Sakura-dōri Line

The first section, between Nakamura Kuyakusho and Imaike, opened on 10 September 1989, running beneath the broad Sakura-dōri avenue from which the line takes its name and threading under the dense network of older subways and underground arcades in central Nagoya. Because it had to dive below everything already built, the line lies unusually deep: its deepest point is at Marunouchi Station at a depth of 24 metres, and most stations sit close to 20 metres below the surface in order to clear the large underground malls around Nagoya Station (Meieki) and Sakae.

From the outset the Sakura-dōri Line was conceived as a highly automated railway. On 16 January 1994 automatic train operation (ATO) was introduced, and from 16 February 1994 the line began one-man (single-crew) operation. For years it was the only line of the Nagoya Municipal Subway to use automatic train operation, making it the network's testbed for driverless-style running before such systems spread to other lines.

The line was extended eastward on 30 March 1994, when the 8.6-kilometre section from Imaike to Nonami opened, carrying the route out through the eastern suburbs of the city. This roughly doubled the line's length and established the Imaike interchange with the Higashiyama Line as a major transfer point on Nagoya's subway network.

The final extension to date opened on 27 March 2011, when the 4.2-kilometre section from Nonami to Tokushige came into service, reaching into the Midori Ward suburbs in the city's southeast. The extension was accompanied by the introduction of the new 6050 series trains and the opening of a new depot. The line was an early adopter of platform-edge safety: full platform doors (movable platform gates) were in use from the opening day at the four new stations Naruko-kita, Aioiyama, Kamisawa and Tokushige, and installation across every station on the line was completed by 23 July 2011.

The Sakura-dōri Line is worked by two classes of rolling stock, the 6000 series that has run the line since its opening and the 6050 series introduced with the 2011 extension. Although the platforms are built to accommodate eight-car trains, services are currently formed of five cars. The combination of full platform doors, automatic train operation and one-man working makes it one of the most heavily automated lines on the Nagoya network.

Over the years the line has seen incremental upgrades and one notable station renaming: on 4 January 2023 the western terminus, Nakamura Kuyakusho, was renamed Taiko-dōri. Today the Sakura-dōri Line forms a key east–west and southeast axis of the Nagoya Municipal Subway, linking the Nagoya Station district through the city centre to the growing residential districts of Midori Ward, and interchanging with the city's other subway lines along the way.

• 198910 September: the first section, Nakamura Kuyakusho–Imaike (6.3 km), opens.
• 199416 January: automatic train operation (ATO) is introduced on the line.
• 199416 February: one-man (single-crew) operation begins.
• 199430 March: the line is extended from Imaike to Nonami (8.6 km).
• 201127 March: the line is extended from Nonami to Tokushige (4.2 km); the 6050 series trains enter service and a new depot opens. Platform doors are in use from opening day at the four new stations.
• 201123 July: installation of platform doors (movable platform gates) is completed at every station on the line.
• 20234 January: the western terminus, Nakamura Kuyakusho, is renamed Taiko-dōri.