Hankyu Takarazuka Main Line

The Hankyu Takarazuka Main Line (阪急宝塚本線, Hankyū Takarazuka Honsen) is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway operator Hankyu Railway. It connects Umeda Station in downtown Osaka with Takarazuka Station in Takarazuka, Hyogo.

Hankyu Takarazuka Main Line
A 6000 series EMU on a "Local" service for Hibarigaoka-Hanayashiki
Overview
Native name阪急宝塚本線
LocaleKansai
Termini
  • Osaka-umeda
  • Takarazuka
Stations19
Service
Operator(s)Hankyu Railway
Depot(s)Hirai Depot
Technical
Line length24.5 km (15.2 mi)
Number of tracksQuad (Osaka-umeda - Jūsō)
Double (Jūsō - Takarazuka)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification1,500 V DC, overhead lines
Operating speed100 km/h (62 mph)
Route map

It has a branch line, the Minoo Line, and the Nose Electric Railway is another longer branch line. The Imazu Line connects at Takarazuka, but it is treated as a branch of the Kobe Line.

The Takarazuka Main Line is commonly called the Takarazuka Line (宝塚線, Takarazuka sen) for short, but the name Takarazuka Line is sometimes used as the name for the network composed of the main line and the branches.

The line has numerous sharp curves from the line's origins as a tramway, built and opened by its predecessor Minoo Arima Electric Tramway (箕面有馬電気軌道, Minoo Arima Denki Kido). The sharp curves have long hindered high speed operation, contrasting to the Hankyu's other main lines, Kobe and Kyoto.

History

The Minoo Arima Electric Tramway opened the entire line on 10 March 1910 as 1435mm gauge dual track, electrified at 600 VDC. Although the line was not a prospect interurban as Takarazuka was not a big city, it saw initial success thanks to the company's aggressive measures. It strategically developed housing areas along the line for the increasing white-collar population who would commute to central Osaka by train. It also opened a zoo in Minoo (on the Minoo Line) in November 1910, a hot spring in Takarazuka in May 1911, and a ballpark in Toyonaka in 1913.[1]

The track between Umeda and Jūsō was shared with the Kobe Line from 1920 to 1926 when the original double track was replaced by an elevated four-track line.[1]

In comparison with the Kobe Line, cars used on the Takarazuka Line were small and old. Larger (Kobe Line standard) cars could not operate on the line until 1952 due to its small structure gauge.[1] Small cars were eliminated in December 1963.[2] On 24 August 1969 the voltage was raised to 1500 VDC. As the commuters increased, Hankyu's first 10-car operation began on the Takarazuka Line in March 1982, but 10 car trains were discontinued again in December 2022.[2][3]

Following the elevation work of Kawanishi-Noseguchi Station, through services to Nose Electric Railway began on 17 November 1997.[4]

Since the 1970s there have been plans to build a spur line to Itami Airport from Sone Station. Although Hankyu shelved the plans in the 1980s due to capacity constraints, the plans were reportedly revived in 2017 and remain under consideration as of 2018.[5][6]

Service patterns

As of 17 December 2022[3]

Local (普通, Futsū)
All-stations service
Semi-Express (準急, Junkyū)
Operated on weekday mornings from Takarazuka to Osaka-Umeda
Express (急行, Kyūkō)
Commuter Limited Express (通勤特急, Tsūkin Tokkyū)
Operated on weekday mornings from Kawanishi-Noseguchi to Osaka-Umeda. The last car (Kawanishi side) is only for women.
Limited Express (特急日生エクスプレス, Tokkyū Nissei Express)
From Nissei-Chūō on Nose Electric Railway to Umeda in the morning and vice versa on weekday evenings.

Stations
  • ● : Trains stop.
  • | : Trains pass.
  • ↑: Trains pass only in one direction.
No. Station Japanese Semi-Express Express Commuter Limited Express Limited Express Connections Location
HK-01 Osaka-umeda 大阪梅田 ● ● ● ● Kita-ku, Osaka Osaka Prefecture
HK-02 Nakatsu 中津 ● | ↑ |
HK-03 Jūsō 十三 ● ● ● ● Yodogawa-ku, Osaka
HK-41 Mikuni 三国 ↑ | ↑ |
HK-42 Shōnai 庄内 ↑ | ↑ | Toyonaka
HK-43 Hattori-tenjin 服部天神 ↑ | ↑ |
HK-44 Sone 曽根 ● | ↑ |
HK-45 Okamachi 岡町 ● | ↑ |
HK-46 Toyonaka 豊中 ● ● ● |
HK-47 Hotarugaike 蛍池 ● ● ↑ |
HK-48 Ishibashi handai-mae 石橋阪大前 ● ● ● ● Ikeda
HK-49 Ikeda 池田 ● ● ● ●
HK-50 Kawanishi-noseguchi 川西能勢口 ● ● ● ● Kawanishi Hyōgo Prefecture
HK-51 Hibarigaoka-Hanayashiki 雲雀丘花屋敷 ● ● Takarazuka
HK-52 Yamamoto 山本
(平井)		 ● ●
HK-53 Nakayama-kannon 中山観音 ● ●
HK-54 Mefu-Jinja 売布神社 ● ●
HK-55 Kiyoshikōjin 清荒神 ● ●
HK-56 Takarazuka 宝塚
(宝塚大劇場前)		 ● ●
Through service: From Kawanishi-Noseguchi: Limited Express trains to/from Nose Railway Myoken & Nissei Lines for Nissei-Chuo

Rolling stock
  • 1000 series, December 2013
    1000 series, December 2013
  • Nose Electric Railway 6000 series, August 2014
    Nose Electric Railway 6000 series, August 2014

Former

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

  1. Miki, Masafumi (March 2015). "阪急宝塚線の歴史過程". The Railway Pictorial (in Japanese). Denkisha Kenkyūkai Tetsudōtosho Kankōkai (901): 10.
  2. Shinohara, Susumu (March 2015). "宝塚線 車両・運転のエピソード". The Railway Pictorial (in Japanese). Denkisha Kenkyūkai Tetsudōtosho Kankōkai (901): 56.
  3. Hankyu Corporation (12 October 2022). "２０２２年１２月１７日（土）初発より 阪急全線（神戸線・宝塚線・京都線）でダイヤ改正を実施" (PDF). Hankyu Railway. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  4. Nose Electric Railway Co., Ltd. "沿革・年譜". Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  5. "阪急電鉄、伊丹空港への乗り入れを検討か 大阪・梅田と直通 - ライブドアニュース". ライブドアニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  6. "「40年で黒字」が難しい、阪急・大阪空港線 どうすれば実現できるか (1/4)". ITmedia ビジネスオンライン (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  7. 阪急電鉄、新型車両1000系営業運転開始－ファンに見守られ梅田駅出発 [New Hankyu 1000 series trains enter service - Departure from Umeda Station seen off by railfans]. Umeda Keizai Shimbun (in Japanese). Japan: Riccrea, Inc. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
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