The Hankyu Imazu Line (阪急今津線, Hankyū Imazu-sen) is a 9.3 km long commuter rail line in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan owned and operated by the private railway operator Hankyu Railway. It is the longest of three branchlines of the Hankyu Kobe Line. The line connects the cities of Nishinomiya and Takarazuka.
| Hankyu Imazu Line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 The Hankyu Imazu Line with the Takarazuka Grand Theater in the background | |||
| Overview | |||
| Native name | 阪急今津線 | ||
| Locale | Hyōgo Prefecture | ||
| Stations | 10 | ||
| Service | |||
| Operator(s) | Hankyu Railway | ||
| Depot(s) | Nishinomiya Depot | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 9.3 km (5.8 mi) | ||
| Number of tracks | Double | ||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Electrification | 1,500 V DC, overhead lines | ||
| Operating speed | 80 km/h (50 mph) | ||
| |||
Operation edit
The Imazu Line runs between Imazu Station and Takarazuka Station. However, no trains run directly from one end to the other because the tracks have split since 1984 at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station, where the line crosses the Kobe Line. Typical Imazu Line trains stop every station between Imazu and Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi (south section) or Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi and Takarazuka (north section).
A small number of trains, called Semi-Express (junkyū), run from Takarazuka Station to Umeda Station (Hankyu's main terminal in Osaka) on weekdays not via the Takarazuka Line, but via the Imazu Line and the Kobe Line. Semi-Express trains of this route do not stop at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station because of the layout of the track in the station; there is no platform for through trains. The distance between Takarazuka and Umeda stations via the Imazu Line is shorter than the route via the Takarazuka line.
Stations edit
- All stations are in Hyōgo Prefecture
- Stops:
- S: Semi-Express
- E: Express (Rinji-Kyūkō)
- Pass: |
| No. | Station | Japanese | km | S | E | Transfers | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South section | |||||||
| HK-21 | Imazu | 今津 | 9.3 | Nishinomiya | |||
| HK-22 | Hanshin-Kokudō | 阪神国道 | 8.6 | ||||
| HK-08 | Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi | 西宮北口 (阪急西宮ガーデンズ前) | 7.7 |
| |||
| North section | |||||||
| HK-08 | Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi | 西宮北口 | 7.7 | | | | |
|
Nishinomiya |
| HK-23 | Mondo-Yakujin | 門戸厄神 | 6.4 | S | | | ||
| HK-24 | Kōtōen | 甲東園 | 5.4 | S | | | ||
| HK-25 | Nigawa | 仁川 (阪神競馬場前) | 4.5 | S | E | Takarazuka | |
| HK-26 | Obayashi | 小林 | 2.8 | S | |||
| HK-27 | Sakasegawa | 逆瀬川 | 1.8 | S | |||
| HK-28 | Takarazuka-Minamiguchi | 宝塚南口 (宝塚ホテル前) | 0.9 | S | |||
| HK-56 | Takarazuka | 宝塚 (宝塚大劇場前) | 0.0 | S |
| ||
Connections edit
- Hanshin Main Line at Imazu
- Hankyu Kobe Line at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi
- Hankyu Takarazuka Line at Takarazuka
- Fukuchiyama Line at Takarazuka
History edit
The section between Takarazuka and Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi opened on 2 September 1921, named the Nishi-Takarazuka Line (西宝塚線).[1] The section from Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi to Imazu opened on 18 December 1926, and the line was renamed the Imazu Line.[1]
Attractions along the line edit
- Hanshin Racecourse near Nigawa Station
- Kwansei Gakuin University near Kotoen Station
Culture edit
References edit
- ^ a b Terada, Hirokazu (19 January 2013). データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways] (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing. p. 139. ISBN 978-4-7770-1336-4.