Headquarters of Hanshin Electric Railway Co

is a Japanese private railway company of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

and

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...

. It also owns the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railway ...

baseball team. The first character for

(神戸) and the second character for

(大阪) combine to form the company name, 阪神, which can be read ''Han-shin''. IC cards ( PiTaPa and ICOCA) are accepted when taking trains.

Rail lines

Operating lines

* Main Line (本線) ( – , 32.1 km) *

Hanshin Namba Line The is a railway line operated by the private railway operator Hanshin Electric Railway connecting Amagasaki Station in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, and Ōsaka Namba Station in Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. History The , the pre ...

(阪神なんば線) ( – , 10.1 km) :The section between Nishikujō and Ōsaka-Namba is the newest line of Hanshin that opened on March 20, 2009. Prior to this extension the line was called the Nishi-Ōsaka Line. * Mukogawa Line (武庫川線) ( – , 1.7 km) * Kobe Kosoku Line (神戸高速線) (Category-2, – , 5.0 km) :The tracks of the line are owned by Kobe Rapid Transit Railway Co., Ltd. as the Tozai Line.

Abandoned lines

* Kita-Osaka Line (北大阪線) ( – ) * Kokudo Line (国道線) (Noda – Higashi-Kobe) * Koshien Line (甲子園線) (Kamikoshien - - Hamakoshien - Nakatsuhama) * Amagasaki Kaigan Line (尼崎海岸線) ( - Higashihama) * Mukogawa Line (武庫川線) (Mukogawa - Muko-ohashi - ): the line between Muko-ohashi and Nishinomiya (JNR) was used only for freight trains operated by JNR.

Incomplete lines

* Imazu Deyashiki Line (今津出屋敷線): Takasu - Suzaki - Hamakoshien - Imazu * Amagasaki Takarazuka Line (尼崎宝塚線): Amagasaki - : planned by Takarazuka Amagasaki Railway Company * Daini Hanshin Line: Umeda - - Amagasaki - -

History

*June 12, 1899: was established. *July 7, 1899: The company was renamed "Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd." *April 7, 1968:

Kobe Rapid Railway Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, w ...

was opened and joint operation with

Sanyo Electric Railway is a Japanese private railway operating company based in western Hyōgo Prefecture. It runs local and express rail service between Himeji and Kobe, and also connects directly with Hanshin Main Line to Osaka. Although the Hanshin Electric R ...

was started. *February 15, 1998: Joint operation with Sanyo Electric Railway for limited express service between Umeda and

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km². The total area of the city is ...

was started. *June 20, 2006: Hankyu Holdings, Inc. completed its purchase of a controlling interest in Hanshin in a transaction valued at about $2.2 billion. *March 20, 2009: Joint operation with

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as , is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railway network connects Osaka, Nara, Ky ...

for Rapid Express service between Sannomiya and Kintetsu Nara was started.

Rolling stock

Limited Express/Express

* 1000 series - through services onto the Kintetsu Nara Line * 8000 series * 9000 series - through services onto the Kintetsu Nara Line * 9300 series File:Hanshin-Series1000-1606.jpg, 1000 series File:Hanshin-Series8000R-8237.jpg, 8000 series File:Hanshin-Series9000-9201.jpg, 9000 series File:Hanshin-Series9300-9501.jpg, 9300 series

Local

* 5001 * 5131/5331 * 5500 series * 5550 series (since January 2010) * 5700 series (since August 2015) (2016 Blue Ribbon Award winner) File:Hanshin-Series5001-5021.jpg, 5001 File:Hanshin-Series5500-5509.jpg, 5500 series File:Hanshin-Series5550-5551.jpg, 5550 series File:Hanshin-Series5700-5717.jpg, 5700 series

Mukogawa Line

* 7861 * 7890/7990 File:Hanshin-7868.jpg, 7861 File:Hanshin7990-mukogawa-line.jpg, 7890/7990
(Retirement) File:Hanshin 5500 mukogawaline 5912F higasinaruo.jpg, Series 5500
To-lucky 5511F-5912F File:Hanshin 5500 mukogawaline 5914F.jpg, Series 5500
Koshien 5514-5914F

Subsidiaries

Hanshin Electric Railway owns the

baseball team, whose home ground is

Hanshin Koshien Stadium , commonly referred to as simply Koshien Stadium, is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on August 1, 1924. It w ...

in front of

Kōshien Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Amagasaki Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the private transportation company Hanshin Electric Railway. It is the nearest station to Hanshin Koshien Stadium. Lines Kōshi ...

of the railway's Main Line. One of the company's subsidiaries is the Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link, that operates the

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine '' Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence from '' ...

brand under licence from ''Billboards publisher.

References

External links

Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Group Website in EnglishHanshin Electric Railway Website in English
{{Authority control Companies based in Osaka Prefecture Railway companies of Japan Rail transport in Osaka Prefecture Transport in Kobe Japanese companies established in 1899 Railway companies established in 1899 Hankyu Hanshin Holdings