Hanshin Main Line

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Hanshin Main Line
Gauge:	1435 mm
Voltage:	1500 =
Legend Lines are of Hanshin unless noted 0.0 Umeda connecions are shown below (far left) JR-W: Osaka Loop Line Deiribashi abandoned in 1949 JR-W: "Umeda freight line" (near right) JR Tōzai Line 1.1 Fukushima JR-W: Shin-Fukushima JR-W: Osaka Loop Line Kita-Osaka, Kokudō lines 2.3 Noda Ebie Nodahanshin Osaka Subway: Sennichimae Line JR-W: JR Tōzai Line 3.3 Yodogawa Yodo River 4.4 Himejima Ōwada merged to Chibune Kanzaki River 5.9 Chibune Tsukuda merged to Chibune 6.8 Kuise Nishi-Osaka Line 8.0 Daimotsu 8.9 Amagasaki Amagasaki depot and workshop 10.1 Deyashiki Amagasaki Kaigan Line 10.8 Amagasaki Center Pool-mae 12.0 Mukogawa Muko River Mukogawa Line Mukogawa S.B. 13.2 Naruo Kōshien Line 14.1 Kōshien 14.8 Kusugawa 15.4 Imazu Hankyu: Imazu Line Nishinomiya Higashiguchi (merged to Nishinomiya in 2001) 16.7 Nishinomiya Ebisu 17.8 Kōroen Horikiri S.B. 19.0 Uchide 20.2 Ashiya 21.5 Fukae 22.6 Ōgi 23.8 Uozaki Kobe New Transit: Rokkō Island Line 24.6 Sumiyoshi 25.1 Mikage 25.7 Ishiyagawa Ishiyagawa depot 26.6 Shinzaike (old) Shinzaike abandoned in 1929 27.6 Ōishi Kokudō Line 28.2 Nishi-Nada 28.8 Iwaya Wakihama abandoned in 1933 29.9 Kasuganomichi Shin-Ikutagawa abandoned in 1933 Asahi-dōri JR-W: Tōkaidō Main (JR Kobe) line Hankyū: Kobe Main Line 31.2 Sannomiya connections shown below Kobe ("Takimichi") Main Line of Hanshin 32.1 Motomachi Kobe Rapid Railway: Tōzai Line Nishi-Motomachi Kobe Subway: Kaigan Line Kobe, Harbor Land Kōsoku Kobe Kobe Subway: Kaigan Line JR-W: Sanyō Main (JR Kobe) Line Shinkaichi Kobe Rapid: Namboku Line Daikai Kobe Subway: Seishin-Yamate Line Kōsoku Nagata Nagata Kobe Rapid: Tōzai Line Nishidai Sanyō: Main Line Sanyo Himeji Connections at Umeda Subway: Osaka Subway JR-W: Tōkaidō Main (JR Kyoto) Line JR-W: Osaka Loop Line Subway: Tanimachi Line (Higashi-Umeda Hankyū: Kobe, Kyoto, Takarazuka main lines Subway: Midōsuji Line Umeda Osaka Nishi-Umeda, Kita-Shinchi Subway: Yotsubashi Line JR-W: Tōkaidō Main Line     (JR Kobe, JR Takarazuka lines) JR-W: Osaka Loop, JR Tōzai lines Main Line of Hanshin Connections at Sannomiya Kobe City Tramway: Sakaemachi Line Kobe Municipal Subway: Seishin-Yamate Line Hankyū: Kobe Main Line JR-W: Tōkaidō Main (JR Kobe) Line (R) Kobe New Transit: Port Island Line Main Line of Hanshin (L) Sannomiya-Hanshin-mae Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae Kobe Municipal Subway: Kaigan Line

The Main Line (本線, Honsen^?) is a railway line of a Japanese private railway company Hanshin Electric Railway, connecting two Japanese cities of Osaka and Kobe, between Umeda and Sannomiya stations respectively.

Contents 1 Outline 2 History 3 Operation 4 Stations

[edit] Outline

The Main Line of Hanshin is the southernmost railway of the three to connect Osaka and Kobe, with more stations through the earliest inhabited area. The others are Hankyu Corporation's Kobe Main Line in northernmost, and in the midst the Tōkaidō Main Line of present West Japan Railway Company (JR West).

Although the Tōkaidō Main Line has connected the cities earlier as a part of the national railway network, but had been less significant in the interurban connection of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area. Privatized West Japan Railway Company (JR West) has focused the area as its "Urban Network", and has become competitive with private railways.

For nearly a century, the line or the company had competed with the Hankyū Kobe Main Line with numerous stories, tales and talks, however, in 2006 Hanshin and Hankyū were subsidiarized under a single share holding company, Hankyu Hanshin Holdings.

[edit] History

The Main Line started operation on April 12, 1905 by the company. It is one of the oldest interurban railways in Japan, which found a solution to construct a competing line with a governmental line using the Tram Act which first intended to provide supplementary ways of road traffic. Among the followers are Keihan Electric Railway, Minoo Arima Electric Tramway (presnt Hankyu Corporation), Osaka Electric Tramway (present Kintetsu), Keihin Electric Railway (present Keihin Electric Express Railway).

The rivaling Hankyū (then Hanshin Express Railway) Kobe Main Line opened in 1920, and tramway like Hanshin bbuilt new tracks to abandon tracks partly laid on road, and introduced express trains.

In 1968 Kobe Rapid Railway opened its Tōzai Line, and Hanshin began through operations to Sumaura-Kōen of Sanyo Electric Railway via Kobe Rapid (And Sanyo trains to Ōishi of Hanshin and Rokkō of Hankyū).

Through limited express trains to Sanyo Himeji were introduced in 2001. Hanshin is building a line extending from Nishi-Osaka Line to Namba, a major junction in southern Osaka. The company announces through trains from Sannomiya to Kintetsu Nara in Nara on Kintetsu Nara Line will be operated.

[edit] Operation

Some trains run through the Sanyō Railway Main Line to Sanyō Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo beyond Motomachi terminal via Kobe Rapid Railway.

The Hanshin Main Line operates 8 types of trains, one of the most types in Japanese railway. This is in some part to equalize the load of each train especially in the morning for Osaka (Umeda station) with short length of EMU length and with few (only double) tracks.

Abbreviations are tentative for this article.

Local (普通, Futsū^?) (L)

Stops all stations, farthest down to Higahi-Suma on weekdays, Shinkaichi on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and Kosoku Kobe in the off-peak hour.

Semi-Express (準急, Junkyū^?) (SE)

Only in the rush hour on weekdays. In the morning hours, from Umeda down to Amagasaki, Kōshien, up from Ishiyagawa, Nishinomiya, Kōshien to Umeda, trains from Ishiyagawa, Nishinomiya or Kōshien stop at Amagasaki Center Pool-mae. In the evening hours between Umeda and Kōshien.

Express (急行, Kyūkō^?) (Ex)

Between Umeda and Nishinomiya from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and all day on Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays. Farthest down to Sumaura-kōen, stop at Imazu from the evening to the last train on weekdays, and all day on Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays.

Morning Express (区間急行, Kukan Kyūkō^?) (ME)

from Kōshien for Umeda in the morning on weekdays.

Rapid Express (快速急行, Kaisoku Kyūkō^?) (RE)

only in the evening on weekdays.

Hanshin Limited Express (特急, Tokkyū^?) (HL)

Operated down to Sumaura-kōen in the day and late night on weekdays and after day hours on holidays. Stops at Kōshien in the early morning and from the evening until the last train on weekdays, and all day on Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays.

Hanshin-Sanyō Through Limited Express (直通特急, Chokutsū Tokkyū^?) (SL)

Between Umeda and Sanyō Himeji, stop at Kōshien in the early morning and from the evening until the last train on weekdays, and all day on Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays, trains for Himeji stop there in the morning rush hour on weekdays.

Morning Limited Express (区間特急, Kukan Tokkyū^?) (ML)

from Sannomiya to Umeda in the morning on weekdays.

[edit] Stations

The Main Line, having 33 stations, is noted for its "high density" of stations. In comparison, Sannomiya Station is the 16th station on the Hankyū Kobe Main Line from Umeda Station and Motomachi Station is the 15th station on the JR Kobe Line from Osaka Station.

For connections and distances, see the route diagram.

• S: stop
• ^: only in one direction

Station	L	SE	Ex	ME	RE	HL	SL	ML	Location
Main Line
Umeda	S	S	S	S^	S	S	S	S^	Kita-ku, Osaka	Osaka Prefecture
Fukushima	S	S	S						Fukushima-ku, Osaka
Noda	S	S	S	S^	S
Yodogawa	S
Himejima	S	S							Nishiyodogawa-ku, Osaka
Chibune	S	S
Kuise	S	S							Amagasaki	Hyōgo Prefecture
Daimotsu	S
Amagasaki	S	S	S	S^	S	S	S
Deyashiki	S	S
Amagasaki Center Pool-mae	S	S3
Mukogawa	S	S	S	S^
Naruo	S	S		S^					Nishinomiya
Kōshien	S	S	S	S^	S	S2	S2	S^
Kusugawa	S
Imazu	S	S^	S1		S
Nishinomiya	S	S^	S		S	S	S
Kōroen	S							S^
Uchide	S	S^							Ashiya
Ashiya	S	S^	S			S	S	S^
Fukae	S	S^							Higashinada-ku, Kobe
Ōgi	S		S		S			S^
Uozaki	S	S^				S	S
Sumiyoshi	S
Mikage	S	S^	S			S	S
Ishiyagawa	S	S^
Shinzaike	S								Nada-ku, Kobe
Ōishi	S		S
Nishi-Nada	S
Iwaya	S		S		S
Kasuganomichi	S								Chūō-ku, Kobe
Sannomiya	S		S		S	S	S	S^
Motomachi	S		S			S	S
Kobe Rapid Railway Tōzai Line
Nishi-Motomachi	S		S			S	S4		Chūō-ku, Kobe	Hyōgo Prefecture
Kōsoku Kobe	S		S			S	S
Shinkaichi	S		S			S	S		Hyōgo-ku, Kobe
Daikai	S		S			S	S4
Kōsoku Nagata	S		S			S	S		Nagata-ku, Kobe
Nishidai	S		S			S