Hankyu Corporation is a Japanese private railway operator that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region and is one of major businesses operated by Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., in turn part of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. The railway's main terminal is at Umeda Station in Osaka. The signature color of Hankyu cars is maroon. The Hankyu network serves 1,950,000 people every weekday and offers several types of express service with no extra charge. The head offices of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc. and Hankyu Corporation are at 1-16-1, Shibata, Kita-ku, Osaka; the both companies' registered headquarters are at 1-1, Sakaemachi, Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture.
History
Foundation
In 1907, the, a forerunner of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc., was established by Ichizō Kobayashi. On 10 March 1910, Minoo Arima Tramway opened the rail lines from Umeda to Takarazuka and from Ishibashi to Minoo. The tramway was popular due to Kobayashi's pioneering act to develop housing around stations along the line, a forerunner to transit-oriented developments.
On February 4, 1918, Minoo Arima Tramway was renamed. On July 16, 1920, the Kobe Main Line from Jūsō to Kobe and the Itami Line from Tsukaguchi to Itami were opened. On April 1, 1936, the Kobe Main Line was extended from Nishi-Nada to the new terminal in Kobe, and the Kobe Main Line from Nishi-Nada to Kamitsutsui was named the Kamitsutsui Line, which was abandoned on May 20, 1940. In 1936, Hankyu established a professional baseball team and in 1937 the Nishinomiya Stadium as the team's home field was completed near Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station. The Hankyu Braves played until the 1988 season and became the predecessors of the present-day Orix Buffaloes.
Merger and separation with Keihan
On October 1, 1943, under the order of the government, Hanshin Kyūkō and Keihan Electric Railway were merged, and renamed. The merged lines included the Keihan Main Line, the Uji Line, the Shinkeihan Line, the Senriyama Line, the Jūsō Line, the Arashiyama Line, the Keishin Line and the Ishiyama Sakamoto Line. The Katano Line was also added in 1945. On December 1, 1949, the Keihan Main Line, the Katano Line, the Uji Line, the Keishin Line, and the Ishiyama-Sakamoto Line were split off to become part of the newly established Keihan Electric Railway Co., Ltd. Although this revived the former Keihan Electric Railway, Keihan was now smaller than before the 1943 merger, because the Shinkeihan Line and its branches were not given up by Keihanshin. The present structure of the Hankyu network with the three main lines was fixed by this transaction. The abbreviation of Keihanshin Kyūkō Railway was changed from "Keihanshin" to "Hankyū".
Postwar development
On April 7, 1968, the Kobe Main Line started through service to the Kobe Rapid Transit RailwayTozai Line and the Sanyo Electric Railway Main Line. On December 6, 1969, the Kyoto Main Line and the Senri Line started through service to the Osaka Municipal Subway Sakaisuji Line. In 1970, the Senri Line was one of access routes to the Expo '70 held in Senri area. On April 1, 1973, Keihanshin Kyūkō Railway Company assumed its current name. , and the symbols for Osaka City and Kobe are incorporated On April 1, 2005, former Hankyu Corporation became a holding company and was renamed. The railway business was ceded to a subsidiary, now named Hankyu Corporation until March 28, 2004, then "Hankyū Dentetsu Bunkatsu Junbi K.K.". On October 1, 2006, Hankyu Holdings became the wholly owning parent company of Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd. and the holdings were renamed Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc.. Hankyu's stock purchase of Hanshin shares was completed on June 20, 2006.
Rail lines
Hankyu operates three main trunk lines, connecting Osaka with Kobe, Takarazuka and Kyoto respectively, and their branches. 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 has two groups of rolling stock, one for the Kobe-Takarazuka Lines and the other for the Kyoto Lines.
Former lines
Abandoned lines
Kitano Line
Kamitsutsui Line
Transferred lines
Keihan Line
*Keihan Main Line
*Katano Line
*Uji Line
Ōtsu Line
*Keishin Line
*Ishiyama Sakamoto Line
The Keihan and Ōtsu Lines were transferred to Keihan Electric Railway Co., Ltd. which separated from Keihanshin Kyūkō on December 1, 1949.
Rolling stock
As of March 31, 2010, Hankyu has 1,319 cars for passenger service. Standard cars have three pairs of doors per side and bench seating facing the center of the train. The Kobe Line and Takarazuka Line use the same fleet. Some former Hankyu trains, such as the 2000 series and 3100 series, have been transferred to the Nose Electric Railway.
Single fare in Japanese Yen by travel distance is as follows. Fares for children are half the adult fare, rounded up to the nearest 10 yen. For fare collection, IC cards are accepted. The fare rate was changed on April 1, 2014 to reflect the change in the rate of consumption tax from 5% to 8%.
Etymology
The name Hankyu stands for Keihanshin Kyūkō. Keihanshin means the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and the suburbs of theirs. Kyūkō means express train.
A 2-car Hankyu train was featured in the 1988 Japanese animated war dramaGrave of the Fireflies. The 2011 film Hankyu Railway: a 15-Minute Miracle is set on the Hankyu Imazu line.
