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 limited express service
Overview
Native name阪急神戸本線
LocaleKansai
TerminiOsaka-umeda
Shinkaichi
Stations19
Operation
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 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:

  • Express trains (急行) are operated from Umeda to Kobe-sannomiya or Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi in the morning on weekdays and every midnight. There is also the only eastbound express train operated from Kobe-sannomiya to Umeda every early morning and the only westbound express train from Umeda to Shinkaichi in the midnight except weekdays.
  • Rapid Express trains (快速急行) are operated between Umeda and Kosoku Kobe or Shinkaichi every midnight. There is also the only eastbound rapid express train operated from Shinkaichi for Umeda every early morning.
  • Commuter Express trains (通勤急行, simply "Express") are operated on weekdays, from Kobe-sannomiya to Umeda in the morning, and from Umeda to Kobe-sannomiya in the evening and at night.
  • Commuter Limited Express trains (通勤特急, simply "Limited Express") are operated in both directions on weekday mornings.
  • Semi-Express trains (準急) are operated from Takarazuka to Umeda via the Imazu Line and the Kobe Line on weekday mornings.
  • Maximum speed: 115 km/h

Stations
  • ● : All trains stop
  • | : All trains pass
  • ◆ : Extra services to the Imazu Line pass
No. Station km Semi-Express Commuter Express Express Rapid Express Commuter Limited Express Limited Express Connections Location
Kobe Line
HK-01 Osaka-umeda
大阪梅田		 0.0 ● ● ● ● ● ● Kita-ku, Osaka Osaka
HK-02 Nakatsu
中津		 0.9 ↑ | | | | |  
HK-03 Jūsō
十三		 2.4 ● ● ● ● ● ●
  • Takarazuka Line, Kyoto Line
 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 ● ● ● ● ● |
  • Itami Line
HK-07 Mukonosō
武庫之荘		 12.3 ↑ ● | | | |  
HK-08 Nishinomiya-kitaguchi
西宮北口
(阪急西宮ガーデンズ前)		 15.6 ↑ ● ◆ ● ● ●
  • Imazu Line
 Nishinomiya
HK-09 Shukugawa
夙川		 18.3   ● ● ● ● ●
  • Koyo Line
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
(王子動物園・王子スタジアム前)		 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 ● ● ● ●
  • Hanshin Railway Kobe Kosoku Line
  • JR West Tōkaidō Main Line and Sanyō Main Line (JR Kobe Line) (JR-A63: Kobe Station)
  • Kobe Municipal Subway Kaigan Line (K04: Harborland Station)
HS 36 Shinkaichi
新開地		 35.1 ● ● ● ● Hyōgo-ku, Kobe
Through services: From Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi:

Semi-Express trains to Imazu Line for Takarazuka

(Extra services) Express trains: Imazu Line for Nigawa

Rolling stock

Former
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See also
  • Hankyū Kyōto Main Line
  • Hankyū Takarazuka Main Line

References
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