is a railway operator in

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara ...

, Japan. Its sole line, officially named the , operates as a through-service extension of the

Midōsuji Line The is a rapid transit line in Osaka, Japan, operated by Osaka Metro. Constructed under Midōsuji, a major north-south street, it is the oldest line in the Osaka subway system and the second oldest in Japan, following the Tokyo Metro Ginza L ...

of the

Osaka Metro The is a major rapid transit system in the Osaka metropolitan area of Japan, operated by the Osaka Metro Company, Ltd. It serves the city of Osaka and the adjacent municipalities of Higashiosaka, Kadoma, Moriguchi, Sakai, Suita, and Yao. ...

. is a

third-sector railway In Japan, , sometimes translated as semi-public sector railways, are railways operated by a joint corporation that has been invested in by both public and private sectors, and which maintain a public–private partnership. These lines are most of ...

- 54% owned by

Hankyu Corporation , trading as , is a Japanese private railway company that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region. It is one of the flagship properties of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., in turn part of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Gr ...

, a major component of the wider

Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group (formerly known as the before 2006, is a Japanese keiretsu (association of businesses) centered around companies established by railway tycoon Ichizō Kobayashi: Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, H2O Retailing and Toho. The keiretsu historically includ ...

, and 25% owned by

. ''Kitakyu'', as it is often abbreviated, also owns various commercial and residential properties along the line. It is not to be confused with an earlier railway company called which operated a section of the

Hankyu Senri Line The is a railway line in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, operated by Hankyu Railway. It commenced operation in 1921 and was completed on March 1, 1967. Through trains operate to and from the Hankyu Kyoto Line and the Osaka Municipal Subway Sakaisuji ...

(between Awaji and Senriyama) and

Hankyu Kyoto Main Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by the private railway operator Hankyu Railway. It connects Osaka-umeda Station in Osaka and Kyoto-kawaramachi Station in Kyoto. Definition The Kyoto Main Line is often called the for short, and in ...

(between Jūsō and Awaji) from 1919 until 1928, when it was merged into

Keihan Electric Railway The , 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 ...

Stations on the Kitakyu Namboku Line

;Notes:

Former line

*Kaijō Line (Senri-Chūō - )

Rolling stock

All Kita-Osaka Kyuko rolling stock are stored and maintained at Momoyamadai Depot. * 8000 series (since 1987) * 9000 series (since 28 April 2014)

Former rolling stock

* 2000 series (from 1969 until 1993) * 7000/8000 series (from 1969 until 1970)

History

Planning for the Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway began on 23 May 1966 as part of preparatory works for the

1970 World's Fair The or Expo '70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, between 15 March and 13 September 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...

. Although the line was originally envisioned as a straightforward extension of the Midōsuji Line, the city government was unable to independently build and complete the extension because it went beyond municipal boundaries, thus raising issues of expropriation and financing. The Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway Company was established on 11 December 1967 under the as a result of the efforts of

Takeo Miki was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister of Japan from 1974 to 1976. A native of Tokushima Prefecture, Miki was educated at Meiji University and the University of Southern California. He was first elected ...

, then Minister of International Trade and Industry, who brokered the deal creating said company as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

between the City of Osaka and Hankyu Railway. The line began construction on 16 July 1968 and was opened on 24 February 1970, to connect the then northern terminus of the Midōsuji Line, , with the grounds of the 1970 World's Fair. The Expo link was closed on 14 September, and the line was redirected to the new underground terminal station of . The temporary tracks between Senri-Chūō and the Expo Park were removed following the Expo, and the right-of-way repurposed as part of the Chugoku Expressway. A plan to extend the line northward from Senri-Chuo to the city of

Minoh file:箕面市役所.jpg, 270px, Minoh City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city in northwestern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 139,118 in 62451 households and a population density of 2900 persons per km2. The total ...

was proposed in 1989. The Minoh municipal government exchanged a letter of confirmation with Hankyu and Kitakyu regarding studies of the extension in 2011, and the government of

joined a four-party memorandum of understanding in 2012. On 19 January 2017, construction began on the extension of the line to , which will have one intermediate station at . Completion of the extension was originally scheduled for 2020; in May 2019, the extension's scheduled opening date was delayed to 2023 because of construction problems. The scheduled opening of the extension was set for the end of 2023, but was later pushed back further to 23 March 2024.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway Rail transport in Osaka Prefecture Railway companies of Japan Railway companies established in 1967 1967 establishments in Japan 750 V DC railway electrification Japanese third-sector railway lines