Hankyu Railway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hankyu Railway (阪急電鉄, Hankyū Dentetsu) is a Japanese private railway that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region. Its main terminal is at Umeda Station in Osaka. The signature color of Hankyu cars is maroon. IC cards (PiTaPa and ICOCA) are accepted.
The Hankyu network serves 1,950,000 people every weekday and offers several types of express service with no extracharge.
Contents |
[edit] History
Minoo Arima Electric Tramway Company (箕面有馬電気軌道株式会社, Minoo Arima Denki Kido) which was a forerunner of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc. was established by Ichizo Kobayashi in 1907, then the rail lines from Umeda to Takarazuka (the Takarazuka Line) and from Ishibashi to Minoo (the Minoo Line) were opened on March 10, 1910.
In 1918, Minoo Arima Electric Tramway Company was renamed Hanshin Kyuko Railway Company (阪神急行電鉄株式会社, referred to "Hankyu", 阪急), then, the Kobe Line from Juso to Kobe (later, renamed Kamitsutsui) and the Itami Line from Tsukaguchi to Itami were opened on July 16, 1920. On April 1, 1936, the Kobe Line from Nishi-Nada (Present: Ojikoen) to Sannomiya was opened.
On October 1, 1943, Hanshin Kyuko and former Keihan Railway (京阪電気鉄道) were united, and renamed Keihanshin Kyuko Railway Company (京阪神急行電鉄, referred to "Keihanshin", 京阪神)
On December 1, 1949, the Keihan Line, the Katano Line, the Uji Line, the Keishin Line, and the Ishiyama-Sakamoto Line were dealt with present Keihan Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (京阪電気鉄道株式会社), and the abbreviation of Keihanshin Kyuko Railway was changed from "Keihanshin" to "Hankyu".
On April 1, 1973, Keihanshin Kyuko Railway Company was renamed former Hankyu Corporation (阪急電鉄株式会社 Hankyū Dentetsu Kabushiki Gaisha?, Present: Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc.).
On April 1, 2005 a company founded on December 7, 1989 (阪急電鉄分割準備株式会社) as a subsidiary of former Hankyu Corporation became a company to own rail transit and registance, Hankyu Corporation (阪急電鉄株式会社 Hankyū Dentetsu Kabushiki Gaisha?), and former Hankyu Corporation was renamed Hankyu Holdings, Inc. (阪急ホールディングス株式会社 Hankyū Hōrudhingusu Kabushiki Gaisha?).
On October 1, 2006, Hankyu Holdings started wholly owning Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd. and the holdings were renamed "Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc. (阪急阪神ホールディングス株式会社 Hankyū Hanshin Hōrudhingusu Kabushiki Gaisha?)". Hankyu's stock purchase of Hanshin shares was completed on June 20 2006.[1]
Now the head office of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc. and Hankyu Corp. is at 1-16-1, Shibata, Kita-ku, Osaka; its registered headquarters is at 1-1, Sakaemachi, Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture.
[edit] Rail Lines
Hankyu operates three main trunk lines, connecting Osaka with Kobe, Takarazuka and Kyoto respectively, and their branches. Nose Electric Railway works as a feeder of Hankyu line although it is a separate railway company under control of Hankyu.
Kobe Main Line (神戸本線) (Umeda - Sannomiya)
- Itami Line (伊丹線) (Tsukaguchi - Itami)
- Imazu Line (今津線) (Imazu - Nishinomiya-kitaguchi - Takarazuka)
- Kōyō Line (甲陽線) (Shukugawa - Kōyōen)
Takarazuka Main Line (宝塚本線) (Umeda - Takarazuka)
- Minoo Line (箕面線) (Ishibashi - Minoo)
- Nose Electric Railway (能勢電鉄) (Kawanishi-Noseguchi - Myōkenguchi/Nissei-Chūō)
Kyoto Main Line (京都本線) (Umeda - Kawaramachi)
- Senri Line (千里線) (Tenjimbashisuji Roku-chome - Awaji - Kita-Senri)
- Arashiyama Line (嵐山線) (Katsura - Arashiyama)
The three groups of the lines, the Kobe Lines, the Takarazuka Lines and the Kyoto Lines, can be further grouped into two, the Kobe-Takarazuka Lines and the Kyoto Lines from a historical reason. Hankyu have two groups of rolling stock, one for the Kobe-Takarazuka Lines and the other for the Kyoto Lines.
[edit] Rolling stock
Most have six doors and bench seating facing the center of the train, however limited express and rapid express on Kyoto Line often use four-door cars with rows of seats aligned with the direction of the train (reversible).
Kobe Line and Takarazuka Line use almost the same types of fleet, instead, by historical reason Kyoto Line is served by another types of rolling stock.
[edit] Kobe Line / Takarazuka Line
- 9000 series
- 8200 series
- 8000 series
- 7000 series
- 6000 series
- 5100 series
- 5000 series
- 3100 series (transferred to Nose Electric Railway)
- 3000 series
- 2000 series (transferred to Nose Electric Railway)
[edit] Kyoto Line
- 9300 series
- 8300 series
- 7300 series
- 6300 series
- 5300 series
- 3300 series
- 2300 series
[edit] Fare
Single fare (adult) fare in JPY by travel distance (km)
- 1-4: 150
- 5-9: 180
- 10-14: 220
- 15-19: 260
- 20-26: 270
- 27-33: 310
- 34-42: 360
- 43-51: 390
- 52-60: 450
- 61-70: 510
- 71-76: 600
[edit] Etymology
The name Hankyu stands for Keihanshin Kyuko (京阪神急行). Keihanshin (京阪神) means the cities of Kyoto (京都), Osaka (大阪), Kobe (神戸), and the suburbs of theirs. Kyuko (急行) means express train.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ UPDATE 2-Hankyu takes over fellow railway operator Hanshin. Reuters (2006-06-20). Retrieved on 2006-06-20.
[edit] External links
- Hankyu Railway Website (Japanese)
- Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Group index page
- Hankyu Railway Area Guide - Guide to using Hankyu railways, Fares from Umeda, Terminal area map
16 major private rail operators of Japan | |
|---|---|
| East Japan | Keikyū · Keiō · Keisei · Odakyū · Seibu · Sōtetsu · Tōbu · Tōkyū · Tokyo Metro |
| West Japan | Meitetsu · Kintetsu · Nankai · Keihan · Hanshin · Hankyū · Nishitetsu |
Mass transit in Osaka | |
|---|---|
| Municipal lines | Subway: ●Chūō • ●Imazatosuji • ●Midōsuji • ●Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi • ●Sennichimae • ●Sakaisuji • ●Tanimachi • ●Yotsubashi People mover: ●New Tram |
| JR lines ("Urban Network") | Akō • ●Hanwa • ●Gakkentoshi • ●Kosei • ●Nara • ●Osaka Loop • ●Osaka Higashi • ●Takarazuka • ●Tōkaidō/Sanyō (Biwako - Kyoto - Kobe) • ●Tōzai • ●Yamatoji • ●Yumesaki |
| Other networks | Hankyū (10) • Hanshin (3) • Keihan (6) • Kintetsu (16) • Kitakyū (1) • Nankai (9) • Osaka Monorail • Semboku Rapid |
| Around Osaka | Hankai • Hokushin Kyūkō • Kobe New Transit (2) • Kobe Rapid (3) • Kobe Subway (2) • Kyoto Subway (2) • Noseden (2) • Randen (2) • Sanyō (2) • Shintetsu (4) |
| Terminals | Osaka • Umeda • Tennōji • Namba • Kyōbashi |
| Miscellaneous | ICOCA • PiTaPa |
ko:한큐 전철 ja:阪急電鉄 pl:Hankyū zh:阪急電鐵
