The is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway operator

Hankyu Railway , trading as , is a Japanese private railway company that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region. It is one of the flagship properties of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., in turn part of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Gr ...

. It connects

Umeda Station is a major railway station in Kita-ku, Osaka, Kita-ku in the northern commercial center of Osaka, Japan. It is the busiest station in western Japan, serving 2,343,727 passengers daily in 2005. Umeda Station is served by the following railways: ...

in downtown

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 ...

with Takarazuka Station in Takarazuka, Hyogo. It has a branch line, the Minoo Line, and the

Nose Electric Railway The (pronounced No-say), occasionally abbreviated as Nose Railway or , is a Japanese private railway company headquartered in Kawanishi, Hyogo, which links several areas in the mountainous Nose, Osaka, area to Kawanishi-noseguchi Station in Kaw ...

is another longer branch line. The Imazu Line connects at Takarazuka, but it is treated as a branch of the Kobe Line. The Takarazuka Main Line is commonly called the for short, but the name Takarazuka Line is sometimes used as the name for the network composed of the main line and the branches. The line has numerous sharp curves from the line's origins as a tramway, built and opened by its predecessor . The sharp curves have long hindered high speed operation, contrasting to the Hankyu's other main lines,

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

and

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

History

The Minoo Arima Electric Tramway opened the entire line on 10 March 1910 as 1435mm gauge dual track, electrified at 600 VDC. Although the line was not a prospect

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

as Takarazuka was not a big city, it saw initial success thanks to the company's aggressive measures. It strategically developed housing areas along the line for the increasing white-collar population who would commute to central Osaka by train. It also opened a zoo in Minoo (on the Minoo Line) in November 1910, a hot spring in Takarazuka in May 1911, and a ballpark in Toyonaka in 1913. The track between Umeda and Jūsō was shared with the Kobe Line from 1920 to 1926 when the original double track was replaced by an elevated four-track line. In comparison with the Kobe Line, cars used on the Takarazuka Line were small and old. Larger (Kobe Line standard) cars could not operate on the line until 1952 due to its small

structure gauge A structure gauge, also called the minimum structure outline, is a diagram or physical structure that sets limits to the extent that bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure can encroach on rail vehicles. It specifies the height and width of s ...

. Small cars were eliminated in December 1963. On 24 August 1969 the voltage was raised to 1500 VDC. As the commuters increased, Hankyu's first 10-car operation began on the Takarazuka Line in March 1982, but 10 car trains were discontinued again in December 2022. Following the elevation work of Kawanishi-Noseguchi Station, through services to

began on 17 November 1997. Since the 1970s there have been plans to build a spur line to

Itami Airport , often referred to as , is the primary domestic airport for the Kansai region of Japan, including its major cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is the airport closest to Osaka, being 11 km (7 mi) north of Osaka Station, as well as ...

from Sone Station. Although Hankyu shelved the plans in the 1980s due to capacity constraints, the plans were reportedly revived in 2017 and remain under consideration as of 2018.

Service patterns

As of 11 June 2025 ; :All-stations service ; :Operated on weekday mornings from Takarazuka to Osaka-Umeda ; ;:Operated on weekday evenings from Osaka-Umeda to Takarazuka ; :Operated on weekday mornings from Kawanishi-Noseguchi to Osaka-Umeda. The last car (Kawanishi side) is only for women. ; :From Nissei-Chūō on

to Umeda in the morning and vice versa on weekday evenings.

Stations

*● : Trains stop. *, : Trains pass. *↑: Trains pass only in one direction.

Rolling stock

* 1000 series EMU (from 28 November 2013) * 2000 series EMU (from 24 February 2025) * 5100 series EMU * 6000 series EMU * 7000 series EMU * 8000 series EMU * 9000 series EMU * Nose Electric Railway 6000 series EMU File:Hankyu1000II.JPG, 1000 series, December 2013 File:Noseden 6000 umeda.JPG, Nose Electric Railway 6000 series, August 2014

Former

* 1100 series EMU * 1200 series EMU * 2021 series EMU * 2100 series EMU * 3000 series EMU * 3100 series EMU

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Hankyu Takarazuka Main Line * Takarazuka Line Rail transport in Osaka Prefecture Rail transport in Hyōgo Prefecture Osaka University transportation