Photo/Illutration The No. 4 carriages on eight-car trains traveling on the Toei Oedo Line are to be restricted to female use during rush hour periods on weekday mornings from Jan. 18. (Provided by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation)

The publicly operated Toei Oedo Line is introducing a women-only carriage on its subway trains to thwart molesters and other unsavory characters, the Tokyo metropolitan government announced.

Officials said the move reflected an awareness of the need to secure certain cars just for women so they can travel with peace of mind.

In doing so, the subway line will become the second among the four Toei lines to introduce exclusive female-only carriages after the Toei Shinjuku Line did so in 2005.

The carriages will go into operation along the Oedo Line from Jan. 18 during peak rush hour periods on weekday mornings, according to the metropolitan government’s Bureau of Transportation.

The No. 4 cars of trains leaving Hikarigaoka Station from 7 a.m. through 8:30 a.m. and departing from Tochomae Station between 7:15 a.m. and 8:10 a.m. are expected to cater solely to women.

However, children of elementary school age or younger, those with physical disabilities and their caregivers will be allowed to enter the carriages regardless of gender.

The transportation bureau decided to introduce the female-only carriages partly because congestion was relieved due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

The congestion rate hit 161 percent of passenger capacity for the most crowded section between Nakai Station and Higashi-Nakano Station in fiscal 2019 before the health scare flared. The figure dropped to 120 percent in fiscal 2021.

“The behavioral pattern of subway passengers has changed due to the coronavirus crisis,” said a bureau official. “We think that the congestion rate will never return to pre-pandemic levels.”

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