Tokyo’s Yamanote Line
The Yamanote Line is the loop line that goes around central Tokyo, hitting all the major commuter hubs - places like Shinjuku, Takadanobaba, Ikebukuro, Nippori, Ueno, Tokyo, Otemachi, Shimbashi, Shinagawa, etc. It’s an incredibly important system for getting around the city. Shibuya Station, an important station on the western side of the loop, is one of the major hubs, famous for its big scramble crossing, and as the center of Tokyo's hip youth culture. Shibuya Station and the entire district adjacent to the station have been undergoing a big redevelopment for the last fifteen years, or more. The Yamanote Line at Shibuya (and other stations as well) uses two different platforms, one for the clockwise route and another for the counter-clockwise route. To change from one direction to the other requires going downstairs, crossing under the tracks, and climbing upstairs on the other side (or using the elevator to do the same maneuver - either way, changing tracks is tedious).
But on the weekend of January 7-8, 2023, both directions of the train at Shibuya Station were realigned and integrated to use one expanded island platform. That required old track to be removed, new track to be laid, and switches put in to realign approaching traffic. It makes traffic flow easier and more efficient. The project had been planned for years, and the public was notified of the weekend’s train disruption well in advance. Service on the outside (clockwise) loop of the Yamanote Line was suspended for 48 hours from Osaki Station in the south to Ikebukuro Station in the north, which is the entire western section of the loop. Traffic still moved, because the counter-clockwise (inner) loop still ran, although slower, and there are other train and subway lines that could be used to detour the disrupted section.
Working non-stop in round-the-clock shifts, the job was completed late at night on Sunday, January 8th and early in the morning on Monday, January 9th, so that the new platform was ready to use for the first train Monday morning. I visited Shibuya that morning. I didn’t exit the station. I only wanted to see the Yamanote platform and take some pictures. Many others had the same idea, including two television news crews. It’s the biggest thing to happen to the Yamanote Line since the newest station - Takanawa Gateway Station - opened on March 14, 2020.