Hanshin Electric Railway

Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (阪神電気鉄道株式会社) 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 the company name, 阪神, which can be read Han-shin.

IC cards (PiTaPa and ICOCA) are accepted when taking trains.

Operating lines

 * Main Line (本線) (Umeda – Motomachi, 32.1 km)
 * Hanshin Namba Line (阪神なんば線) (Amagasaki – Ōsaka Namba, 10.1 km)
 * The section between Nishikujō and Ōsaka-Namba is the newest line of Hanshin that opened on March 20, 2009. Prior to this extension the line was called the Nishi-Ōsaka Line.


 * Mukogawa Line (武庫川線) (Mukogawa – Mukogawa-danchimae, 1.7 km)
 * Kobe Kosoku Line (神戸高速線) (Category-2, Motomachi – Nishidai, 5.0 km)
 * The tracks of the line are owned by Kobe Rapid Transit Railway Co., Ltd. as the Tozai Line.

Abandoned lines

 * Kita-Osaka Line (北大阪線) (Noda – Tenjimbashisuji Rokuchome)
 * Kokudo Line (国道線) (Noda – Higashi-Kobe)
 * Koshien Line (甲子園線) (Kamikoshien - Koshien - Hamakoshien - Nakatsuhama)
 * Amagasaki Kaigan Line (尼崎海岸線) (Deyashiki - Higashihama)
 * Mukogawa Line (武庫川線) (Mukogawa - Muko-ohashi - Nishinomiya): the line between Muko-ohashi and Nishinomiya (JNR) was used only for freight trains operated by JNR.

Incomplete lines

 * Imazu Deyashiki Line (今津出屋敷線): Takasu - Suzaki - Hamakoshien - Imazu
 * Amagasaki Takarazuka Line (尼崎宝塚線): Amagasaki - Takarazuka: planned by Takarazuka Amagasaki Railway Company
 * Daini Hanshin Line: Umeda - Chidoribashi - Amagasaki - Sannomiya - Minatogawa

History

 * June 12, 1899: Settsu Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (摂津電気鉄道株式会社) was established.
 * July 7, 1899: The company was renamed "Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd."
 * April 7, 1968: Kobe Rapid Railway was opened and joint operation with Sanyo Electric Railway was started.
 * February 15, 1998: Joint operation with Sanyo Electric Railway for limited express service between Umeda and Himeji was started.
 * June 20, 2006: Hankyu Holdings, Inc. completed its purchase of a controlling interest in Hanshin in a transaction valued at about $2.2 billion.
 * March 20, 2009: Joint operation with Kintetsu Railway for Rapid Express service between Sannomiya and Kintetsu Nara was started.

Limited Express/Express

 * 1000 series - through services onto the Kintetsu Nara Line
 * 8000 series
 * 9000 series - through services onto the Kintetsu Nara Line
 * 9300 series

Local

 * 5001
 * 5131/5331
 * 5500 series
 * 5550 series (since January 2010)
 * 5700 series (since August 2015) (2016 Blue Ribbon Award winner)

Mukogawa Line

 * 7861
 * 7890/7990

Subsidiaries
Hanshin Electric Railway owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team, whose home ground is Hanshin Koshien Stadium in front of Kōshien Station of the railway's Main Line.

One of the company's subsidiaries is the Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link, that operates the Billboard Japan brand under licence from Billboard's publisher.