is a

private railway A private railway is a railroad run by a private business entity (usually a corporation but not need be), as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector. Japan In Japan, , commonly simply ''private railway'', refers to a public transit railway o ...

in Japan, founded in 1884. The name ''Nankai'' (which means "South Sea") comes from the company's routes along the

Nankaidō is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. The road connected provincial capitals in this region. It was part of the Gokishichidō system. The ''Nankaidō'' encompass ...

, 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 is a name shared by two railway stations in the Namba district of Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. One is owned by Nankai Electric Railway, while the other is by the Osaka Metro. The names of both stations are written in ''hiragana'' on signage with ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

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

Kansai International Airport Kansai International Airport ( ja, 関西国際空港, Kansai Kokusai Kūkō) commonly known as is the primary international airport in the Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and ...

. 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 Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Kn ...

sect and a popular pilgrimage site. IC cards (

PiTaPa is a contactless smart card ticketing and electronic money system used in the Kansai region (and may also be used in some areas of Okayama Prefecture, Hiroshima Prefecture, and Shizuoka Prefecture) of Japan. The name ''PiTaPa'' is an acronym of ...

and

ICOCA The card is a rechargeable contactless smart card used on the JR West rail network in Japan. The card was launched on November 1, 2003 for usage on the Urban Network, which encompasses the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe (Keihanshin). It ...

) 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. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

, a team in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

that was based in Osaka. The team was sold to

Daiei , based in Kobe, Hyōgo, Kobe, 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 Maruben ...

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 conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs the Vi ...

, and are now the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Lines

Nankai Main Line The is one of the two main railway lines of Japanese private railway company Nankai Electric Railway, together with Kōya Line. The route is from Namba Station in south downtown of Osaka to Wakayamashi Station in Wakayama via Sakai, Izumi ...

(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 is a railway line in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, owned by Nankai Electric Railway. This line connects to the Nankai Main Line. History The line opened in 1944, electrified at 1500 VDC, to serve the Kawasaki Heavy Industries shipbuilding yard. In 19 ...

(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 ...

(高野線): Shiomibashi - Kishinosato-Tamade – Gokurakubashi **In operation: Namba - Gokurakubashi ** Shiomibashi Line (汐見橋線, commonly called): Shiomibashi – Kishinosato-Tamade * 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 MLIT publications, it is written as . The Sakaisuji Line is unique in the Osaka Metro system in that despite being regulated as ...

) ** Kitajima Branch (北島支線): Wakayamashi – Kitajima - Higashi-Matsue (abandoned) **Wakayamako Line (和歌山港線): Wakayamako – Suiken (abandoned) *

Kishigawa Line is a railway line in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. It is the sole line of the Wakayama Electric Railway Co., Ltd. The 14.3 km route extends from Wakayama Station in the city of Wakayama to Kishi Station in neighboring Kinokawa. Including the ...

(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 The is a tramway in the cities of Osaka and Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Hankai Tramway Co., Ltd. owns and operates the line. The line's name comes from (the kanji character for ''saka'' is also pronounced ''han'') and (whose kanji contribu ...

(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 The is a rapid transit line of Osaka Metro, running from Dainichi Station in Moriguchi to Yaominami Station in Yao through Osaka. Its official name is , while the Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau refers to it as , and in MLIT publicat ...

) ** 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

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