Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (阪神電気鉄道株式会社, Hanshin Denki-tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese private railway company owned by Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links Osaka and Kobe. It also owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group) |
| Headquarters | Osaka, Japan |
| Locale | Kansai region, Japan |
| Dates of operation | 1905 (established in 1899)– |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
| Length | 48.9 km |
| Other | |
| Website | rail |
The first character for Kobe (神戸) and the second character for Osaka (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
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Operating lines
edit- Main Line (本線) (Umeda – Motomachi, 32.1 km)
- Hanshin Namba Line (阪神なんば線) (Amagasaki – Ōsaka Namba, 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) (Mukogawa – Mukogawa-danchimae, 1.7 km)
- Kobe Kosoku Line (神戸高速線) (Category-2, Motomachi – Nishidai, 5.0 km)
- The tracks of the line are owned by Kobe Rapid Transit Railway Co., Ltd. as the Tozai Line.
Abandoned lines
edit- Kita-Osaka Line (北大阪線) (Noda – Tenjimbashisuji Rokuchome)
- Kokudo Line (国道線) (Noda – Higashi-Kobe)
- Koshien Line (甲子園線) (Kamikoshien - Koshien - Hamakoshien - Nakatsuhama)
- Amagasaki Kaigan Line (尼崎海岸線) (Deyashiki - Higashihama)
- Mukogawa Line (武庫川線) (Mukogawa - Muko-ohashi - Nishinomiya (Japanese National Railways)): the line between Muko-ohashi and Nishinomiya (JNR) was used only for freight trains operated by JNR.
Incomplete lines
edit- Imazu Deyashiki Line (今津出屋敷線): Takasu - Suzaki - Hamakoshien - Imazu
- Amagasaki Takarazuka Line (尼崎宝塚線): Amagasaki - Takarazuka: planned by Takarazuka Amagasaki Railway Company
- Daini Hanshin Line: Umeda - Chidoribashi - Amagasaki - Sannomiya - Minatogawa
History
edit- June 12, 1899: Settsu Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (摂津電気鉄道株式会社, Settsu Denki-tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha) was established.
- July 7, 1899: The company was renamed "Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd."
- April 7, 1968: Kobe Rapid Railway was opened and joint operation with Sanyo Electric Railway was started.
- February 15, 1998: Joint operation with Sanyo Electric Railway for limited express service between Umeda and Himeji 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.[1]
- March 20, 2009: Joint operation with Kintetsu Railway for Rapid Express service between Sannomiya and Kintetsu Nara was started.
Rolling stock
editLimited Express/Express
edit- 1000 series - through services onto the Kintetsu Nara Line
- 8000 series
- 9000 series - through services onto the Kintetsu Nara Line
- 9300 series
-
1000 series -
8000 series -
9000 series -
9300 series
Local
edit- 5001
- 5131/5331
- 5500 series
- 5550 series (since January 2010)[2]
- 5700 series (since August 2015)[3] (2016 Blue Ribbon Award winner)
-
5001 -
5500 series -
5550 series -
5700 series
Mukogawa Line
edit-
7861 -
7890/7990
(Retirement) -
Series 5500
To-lucky 5511F-5912F -
Series 5500
Koshien 5514-5914F
Subsidiaries
editHanshin Electric Railway owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team, whose home ground is Hanshin Koshien Stadium in front of Kōshien Station 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 brand under licence from Billboard's publisher.[4][5]
References
edit- ^ "UPDATE 2-Hankyu takes over fellow railway operator Hanshin". Reuters. 2006-06-20. Retrieved 2006-06-20.
- ^ 阪神5550系が営業運転を開始 [Hanshin 5550 series enters service]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Koyusha Co., Ltd. 30 December 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ 阪神5700系が営業運転を開始 [Hanshin 5700 series enters revenue service]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ "'Billboard Live' Venues To Roll Out In Japan". Billboard. 2006-09-14. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
- ^ Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (18 August 2007). "Billboard 18 August 2007". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 34–. ISSN 0006-2510.
{{cite magazine}}:|author=has generic name (help)
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hanshin Electric Railway.