Hankyū Kōbe Main Line

Hankyu Kobe Main Line

An 8000 series EMU on a limited express service
Overview
Native name 阪急神戸本線
Locale Kansai
Termini Umeda
Kōbe Sannomiya
Stations 16
Operation
Operator(s) Hankyu Railway
Depot(s) Nishinomiya Depot
Rolling stock 1000 series EMU
3000 Series EMU
5000 Series EMU
6000 Series EMU
7000 Series EMU
8000 Series EMU
8200 Series EMU
9000 Series EMU
Technical
Line length 32.3 km (20.1 mi)
No. of tracks Double
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)
Electrification 1500 volts DC, overhead lines
Operating speed 115 km/h (71 mph)
Route map

The Kōbe Main Line (神戸本線 Kōbe Honsen) of Hankyu Railway is one of the three major commuter heavy rail lines in the Keihanshin conurbation of Japan. It links the urban centres of Osaka and Kobe by connecting the major stations of Umeda in Osaka and Sannomiya in Kobe.

The Hanshin Electric Railway Main Line and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) Tokaido Main Line (this section nicknamed JR Kobe Line) are the two lines parallel to the Hankyu Kobe Line within a short distance of each other.

Definition

The line is commonly called Kobe Line (神戸線 Kōbe sen) for short, but in the broader sense 'Kobe Line' refers to the entire network of the trunk Kobe Main Line and connecting branch lines of Itami, Imazu and Kōyō Lines.

Network

At the Kobe end of the line some trains continue through onto the Kobe Rapid Railway, an underground line allowing interchange between the lines of several commuter rail companies operating in Kobe.

The Kobe Main Line has interchanges at several of its stations with other lines operated by Hankyu. The Hankyu main lines to Kyoto and Takarazuka share stations at Umeda and Juso with the Kobe Line. The other lines with connections to the Kobe line are smaller lines with only local trains: the Itami Line connects at Tsukaguchi, the Imazu Line at Nishinomiya-kitaguchi and the Koyo Line at Shukugawa.

History

The Umeda - Juso section was opened in 1910 as part of the Hankyu Takarazuka Line.

The Juso - Oji-Koen section opened as a 1435mm gauge line electrified at 600 VDC in 1920. In 1926 the line was duplicated, and in 1936 it was extended to Kobe Sannomiya. In 1967 the voltage was increased to 1500 VDC.

Until 1936, the line's terminal in Kobe was in Kamitsutsui. As a branch of the main line, the 1 km line between Oji-Koen Station and Kamitsutsui Station continued to provide a connection to the Kobe tram network until 1941.

Train services

Regular train services on the lines come in two kinds: the local trains (普通) which stop at all stations, and the limited express trains (特急) which stop only at major stations along the line. Other commuter and express services operate only during limited time periods:

Stations

No. Station km S C E R M L Connections Location
Kobe Line
HK-01 Umeda
梅田
0.0 S C E R M L Kita-ku, Osaka Osaka
HK-02 Nakatsu
中津
0.9 | | | | | |  
HK-03 Jūsō
十三
2.4 S C E R M L Yodogawa-ku, Osaka
HK-04 Kanzakigawa
神崎川
4.1 | | | | | |  
HK-05 Sonoda
園田
7.2 | | | | | |   Amagasaki Hyōgo
HK-06 Tsukaguchi
塚口
10.2 S C E R M |
HK-07 Mukonosō
武庫之荘
12.3 | C | | | |  
HK-08 Nishinomiya-kitaguchi
西宮北口
15.6 | C E R M L Nishinomiya
HK-09 Shukugawa
夙川
18.3   C E R M L
HK-10 Ashiyagawa
芦屋川
21.0 C E | | |   Ashiya
HK-11 Okamoto
岡本
23.4 C E R M L   Higashi­nada-ku, Kobe
HK-12 Mikage
御影
25.6 C E | | |  
HK-13 Rokko
六甲
27.4 C E R | |   Nada-ku, Kobe
HK-14 Oji-Koen
王子公園
29.2 C E | | |  
HK-15 Kasuganomichi
春日野道
30.7 C E | | |   Chūō-ku, Kobe
HK-16 Kobe Sannomiya
神戸三宮
32.3 C E R M L
Kobe Kosoku Line
HK-17 Hanakuma
花隈
33.6     E R M L   Chūō-ku, Kobe Hyōgo
HS 35 Kosoku Kobe
高速神戸
34.5 E R M L
HS 36 Shinkaichi
新開地
35.1 E R M L Hyōgo-ku, Kobe

Rolling stock

See also

References

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