there simply didn't seem to be enough demand to
support it.
The first few months of operation provided a slight sigh of
relief, as ridership hovered around 27000 passengers per day,
only a little less than the predicted 29000... but still
far, far less than the 80000 pax needed to be profitable.
However, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government was for once on
the ball, and in 1996 Odaiba was rezoned from pure business
and residential to also permit entertainment zones.
Tokyo may be next to the sea on the map, but before Odaiba,
effectively the entire coastline had been taken over by
an endless concrete strip of ports and warehouses. Promoted
as the "Rainbow Town", the island provided Tokyo with a
strip of liveable seaside, and it became an instant hit.
Within one year, ridership doubled to 60000, and as
more and more of the restaurants, shopping malls,
exhibition centers and museums opened, the traffic kept growing
and growing. On May 4, 1997,
during Golden Week, the system was completely maxed out
when 130,000 people tried to board in a single day.
And it wasn't just the island that they were going to,
the Yurikamome had become an attraction in itself. To
hoist itself from sea level to the Rainbow Bridge, the
Yurikamome does a rather spectacular 270-degree loop,
providing panoramic views of both mainland Tokyo and
Odaiba. Easily accessible and comfortable despite
its technological prowess, most islandgoers
continue to opt for the Yurikamome despite its high price,
with the fares of 180 to 370 yen of being nearly twice
that of a normal subway.Technology
History