Parts of the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines, major transportation arteries in Tokyo that carry millions of passengers every day, will be partially out of service for most of Saturday due to construction at Shinagawa Station and preparations leading up to the opening of Takanawa Gateway Station next spring.
East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) is suggesting that passengers use non-JR lines from the first train until about 4 p.m. on Saturday. Different sections of both lines will be suspended for most of the day.
The Yamanote Line suspension will be its first due to construction since JR East was founded in 1987, according to the company.
Service on the line between Osaki and Tokyo stations, and between Tokyo and Ueno, will be suspended until 4 p.m. and then resumed in stages, returning to normal operations within two hours.
During the suspension, trains will be running on the operational part of the loop from Osaki, stopping at stations such as Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Tabata, before arriving at Ueno and turning around to run the other way.
Trains on the Keihin-Tohoku Line will be suspended between Shinagawa and Tamachi, and rapid services will not be available.
A higher number of trains than usual will be running on the Ueno-Tokyo, Saikyo and Rinkai lines on Saturday.
Takanawa Gateway Station, which will be located between Shinagawa and Tamachi stations and offer access to both the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines, is set to open in spring 2020.
According to JR East, each week a total of 28.2 million passengers take Yamanote Line trains and 26.8 million passengers use the Keihin-Tohoku Line. The Yamanote Line circles the heart of central Tokyo, and during commuting hours is considered one of the most crowded train lines in the nation.