御堂筋線

The Midosuji Line was the original line of the Osaka City Subway, and remains the backbone of the city's subway network.

It opened on May 20, 1933, with three stations: Yodoyabashi, Hommachi, and Shinsaibashi. At the time, it ran entirely underneath the Midosuji, Osaka's main avenue. In 1935, it was extended north to Umeda and south to Namba, and in 1938 a major southward expansion added stations at Daikokucho, Dobutsuen-mae, and Tennoji.

From 1951 through 1960, the line was gradually extended to the south, adding stations at Showacho, Nishitanabe, Nagai, and Abiko. The next extension came in September of 1964, when the line was extended north to connect to the new Shinkansen terminal at Shin-Osaka: the stations at Nakatsu and Nishinakajimaminamigata were also added in the extension.

In 1970, the line was extended to Senri. Osaka City built new stations at Higashimikuni and Esaka, and a private company, the Kita Osaka Kyuko Railway, built stations at Ryokuchi-Koen, Momoyama-Dai, and Senri-Chuo (in Suita and Toyonaka, outside of Osaka City's jurisdiction).

The last extension of the line came in 1987, when three stations were built in Sakai City, on the south end of the line: Kitahanada, Shinkanaoka, and Nakamozu.

So today, the line looks like this, from north to south:

Station          Distance  Transfers                                     
Senri-Chuo                 Osaka Monorail
Momoyama-Dai         2.0
Ryokuchi-Koen        4.0
Esaka                5.9
Higashimikuni        7.9
Shin-Osaka           8.8   Shinkansen, Kyoto Line
Nishinaka-minami     9.5   Hankyu
Nakatsu             11.3
Umeda               12.3   Tanimachi Line, Yotsubashi Line, Hankyu,
                           Hanshin, Osaka Loop Line, Kobe Line,
                           Kyoto Line, walking distance to Tozai Line
Yodoyabashi         13.6   Keihan Railway
Hommachi            14.5   Chuo Line
Shinsaibashi        15.5   Nagahori Tsurumi Ryokuchi Line
Namba               16.4   Sennichimae Line, Nankai Railway, Kintetsu
Daikokucho          17.6   Yotsubashi Line
Dobutsuen-mae       18.8   Sakaisuji Line, JR (through Shin-Imamiya),
                           Hankai Tramway
Tennoji             19.8   Tanimachi Line, Kintetsu, Hankai Tramway, JR
Showacho            21.6
Nishitanabe         22.9
Nagai               24.2
Abiko               25.4
Kitahanada          27.3
Shinkanaoka         28.9
Nakamozu            30.4   Nankai Railway

North of Nakatsu, the line runs above ground in the median of the Shin-Midosuji expressway. It only returns underground when it arrives at Senri-Chuo.

On maps, the Midosuji is red. Its trains use a third rail, and come in three types: the older Type 10, newer Type 21, and disgustingly old Polestar 8000 (the latter of which is used by Kita Osaka Kyuko, and is instantly recognizable by its cream-colored plasticky exterior).