Dates of operation 1970– Headquarters Toyonaka Date of operation 1970 | Length 5.9 km (3.7 mi) Founded 11 December 1967 | |
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Locale Osaka Prefecture, Japan Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Website | ||
hd 03 kita osaka kyuko railway
Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway (北大阪急行電鉄, Kita Ōsaka Kyūkō Dentetsu, lit. "North Osaka Express Railway") is a railway operator in Osaka, Japan. Its sole line, officially named the Namboku Line (南北線, Namboku sen), operates as an extension of the Midōsuji Line of the Osaka Municipal Subway.
Contents
- hd 03 kita osaka kyuko railway
- 9000 kita osaka 9000 series emu
- Former line
- Rolling stock
- Former rolling stock
- History
- References
Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway Co., Ltd. (北大阪急行電鉄株式会社, Kita Ōsaka Kyūkō Dentetsu Kabushiki Kaisha), established December 11, 1967, is a subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc. headquartered at 2-4-1, Terauchi, Toyonaka, Osaka. Kitakyu, as it is often abbreviated, also owns various commercial and residential properties along the line.
9000 kita osaka 9000 series emu
Former line
Rolling stock
Former rolling stock
History
The line was opened on February 24, 1970, to connect the then northern terminus of the Midōsuji Line, Esaka Station, with the grounds of the Expo '70. The Expo link was closed on September 14, and the line was redirected to a new underground terminal of Senri-Chūō Station.
Takeo Miki, then Minister of International Trade and Industry, brokered the deal creating the railway as a joint venture between the City of Osaka and Hankyu Railway. Although the line was originally envisioned as a straightforward extension of the Midosuji Line, the city government was unable to independently complete the extension because it went beyond municipal boundaries, thus raising issues of expropriation and financing.
The tracks between Senri-Chuo and the Expo Park were removed following the Expo, and the right-of-way repurposed as part of the Chugoku Expressway.
Since the late 1980s there has been a plan to extend the line 2.5 km northward from Senri-Chuo to a new station in the city of Minoh. The Minoh municipal government exchanged a letter of confirmation with Hankyu and Kitakyu regarding studies of the extension in 2011, and the government of Osaka Prefecture joined a four-party memorandum of understanding in 2012. The extension is not yet finalized or funded.