Hanshin Main Line

Main Line
Overview
Type Commuter rail
Locale 2 prefectures in the Kansai region, Japan (Osaka and Hyogo)
Termini Umeda
Motomachi
Stations 33
Operation
Opened April 12, 1905
Operator(s) Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
Depot(s) Amagasaki
Technical
Line length 32.1 km (19.9 mi)
No. of tracks 2
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge
Electrification 1,500 V DC, overhead lines
Operating speed 106 km/h (66 mph)
Route map
Legend
 Lines are of Hanshin unless noted
Osaka/Kitashinchi
0.0 Umeda connecions are shown below
JR-W: JR Tōzai Line
JR-W: Tōkaidō Line
    (JR Kobe Line, JR Takarazuka Line)
Deiribashi abandoned in 1949
1.1 Fukushima (Hanshin)
Fukushima (JR West)
Keihan: Nakanoshima Line
Shin-Fukushima/Nakanoshima
JR-W: Osaka Loop Line
JR-W: Umeda freight Line
Osaka Subway: Sennichimae Line
2.3 Noda S11: Nodahanshin
Kita-Osaka Line
Ebie
Kokudō Line
3.3 Yodogawa
Yodo River
4.4 Himejima
5.6 Ōwada -1921
Kanzaki River
5.9 Chibune
5.9 Tsukuda -1921
Prefectural border (Osaka/Hyogo)
6.8 Kuise
Kokudo Line/Kuise Connection Line
Kintetsu Nara
Kintetsu Nara Line
Kintetsu Osaka Line
Kintetsu Namba Line
Osaka Namba
Hanshin Namba Line
8.0 Daimotsu
Amagasaki depot and workshop
8.9 Amagasaki
10.1 Deyashiki
Amagasaki Kaigan Line
10.8 Amagasaki Center Pool-mae
12.0 Mukogawa Mukogawa River
Mukogawa Line
Mukogawa S.B.
13.2 Naruo
14.1 Kōshien Kōshien Line
14.8 Kusugawa
15.4 Imazu
Hankyu: Imazu Line
Nishinomiya higashiguchi -2001
16.7 Nishinomiya 2001-
16.9 Nishinomiya -2001
27.1 Ebisu
17.8 Kōroen
Shukugawa River
Horikiri Maintenance Base
Horikiri S.B.
19.0 Uchide
20.2 Ashiya
Ashiya River
21.5 Fukae
22.6 Ōgi
23.8 Uozaki
Sumiyoshi River
Kobe New Transit: Rokkō Island Line
24.6 Sumiyoshi
25.1 Mikage
25.7 Ishiyagawa
Ishiya River
Tomei Depot
Ishiyagawa Depot
26.6 Shinzaike (second)
Shinzaike (first) -1929
Toga River
27.6 Ōishi
Kokudō Line
28.2 Nishi-Nada
Nishi-Nada (temporary station)
28.8 Iwaya
Wakihama -1933
29.9 Kasuganomichi (second) 1934-
Kasuganomichi (first) -1933
Shin-Ikutagawa -1933
Shin-Ikuta River
Asahi-dōri -1933
JR-W: Tōkaidō Line (JR Kobe Line)
Hankyū: Kobe Main Line
31.2 Sannomiya connections shown below
Kobe (Takimichi)
Main Line
32.1 Motomachi
Kobe Kosoku Line
Hanakuma
Nishi-Motomachi
Kobe Subway: Kaigan Line
Kobe, K04: Harbor Land
Kōsoku Kobe
Kobe Subway: Kaigan Line
JR-W: Sanyō Line (JR Kobe Line)
Shinkaichi
Shintetsu: Kobe Kosoku Line
Daikai
Kobe Subway: Seishin-Yamate Line
Kōsoku Nagata S08: Nagata
Kobe Kosoku Line
Nishidai
Sanyō: Main Line
Sanyo Himeji
Connections at Umeda
Subway: Osaka Subway
JR-W: Tōkaidō Line (JR Kyoto Line)
JR-W: Osaka Loop Line
Subway: Tanimachi Line (T20: Higashi-Umeda)
Hankyū: Kobe, Kyoto, Takarazuka main lines
Subway: Midōsuji Line (M16)
Umeda Osaka
Y11: Nishi-Umeda, Kitashinchi
Subway: Yotsubashi Line
    (Extention planned)
JR-W: Tōkaidō Line
    (JR Kobe Line, JR Takarazuka Line)
JR-W: Osaka Loop, JR Tōzai lines
Main Line of Hanshin
Connections at Sannomiya
Kobe City Tramway: Sakaemachi Line
Kobe Municipal Subway: Seishin-Yamate Line (S03)
Hankyū: Kobe Main Line
JR-W: Tōkaidō Line (JR Kobe Line)
(R) Kobe New Transit: Port Island Line (P01)
Main Line of Hanshin
(L) Sannomiya-Hanshin-mae
K01: Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae
Kobe Municipal Subway: Kaigan Line

The Main Line (阪神電気鉄道本線 Hanshin Denki Tetsudō Honsen?) is a railway line of a Japanese private railway company Hanshin Electric Railway, connecting two Japanese cities of Osaka and Kobe, between Umeda and Sannomiya stations respectively.

Contents

Outline

The Main Line of Hanshin is the southernmost railway of the three to connect Osaka and Kobe, with more stations through the earliest inhabited area. The others are Hankyu Corporation's Kobe Main Line in northernmost, and in the midst the Tōkaidō Main Line of present West Japan Railway Company (JR West).

Although the Tōkaidō Main Line has connected the cities earlier as a part of the national railway network, but had been less significant in the interurban connection of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area. Privatized West Japan Railway Company (JR West) has focused the area as its "Urban Network", and has become competitive with private railways.

For nearly a century, the line or the company had competed with the Hankyū Kobe Main Line with numerous stories, tales and talks, however, in 2006 Hanshin and Hankyū were subsidiarized under a single share holding company, Hankyu Hanshin Holdings.

History

The Main Line started operation on April 12, 1905 by the company. It is one of the oldest interurban railways in Japan, which found a solution to construct a competing line with a governmental line using the Tram Act which first intended to provide supplementary ways of road traffic. Among the followers are Keihan Electric Railway, Minoo Arima Electric Tramway (presnt Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc.), Osaka Electric Tramway (present Kintetsu), Keihin Electric Railway (present Keihin Electric Express Railway).

The rivaling Hankyū (then Hanshin Kyuko Railway) Kobe Main Line opened in 1920, and tramways like Hanshin built new tracks to abandon tracks partly laid on road, and introduced express trains.

In 1968 Kobe Rapid Railway opened its Tōzai Line, and Hanshin began through operations to Sumaura-Kōen of Sanyo Electric Railway via Kobe Rapid (And Sanyo trains to Ōishi of Hanshin and Rokkō of Hankyū).

Through limited express trains to Sanyo Himeji were introduced in 2001. Then, the Hanshin Namba Line was extended to Namba, a major junction in southern Osaka. The company announced through trains from Sannomiya to Kintetsu Nara in Nara on Kintetsu Nara Line would be operated.

Operation

Some trains run through the Sanyō Railway Main Line to Sanyō Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo beyond Motomachi terminal via Kobe Rapid Railway.

The Main Line operates 8 types of trains, one of the most types in Japanese railway. This is in some part to equalize the load of each train especially in the morning for Osaka (Umeda station) with short length of EMU length and with few (only double) tracks. For the extending of the Hanshin Namba Line from Nishikujo to Osaka Namba on March 20, 2009, the diagrams of Hanshin Railway was revised.[1]

Abbreviations are tentative for this article.
Local (普通 Futsū?) (L)
Trains stop all stations, farthest down to Shinkaichi in the rush hour, and Kosoku Kobe in the off-peak hour.
Express (急行 Kyūkō?) (Ex)
Trains are operated between Umeda and Nishinomiya or between Umeda and Amagasaki.
Morning Express (区間急行 Kukan Kyūkō?) (ME)
Trains are operated between Kōshien for Umeda in the morning on weekdays.
Rapid Express (快速急行 Kaisoku Kyūkō?) (RE)
Trains are through trains to and from the Hanshin Namba Line and the Kintetsu Nara Line. They also stop at Mukogawa Station in the non-rush hour on weekdays, and at Mukogawa and Imazu Stations all day on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays.
Hanshin Limited Express (特急 Tokkyū?) (HL)
Trains are operated down to Sumaura-kōen in the day and late night on weekdays and after day hours on holidays.
Hanshin-Sanyō Through Limited Express (直通特急 Chokutsū Tokkyū?) (SL)
Trains are operated between Umeda and Sanyō Himeji. Eastbound trains pass Koshien in the morning on weekdays.
Morning Limited Express (区間特急 Kukan Tokkyū?) (ML)
Trains are operated from Ogi to Umeda in the morning on weekdays.

Stations

The Main Line, having 33 stations, is noted for its "high density" of stations. In comparison, Sannomiya Station is the 16th station on the Hankyū Kobe Main Line from Umeda Station and Motomachi Station is the 15th station on the JR Kobe Line from Osaka Station.

For connections and distances, see the route diagram.

Station L ME Ex RE ML HL SL Location
Main Line
Umeda S S S Hanshin
Namba
Line		 S^ S S Kita-ku, Osaka Osaka Prefecture
Fukushima S S         Fukushima-ku, Osaka
Noda S S S      
Yodogawa S          
Himejima S           Nishiyodogawa-ku, Osaka
Chibune S S        
Kuise S           Amagasaki Hyōgo Prefecture
Daimotsu S          
Amagasaki S S S S   S S
Deyashiki S            
Amagasaki Center Pool-mae S   s s      
Mukogawa S S S s      
Naruo S S           Nishinomiya
Kōshien S S S S S^ S s
Kusugawa S            
Imazu S S s S^    
Nishinomiya S S S   S S
Kōroen S     S^    
Uchide S   S^     Ashiya
Ashiya S S S^ S S
Fukae S   S^     Higashinada-ku, Kobe
Ōgi S   S^    
Uozaki S S   S S
Sumiyoshi S      
Mikage S   S S
Ishiyagawa S      
Shinzaike S       Nada-ku, Kobe
Ōishi S      
Nishi-Nada S      
Iwaya
(Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art)		 S      
Kasuganomichi S       Chūō-ku, Kobe
Sannomiya S S S S
Motomachi S   S S
Kobe Kosoku Line
Nishi-Motomachi S         S s Chūō-ku, Kobe Hyōgo Prefecture
Kōsoku Kobe S S S
Shinkaichi S S S Hyōgo-ku, Kobe
Daikai   S s
Kōsoku Nagata S S Nagata-ku, Kobe
Nishidai S s

References

  1. ^ Press release on January 16, 2009 - Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd.