The is a railway line operated by the private railway operator
Hanshin Electric Railway
is a Japanese private railway company owned by Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links Osaka and Kobe. It also owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.
The first character for Kobe (神戸) and the second character for Osaka (大阪) combine to form ...
connecting
Amagasaki Station in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, and
Ōsaka Namba Station in Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
History

The , the predecessor of the Hanshin Namba Line, was planned as a bypass for the Hanshin Railway Main Line, and to connect from Amagasaki to Noda via Dempō. Then the plan was changed to connect to Nishikujō. The line was finally extended to Namba station in 2009.
*January 20, 1924 - The Dempō Line was opened (Daimotsu - Dempō).
*August 1, 1924 - The line was extended from Dempō to Chidoribashi.
*December 28, 1928 - The line was extended from Daimotsu to Amagasaki.
*June 1960 - The first stage of construction to extend line to Namba was started (Chidoribashi - Nishikujō).
*May 20, 1964 - The first stage of construction to extend the line to Namba was completed, thus, the line was extended from Chidoribashi to Nishikujō. The Dempo Line was renamed the .
*September 1965 - Nishi-Osaka limited express service started.
*December 1, 1974 - Nishi-Osaka limited express service was abandoned.
*July 10, 2001 - Nishi-Osaka Railway Co., Ltd. was established to restart the extension from Nishikujō to Namba.
*October 7, 2003 - The construction of the extending line from Nishikujō to Namba was restarted.
*March 20, 2009 - The line from Nishikujō to Namba opened, and the line was renamed the Hanshin Namba Line.
Operations
There are through rapid express operations between
Kobe Sannomiya on the Main Line in
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
Kintetsu Nara Station on the Kintetsu Nara Line in
Nara
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...
via the Hanshin Namba Line, and through local, semi-express, and suburban semi-express operations between Amagasaki Station and Kintetsu Nara Station.
*Rapid Express
**Three to five trains per hour on weekdays, and three trains per hour at weekends and holidays
**Trains stop at Kobe Sannomiya, Uozaki, Ashiya, Nishinomiya, Koshien, Amagasaki, Nishikujo, Kujo, Dome-mae, Sakuragawa, Ōsaka Namba, Kintetsu Nippombashi, Osaka Uehommachi, Tsuruhashi, Ikoma, Gakuen-mae, Yamato-Saidaiji, Shin-Omiya and Kintetsu Nara. Rapid express services also stop at Imazu and Mukogawa during the weekday offpeak, and on weekends and holidays, but pass Ashiya on weekends and holidays.
**The first 3 trains are operated from Shinkaichi Station on the Kobe Kosoku Line for Nara at weekends and holidays.
**6, 8 or 10 cars (Weekdays: 6 cars between Kobe Sannomiya and Amagasaki / weekends and holidays: many trains have 8 cars between Kobe Sannomiya and Kintetsu Nara)
*Local, semi-express, suburban semi-express
**6 trains per hour every day
**Local trains stop at every station on the Hanshin Namba Line, the Kintetsu Namba Line, and the Kitntetsu Nara Line.
**Semi-express trains stop at every station between Amagasaki and Tsuruhashi, Fuse, Kawachi-Kosaka, Higashi-Hanazono, and every station between Ishikiri and Kintetsu Nara. Suburban semi-express trains also stop at Hyotan-yama, Hiraoka and Nukata.
**6 cars
Stations
*● : trains stop
*, : trains pass
*Local / Suburban semi-express / Semi-express trains stop at every station on this line
Rolling stock
*
Hanshin 1000 series EMU
*
Hanshin 9000 series EMU
*
Kintetsu 1026 series EMU
*
Kintetsu 1252 series EMU
*
Kintetsu 5800 series EMU
*
Kintetsu 5820 series EMU
*
Kintetsu 9020 series EMU
*
Kintetsu 9820 series EMU
*
Kintetsu 22600 series EMU (chartered trains)
File:Hanshin 1000 series 1203F (49904023131).jpg, Hanshin 1000 series
File:Hanshin-Series9000.jpg, Hanshin 9000 series
File:Kintetsu1026 hanshin.JPG, Kintetsu 1026 series
File:Kintetsu-1252-uozaki.JPG, Kintetsu 1252 series
File:Kintetsu Series5800.jpg, Kintetsu 5800 series
File:Kintetsu 5820 DH51 Rapid Express.jpg, Kintetsu 5820 series
File:Kintetsu 9020 and 5800 series Nara Line express 2014-01-25 (12364980433).jpg, Kintetsu 9020 series
File:KINTETSU22600 5.JPG, Kintetsu 22600 series
References
{{Osaka transit
Lines of Hanshin Electric Railway
Rail transport in Osaka Prefecture
Rail transport in Hyōgo Prefecture
Standard-gauge railways in Japan
Railway lines opened in 1924