is a private railway in Japan, founded in 1884. The name ''Nankai'' (which means "South Sea") comes from the company's routes along the Nankaidō, the old highway that ran south from the old capital, Kyoto, along the sea coast. Nankai predates all the electric railways in the Tokyo region. The Nankai network branches out in a generally southern direction from Namba Station in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. The Nankai Main Line connects Osaka to Wakayama, with an important spur branching to

Kansai International Airport Kansai International Airport (), commonly known as Kankū (; ), is the primary international airport in the Keihanshin, Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is located on ...

. The '' rapi:t α'' express connects

to Namba in 34 minutes, while the '' rapi:t β'' takes 39 minutes with two additional stops. The Koya Line connects Osaka to Mt. Koya, headquarters of the Buddhist

Shingon is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō- ...

sect and a popular pilgrimage site. IC cards ( PiTaPa and ICOCA) are accepted.

History

The Nankai Railway Company was founded on June 16, 1884. In 1944 it was one of the companies that merged to form Kinki Nippon Railway Co., Ltd. (Kin-nichi, present Kintetsu Railway). However, Kin-nichi transferred the former Nankai Railway Company's lines to the present Nankai Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (named Koyasan Electric Railway Co., Ltd. from March 28, 1925 until March 14, 1947) on June 1, 1947. Nankai corporate mark old

From 1938 to 1988, Nankai Electric Railway owned the

Nankai Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. Founded on February 22, 1938, as the Nankai Club, being the first Kansai t ...

, a team in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

that was based in Osaka. The team was sold to

Daiei , based in Kobe, Hyōgo, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Marubeni ...

after the 1988 season and moved to Fukuoka and rechristened the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. The team was sold again in 2005 to

SoftBank is a Japanese multinational Investment company, investment holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, that focuses on investment management. The group primarily invests in companies operating in technology that offer goods and services ...

, and are now the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. On November 1, 2024,

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government.国土交通省設置法

(MLIT) approved the merger of Nankai Electric Railway and its subsidiary Semboku Rapid Railway, effective April 1, 2025.

Lines

* Nankai Main Line (南海本線): Namba – Wakayamashi * Takashinohama Line (高師浜線): Hagoromo – Takashinohama * Nankai airport line symbol

Airport Line (空港線): Izumisano – Kansai Airport * Tanagawa Line (多奈川線): Misaki koen – Tanagawa * Kada Line (加太線): Kinokawa – Kada * Wakayamako Line (和歌山港線): Wakayamashi – Wakayamako *

Koya Line The is a railway line in Osaka Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by the Nankai Electric Railway, a private railway operator. It connects Osaka and Koyasan, the capital of the Japanese Buddhist sect Shingon, via the s ...

(高野線): Shiomibashi - Kishinosato-Tamade – Gokurakubashi **In operation: Namba - Gokurakubashi ** Shiomibashi Line (汐見橋線, commonly called): Shiomibashi – Kishinosato-Tamade * Semboku Line (泉北線): Nakamozu – Izumi-Chuo * Cable Line (鋼索線): Gokurakubashi – Koyasan

Defunct lines and transferred lines

*Nankai Line (南海線) ** Tennoji Branch (天王寺支線): Tengachaya – Tennoji (replaced by the

Sakaisuji Line The is an underground rapid transit line in Osaka, Japan, operated by Osaka Metro. Its official name is , and in Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Japan), MLIT publications, it is written as . The Sakaisuji Line is uniq ...

) ** Kitajima Branch (北島支線): Wakayamashi – Kitajima - Higashi-Matsue (abandoned) **Wakayamako Line (和歌山港線): Wakayamako – Suiken (abandoned) * Kishigawa Line (貴志川線, dealt with Wakayama Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (和歌山電鐵株式会社)): Wakayama – Kishi *Osaka Tram Line (大阪軌道線) ** Hankai Line (阪堺線): Ebisucho – Hamadera-eki-mae (dealt with Hankai Tramway Co., Ltd.) ** Uemachi Line (上町線): Tennoji-eki-mae – Sumiyoshikoen (dealt with Hankai Tramway Co., Ltd.) ** Hirano Line (平野線): Imaike – Hirano (replaced by the Tanimachi Line) ** Ohama Branch (大浜支線): Shukuin – Ohama-kaigan (abandoned) *Wakayama Tram Line (和歌山軌道線): Wakayamashi-eki, Wakayama-eki – Kainan, Shin-Wakaura (abandoned)

Rolling stock

Limited express trains

* 50000 series — used on rapi:t service between Namba and Kansai airport * 31000 series — used on Kōya service between Namba and Gokurakubashi * 30000 series — used on Kōya service between Namba and Gokurakubashi * 12000 series — used on Southern service reserved car between Namba and Wakayamakō * 11000 series — used on Rinkan service between Namba and Hashimoto * 10000 series — used on Southern service reserved car between Namba and Wakayamakō

Nankai Line, Airport Line

* 9000 series — used on Southern service non-reserved car between Namba and Wakayamakō * 8300 series — used on Southern service non-reserved car between Namba and Wakayamakō * 8000 series — used on Southern service non-reserved car between Namba and Wakayamakō * 7100 series — used on Southern service non-reserved car between Namba and Wakayamakō * 3000 series — converted from former Semboku 3000 series * 2000 series * 1000 series

Kōya Line Commuter car (Namba-Hashimoto)

* 8300 series * 6300 series — converted from former 6100 series * 6250 series — converted from former 8200 series * 6200 series * 6000 series * 1000 series

Kōya Line Zoom car (Namba-Gokurakubashi)

* 2300 series * 2200 series — used on Tenkū service * 2000 series

Takashinohama Line, Tanagawa Line, Kada Line, Shiomibashi Line

* 7100 series * 2220 series * 2200 series

Semboku Line

The following vehicles once made up the fleet of the Semboku Rapid Railway. They were transferred to Nankai on 1 April 2025. * Semboku 3000 series * Semboku 5000 series * Semboku 7000 series ** Semboku 7020 series * Semboku 9300 series * Semboku 12000 series

Cable Line

* N10 / N20 File:Nankai 50000 series 50002F.jpg, Nankai 50000 series on '' rapi:t'' service File:Nankai12000.jpg, Nankai 12000 series on ''Southern'' service File:Nankai-Series10000 7100.jpg, Nankai 10000 series on ''Southern'' service File:Nankai-Series6000-6902.jpg, Nankai 6000 series File:Nankai 9000 Series 9509F.jpg, Nankai 9000 series on ''Southern'' service File:Nankai2000Series01.jpg, Nankai 2000 series ("Zoom Car") File:Semboku 3000 series 011.JPG, Semboku 3000 series

References

External links

* {{Osaka transit Companies based in Osaka Prefecture Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Companies listed on the Osaka Exchange Railway companies of Japan Rail transport in Osaka Prefecture Midori-kai Japanese companies established in 1884 Nankai Group Railway companies established in 1884