The is an

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

railway line in Japan operated by the

private railway A private railway is a railroad run by a private business entity (usually a corporation but not need be), as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector. Japan In Japan, , commonly simply ''private railway'', refers to a public transit railway o ...

operator

Keihan Electric Railway , known colloquially as the , , or simply , is a major Japanese private railway operator in Osaka, Kyoto, and Shiga Prefectures. The transit network includes seven lines; four main lines with heavy rolling stock, two interurban lines, and a funic ...

. The 7.5 km line connects

Misasagi Station is a train station in Yamashina-ku ward, city of Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Lines * ** (Station Number: T08) * Keihan Electric Railway ** Keishin Line - Misasagi is the terminus of the line. Layout The station is a cross-platfor ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

and Biwako-Hamaōtsu Station in the neighbouring city of

Ōtsu file:Otsu City Hall.JPG, 270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km². The total a ...

Train service

Except trains between Shinomiya Station and Hamaōtsu Station in early morning and late night, all trains go directly from Hamaōtsu Station to

Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae Station Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae Station (京都市役所前駅 ''Kyōto shiyakusho-mae eki'') is a stop on the Tozai Line of Kyoto Municipal Subway in Kyoto, Japan. It is in Nakagyo-ku. With the station number designation T12, its station color is ''kara ...

Uzumasa Tenjingawa Station is a train station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Tōzai Line, in Ukyō-ku ward, city of Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Lines * ** (Station Number: T17) Randen-Tenjingawa Station on the Arashiyama Main Line (Randen) of Keifuku Electric Ra ...

on the Kyoto Subway Tōzai Line. During off peak hours, the line operates every 15 minutes.

Stations and connecting lines

Railway map around Kyoto City (Keishin Line)

;Abandoned stations: *Midorigaoka Undōjō-mae: Shinomiya - Oiwake (extra station, abandoned in 1942) *Kamisekidera: Ōtani - Kamisakaemachi (abandoned on August 15, 1971) *Fudanotsuji: Kamisakaemachi - Biwako-Hamaōtsu (abandoned on October 1, 1946) Keihan 80

Abandoned section

The station list is as of 1997 before the street running section was abandoned due to replacement by the Tōzai Line subway. It also lists the corresponding subway stations that replaced the Keishin Line stations.

Rolling stock

Keihan 800 series The is a class of electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter trains operated since 1997 by the privately owned Keihan Electric Railway on its Keihan Keishin Line and the Kyoto Municipal Subway Tozai Line in Japan. Interior Passenger accommodation ...

, four-car EMUs

History

The line was built in 1912 (dual track electrified at 600 V DC) to connect the city centers of Kyoto and Ōtsu by electric streetcars, as the

steam-powered A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tra ...

Tōkaidō Main Line The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...

was an indirect route between the two cities before its realignment in 1921. The busiest section of the line, between Keishin-Sanjō Station and Misasagi Station, was replaced in 1997 by the Kyoto Subway Tōzai Line, and the voltage increased to 1,500 V DC in conjunction with this project.{{cn, date=March 2017 One of the aims of the realignment was to move the tracks underground in the Kyoto area, in order to remove the former alignment along public roads. The line retains its public road alignment in Ōtsu.

References

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

Keishin Line The is an interurban railway line in Japan operated by the private railway operator Keihan Electric Railway. The 7.5 km line connects Misasagi Station in Kyoto and Biwako-Hamaōtsu Station in the neighbouring city of Ōtsu. Train service ...

Ōtsu Rail transport in Shiga Prefecture Rail transport in Kyoto Prefecture Standard gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1912 1912 establishments in Japan 1500 V DC railway electrification