Hankyū Kōbe Line
The Hankyū Kōbe Line (阪急神戸本線, Hankyū Kōbe honsen) is a major commuter heavy rail line in the Keihanshin conurbation of Japan. It is run by the Hankyu Railway company and links the urban centres of Osaka and Kobe by connecting the major stations of Umeda in Osaka and Sannomiya in Kobe.
At the Kobe end of the line some trains continue through onto the Kobe Rapid Railway, an underground line allowing interchange between the lines of several commuter rail companies operating in Kobe.
Regular train services on the lines come in two kinds: the local (普通) service which stops at all stations, and the limited express (特急) which stops only at major stations along the line. Other commuter and express services operate only during limited time periods:
- Express (急行) trains operate from Umeda to Sannomiya every night. They also operate from Sannomiya to Umeda every morning, and Rapid Express (快速急行) trains every night.
- The only Rapid Express (快速急行) train from Shinkaichi for Umeda is operated every early morning.
- Commuter Express (通勤急行) trains operate on weekdays from Sannomiya to Umeda in the morning, and from Umeda to Sannomiya in the evening and at night.
- Morning Limited Express (通勤特急) trains operate in both directions on weekday mornings.
- Semi-Express (準急) trains operate from Takarazuka on the Imazu Line to Umeda on weekday mornings.
The Kobe Line has interchanges at several of its stations with other lines operated by Hankyu. The Hankyu main lines to Kyoto and Takarazuka share stations at Umeda and Juso with the Kobe Line. The other lines with connections to the Kobe line are smaller lines with only local trains: the Itami Line connects at Tsukaguchi, the Imazu Line at Nishinomiya-kitaguchi and the Koyo Line at Shukugawa.
- Maximum speed: 115km/h
Stations on the Kōbe Line
- ●: stop
- | (↑): pass (in only one direction)
- Shukugawa Station became one of the stops of the Limited Express trains and the Morning Limited Express trains on October 28, 2006 (On the same day of the changeng diagrams of the Takarazuka Line).
