# 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 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. It is also the world's first uncrewed commercial urban maglev. 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). 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). 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. They were built by Nippon Sharyo, cost ¥40.5 billion (US$380 million). 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). 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. 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.

### 100 Series formations

The line operates eight three-car sets which are formed as follows.
| 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, the line still made a financial loss of ¥2.1 billion in fiscal year 2009. In 2016, the line started turning a profit, making a net profit of ¥83.4 million that year.

## History

The Aichi Rapid Transit Corporation [ja] gained permission to build the line on October 3, 2001. 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. 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. | Name | Japanese | Distance (km) | Transfers | Location | 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 | Aichi Prefecture |
| L03 | Irigaike-kōen | 杁ヶ池公園 | 2.3 | | Nagakute | Aichi Prefecture |
| L04 | Nagakute Kosenjō | 長久手古戦場 | 3.4 | | Nagakute | Aichi Prefecture |
| L05 | Geidai-dōri | 芸大通 | 4.5 | | Nagakute | Aichi Prefecture |
| L06 | Kōen-nishi | 公園西 | 6.0 | | Nagakute | Aichi Prefecture |
| L07 | Aichikyūhaku-kinen-kōen ("Expo Memorial Park") | 愛・地球博記念公園 | 7.0 | | Nagakute | Aichi Prefecture |
| L08 | Toji-shiryokan-minami | 陶磁資料館南 | 8.0 | | Toyota | Aichi Prefecture |
| L09 | Yakusa | 八草 | 8.9 | Aichi Loop Line (18) | Toyota | Aichi Prefecture |

### Footnotes

* ↑ Formerly named Bampaku Kaijo Station ("Expo Site")
* ↑ 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. The line was cancelled in 2007.