Tokyo Metro 01 series

By the early 1980s, most of the rolling stock on the Ginza Line were showing signs of aging; some of the stock dated back to before the Second World War, giving a dated image of the line to its passengers. The 01 series was introduced in 1984 with the design theme being "functionality, brightness and chicness".^[1] The prototype was completed in May 1983, delivered in September and commenced service on 31 December 1983.^[2] It was followed by the introduction of production units starting in 1984. Set number 38 entered service in 1997, being the last train to do so. The 01 series was awarded the Laurel Prize from the Japan Railfan Club in 1985.^[3]

The first 23 sets were not originally fitted with any air-conditioning system due to structure gauge restrictions caused by the small tunnel size of the line. In 1990, Mitsubishi Electric developed a 240 mm (9.4 in) thick compact air-conditioning unit with a capacity of 16.2 kW.^[4] A prototype air-conditioning unit was tested on set 16 in August and subsequent non-air conditioned sets were all retrofitted afterwards. The ceilings of the air-conditioned trains were lower than that of non-air conditioned trains to accommodate the unit. The trains which were built with air conditioning always had low ceilings.

In November 1986, a practical test of a high-frequency shunt chopper control device that used a power transistor for the element of the field chopper device was conducted on this series for the Tokyo Metro 02 series.^[5] In 2007, car 01-238 of set 38 was experimentally fitted with permanent-magnet synchronous motors.^[6] In January 2011, the four intermediate cars of set 38 were experimentally fitted with LED lighting.^[6] and in December 2011, set 37 was retrofitted with silicon carbide variable frequency drives for trial purposes.^[7]

The six-car sets were formed as shown below, with three motored (M) cars and three non-powered trailer (T) cars, and car 1 at the Shibuya end.^[8]

• Note:
  • CHP: Chopper control
  • MG: 15 kVA motor-generator
  • SIV1: 110 kVA static inverter (for cooling)
  • SIV2: 40 kVA static inverter
  • CP: Air compressor
  • BT: Battery

• 
  Set 18, one of the production sets introduced in 1986.
• 
  Set 38, which was introduced in 1997 in time for the opening of Tameike-sanno. This set is fitted with LED destination display instead of roller blinds and uses VVVF inverters instead of chopper control.

• 
  Armature chopper control on the 01 series
• 
  Field chopper control on the 01 series
• 
  FS020 bogie as used on the 01 series
• 
  FS520 bogie as used on the 01 series

• 
  Interior of the prototype set
• 
  Interior of set 37, a VVVF set
• 
  Driver's cab of the 01 series

The 01 series trains began to be replaced by new 1000 series trains from spring 2012.^[9] The first set to be withdrawn, set 38, was removed for scrapping in August 2013.^[6] By 1 April 2016, nine sets remained in service.^[8] The last remaining 01 series train was withdrawn from regular service on 10 March 2017, with a special commemorative final run for invited guests on 12 March.^[10]

In February 2015, driving cars 01-136 and 01-636 were sold to the Kumamoto Electric Railway in Kyushu and were also regauged to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in),^[11] where they became the Kumamoto Electric Railway 01 series, entering service in March 2015 following the addition of pantographs, new bogies, and front skirts.^[12] Two more cars, 01-135 and 01-635, were sold to the Kumamoto Electric Railway during fiscal 2015.^[13]

Three cars of former set 1 (01-101, 01-201, and 01-601), withdrawn from revenue service in 2013, are kept for training purposes at Nakano Depot in Tokyo.^[14]

The cab end of car 01-129 is preserved inside the Metro Museum in Edogawa, Tokyo.^[15]

Car 01-630 was donated to the University of Tokyo's Institute of Industrial Science Chiba Experiment Station in Chiba Prefecture in 2017 for use on its 333 m long research test track.^[16]