Hankyu Railway

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Hankyu Umeda Station

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 kinds of express on each of its main lines and several branches during commute hours. The fare is the same for local or express services. Most cars 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 (reversed at the end of the line).

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.

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 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), then, 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) on December 1, 1949.

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 Hankyu Dentetsu Bunkatsu Jumbi (阪急電鉄分割準備株式会社, founded in 1989) was renamed Hankyu Corporation (阪急電鉄株式会社, Hankyū Dentetsu Kabushiki Gaisha) as a subsidiary of 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 holdiongs was 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.

Main Lines

Map of Hankyu lines

Branch Lines

Trains

A 9300 series train in typical Hankyu Maroon livery

Kobe Line / Takarazuka Line

Kyoto Line

Fare

Single fare(Adult)

km Fare(JPY)
1-4km 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

See also

References

External links


ko:한큐 전철 ja:阪急電鉄