Tokyo Metro Co. and Sumitomo Corp. secured their first overseas railway operations contract to run London’s Elizabeth Line, marking Japanese rail operators’ growing push into global markets.
The consortium, which includes UK’s Go-Ahead Group, will operate the 117-kilometer railway connecting Heathrow Airport to east London for up to 9.5 years starting May 2025. The joint venture, GTS Rail Operations Limited, is 65% owned by Go-Ahead, with Tokyo Metro and Sumitomo each holding 17.5%.
The Elizabeth Line, opened in 2022 at a cost of £18.9 billion ($23.7 billion), serves 41 stations and carried more than 210 million passengers in 2023. Transport for London expects ridership to exceed 250 million by 2030.
For Tokyo Metro, which runs nine subway lines in Japan’s capital, this marks its first overseas operations venture following years of providing technical consulting in markets like Vietnam. The deal comes as the company seeks growth opportunities after its October 2024 listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The partnership aims to leverage Tokyo Metro’s century-old expertise in punctual service while expanding Sumitomo’s global railway portfolio, which spans from Southeast Asia to the United States.
