Hankyū Kōbe Main Line

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.

Hankyu Kobe Main Line
An 8000 series EMU on a local service
Overview
Native name阪急神戸本線
LocaleKansai
Termini
  • Umeda
  • Sannomiya
Stations19
Service
Operator(s)Hankyu Railway
Depot(s)Nishinomiya Depot
Rolling stock1000 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 length32.3 km (20.1 mi)
Number of tracksDouble
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification1500 volts DC, overhead lines
Operating speed115 km/h (71 mph)
Route map

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 (0.62 mi) line between Oji-Koen Station and Kamitsutsui Station continued to provide a connection to the Kobe tram network until 1941.

The Kobe Main Line was damaged by the Great Hanshin earthquake in January 1995. Restoration work on the Kobe Line took 7 months to complete.[1]

Station numbering was introduced on 21 December 2013.[2]

Future plans

A new station will be built near the Muko River between Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi and Tsukaguchi. The project, which includes a bicycle parking lot and reconstruction of the surrounding roads, is expected to cost ¥6 billion.[3] Aggrements to build the station were signed by the railway and the national treasury was signed in October 2022.

Train services

During the day, only local trains (普通) and limited express trains (特急) which stop only at major stations along the line, are operated. Other commuter and express services operate only early mornings, commuting times, and late nights.[4]

  • Local trains (普通) stop at all stations, all times of the day. Most operate between Osaka-Umeda and Kobe-Sannomiya, but some start and end at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi.
  • Semi-Express trains (準急) are operated from Takarazuka to Osaka-Umeda via the Imazu Line and the Kobe Line on weekday mornings.
  • Commuter Express trains (通勤急行) operate on weekdays, from Kobe-Sannomiya to Osaka-Umeda in the morning, and from Osaka-Umeda to Kobe-Sannomiya in the evening rush hour.
  • Express trains (急行) operate from Osaka-Umeda to Kobe-Sannomiya or Shinkaichi late nights, as well as one eastbound train on weekend mornings.
  • Semi-Limited Express (準特急) operate from Osaka-Umeda to Kosoku Kobe or Shinkaichi in the evenings as well as one early morning train towards Osasa-Umeda.
  • Commuter Limited Express trains (通勤特急) operate in both directions on weekday mornings. Some trains consist of 10 cars, of which the last car (to Osaka-Umeda) or the first car (to Kobe-Sannomiya) is for women only.
  • Limited Express trains (特急) operate in both directions, all day except early morning and late night.
  • Maximum speed: 115 km/h (71 mph)

Stations
  • ● : All trains stop
  • | : All trains pass
  • ◆ : Extra services to the Imazu Line pass
No. Station Native Name km Semi-Express Commuter Express Express Semi-Limited Express Commuter Limited Express Limited Express Connections Location
Kobe Line
HK-01 Umeda 梅田 0.0 ● ● ● ● ● ● Kita-ku, Osaka Osaka
HK-02 Nakatsu 中津 0.9 ↑ | | | | |  
HK-03 Jūsō 十三 2.4 ● ● ● ● ● ● 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 ● ● ● ● ● |
HK-07 Mukonosō 武庫之荘 12.3 ↑ ● | | | |  
HK-08 Nishinomiya-kitaguchi 西宮北口 15.6 ↑ ● ◆ ● ● ● Nishinomiya
HK-09 Shukugawa 夙川 18.3   ● ● ● ● ●
HK-10 Ashiyagawa 芦屋川 21.0 ● ● | | |   Ashiya
HK-11 Okamoto 岡本 23.4 ● ● ● ● ●   Higashi­nada-ku, Kobe
HK-12 Mikage 御影 25.6 ● ● | | |  
HK-13 Rokko 六甲 27.4 ● ● ● | |   Nada-ku, Kobe
HK-14 Oji-Koen 王子公園 29.2 ● ● | | |  
HK-15 Kasuganomichi 春日野道 30.7 ● ● | | |   Chūō-ku, Kobe
HK-16 Kobe Sannomiya 神戸三宮 32.3 ● ● ● ● ●
Kobe Kosoku Line
HK-17 Hanakuma 花隈 33.6     ● ● ● ●   Chūō-ku, Kobe Hyōgo
HS 35 Kosoku Kobe 高速神戸 34.5 ● ● ● ●
HS 36 Shinkaichi 新開地 35.1 ● ● ● ● Hyōgo-ku, Kobe
Through services: From Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi:

Semi-Express from Imazu Line for Takarazuka

(Extra services) Express trains: Imazu Line for Nigawa

Rolling stock

Former

See also

References
  1. 曽根, 悟 (October 2010). "週刊 歴史でめぐる鉄道全路線 大手私鉄" [Weekly History of all Railway Lines: Major private railways]. Weekly Asahi Encyclopedia (in Japanese). No. 12 (Hanshin Electric Railway Hankyu Electric Railway 2): 27–29. ISBN 978-4-02-340142-6.
  2. "「西山天王山」駅開業にあわせて、「三宮」「服部」「中山」「松尾」４駅の駅名を変更し、全駅で駅ナンバリングを導入します" ["Sannomiya" "Hattori" "Nakayama" "Matsuo" along with the opening of "Nishiyama Tennozan" station. We will change the station names of 4 stations and introduce station numbering at all stations.] (PDF). Hankyu Corporation Online. 30 April 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  3. "阪急神戸線「武庫川新駅」2市と阪急電鉄が基本合意 開業時期や負担割合は？ | 鉄道ニュース【鉄道プレスネット】". news.railway-pressnet.com (in Japanese). 1 November 2022. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  4. Hankyu Corporation (2022-10-12). "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 2023-08-31.
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