Hanshin Namba Line

Ajigawa Bridge under construction (Aug. 2007)

The Hanshin Namba Line (阪神なんば線, Hanshin Nanba sen^?) is a rail line of Hanshin Electric Railway connecting Amagasaki Station in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture and Osaka Namba Station in Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture.

History

The Dempō Line (伝法線^?), the predecessor of the Hanshin Namba Line, was planned as the bypass of the Hanshin Railway Main Line, and to connect from Amagasaki to Noda via Dempō. Then the plan was changed to connect to Nishikujō. Finally the line was extended to Namba station in 2009.

• January 20, 1924 - The Dempō Line (伝法線^?) was opened (Daimotsu - Dempō).
• August 1, 1924 - The line was extended from Dempō to Chidoribashi.
• December 28, 1928 - The line was extended from Daimotsu to Amagasaki.
• June 1960 - The first term of the construction of the extending line to Namba was started (Chidoribashi - Nishikujō).
• May 20, 1964 - The first term of the construction of the extending line to Namba was completed, thus, the Line was extended from Chidoribashi to Nishikujō. The Dempo Line was renamed the Nishi-Osaka Line (西大阪線^?).
• September 1965 - Nishi-Osaka limited express service started.
• August 10, 1967 - The second term of the construction of the extending line to Namba was started (Nishikujō - Kujō).
• September 1967 - The second term of the construction of the extending line to Namba was cancelled.
• December 1, 1974 - Nishi-Osaka limited express service was abandoned.
• July 10, 2001 - Nishi-Osaka Railway Co., Ltd. was established to restart the extension from Nishikujō to Namba.
• October 7, 2003 - The construction of the extending line from Nishikujō to Namba was restarted.
• March 20, 2009 - The line from Nishikujō to Namba opened, and the rail line was renamed the Hanshin Namba Line (阪神なんば線^?).

Extension to Namba

On August 1, 2008, Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd. announced that the extending line would be opened on March 20, 2009 and the Nishi-Osaka Line would be renamed "the Hanshin Namba Line (阪神なんば線, Hanshin Nanba sen^?)" on the same day.^[1]

There are through rapid express operations between Sannomiya Station on the Main Line in Kobe and Kintetsu Nara Station on the Kintetsu Nara Line in Nara via the Hanshin Namba Line, and through local, semi-express, and suburban semi-express operations between Amagasaki Station and Kintetsu Nara Station.^[2][3]

Operations

• rapid express
  • 3 to 5 trains per hour on weekdays, and 3 trains per hour on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays
  • Trains stop at Sannomiya, Uozaki, Ashiya, Nishinomiya, Koshien, Amagasaki, Nishikujo, Kujo, Dome-mae, Sakuragawa, Osaka Namba, Kintetsu Nippombashi, Osaka Uehommachi, Tsuruhashi, Ikoma, Gakuen-mae, Yamato-Saidaiji, Shin-Omiya and Kintetsu Nara. In addition to those stations, there are stops of rapid express at Mukogawa, Daimotsu, Dekijima, Fuku, Dempo and Chidoribashi in the non-rush hour on weekdays, and at Imazu and Mukogawa on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
  • 6, 8 or 10 cars (6 cars between Sannomiya and Amagasaki)
• local, semi-express, suburban semi-express
  • 3 to 6 trains per hour on weekdays, and 6 trains per hour on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays
  • Local trains stop at every station on the Hanshin Namba Line, the Kintetsu Namba Line, and the Kitntetsu Nara Line.
  • Semi-express trains stop at every station between Amagasaki and Tsuruhashi, Fuse, Kawachi-Kosaka, Higashi-Hanazono, and every station between Ishikiri and Kintetsu Nara. In addition to those stations, suburban semi-express trains stop at Hyotan-yama, Hiraoka and Nukata.
  • 6 cars

Before the extension, there were 3 returning tracks in the west of Kintetsu Namba Station (present: Osaka Namba Station). The track on each side became the track of the Hanshin Namba Line and the new returning track were located in the west of Sakuragawa Station, thus the portion between Sakuragawa and Osaka Namba is owned by Kintetsu and operated by Hanshin.

Stations

• S: trains stop
• s: trains stop in the non-rush hour on weekdays

Station Name	Distance (km)		Train type		Connecting lines	Location
	between stations	from start	local suburban semi-express semi-express	rapid express
Rapid express trains are operated to Sannomiya Station on the Main Line.
Amagasaki 尼崎	-	0.0	S	S	Main Line	Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture
Daimotsu 大物	0.9	0.9	S	s	Main Line
Dekijima 出来島	1.4	2.3	S	s		Nishiyodogawa-ku, Osaka	Osaka Prefecture
Fuku 福	1.0	3.3	S	s
Dempō 伝法	1.5	4.8	S	s		Konohana-ku, Osaka
Chidoribashi 千鳥橋	0.7	5.5	S	s
Nishikujō 西九条	0.8	6.3	S	S	JR West: Osaka Loop Line, Sakurajima Line (JR Yumesaki Line)
Kujō 九条	1.3	7.6	S	S	Osaka Municipal Subway: Chuo Line	Nishi-ku, Osaka
Dome-mae ドーム前	0.6	8.2	S	S	Osaka Municipal Subway: Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line (Dome-mae Chiyozaki Station)
Sakuragawa 桜川	0.8	9.0	S	S	Osaka Municipal Subway: Sennichimae Line Nankai Electric Railway: Nankai Kōya Line (Shiomibashi Line) (Shiomibashi Station)	Naniwa-ku, Osaka
Ōsaka Namba 大阪難波	1.1	10.1	S	S	Kintetsu Namba Line (with through trains) Nankai Electric Railway: Nankai Main Line, Kōya Line (Namba Station) Osaka Municipal Subway: Midōsuji Line, Yotsubashi Line, Sennichimae Line (Namba Station) JR West: Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line) (JR Namba Station)	Chūō-ku, Osaka
Trains are operated to Kintetsu Nara Station via the Kintetsu Namba Line, the Osaka Line, and the Nara Line.

References

1. ^ Press release on August 1, 2008 - Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
2. ^ Press release on January 16, 2009 - Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
3. ^ Press release on January 16, 2009 - Kintetsu Corporation