Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway

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Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway
Kita-Osaka Kyuko 8000 series train (between Momoyamadai Station and Senri-Chūō Station)
Overview
Parent companyHankyu (54%)
(Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group)
HeadquartersToyonaka, Osaka, Japan
LocaleOsaka Prefecture, Japan
Dates of operation1967 (incorporation); 1970 (opening)–
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Length8.4 km (5.2 mi)
Other
Websitewww.kita-kyu.co.jp

Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway (北大阪急行電鉄, Kita Ōsaka Kyūkō Dentetsu, lit. "North Osaka Express Electric Railway") is a railway operator in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Its sole line, officially named the Namboku Line (南北線, Namboku sen), operates as a through-service extension of the Midōsuji Line of the Osaka Metro.

The Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway Company, Ltd. (北大阪急行電鉄株式会社, Kita Ōsaka Kyūkō Dentetsu Kabushiki-gaisha) is 54% owned by Hankyu Corporation, a major component of the wider Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Kitakyu, as it is often abbreviated, also owns various commercial and residential properties along the line. It is not to be confused with an earlier railway company called Kita-Osaka Electric Railway [ja] which operated a section of the Hankyu Senri Line (between Awaji and Senriyama) and Hankyu Kyoto Main Line (between Jūsō and Awaji) from 1919 until 1928, when it was merged into Keihan Electric Railway.

Stations on the Kitakyu Namboku Line

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No. Station Japanese Distance (km) Transfers Location
 M06  Minoh-kayano 箕面萱野 0.0   Minoh
 M07  Minoh-semba handai-mae 箕面船場阪大前 1.1  
 M08  Senri-Chūō 千里中央 2.5 Osaka Monorail Main Line Toyonaka
 M09  Momoyamadai 桃山台 4.5   Suita
 M10  Ryokuchi-kōen 緑地公園 6.5   Toyonaka
 M11  Esaka 江坂 8.4 Osaka Metro Midōsuji Line (through service) Suita
↓ Through services to/from Nakamozu via the Midōsuji Line ↓
Notes

Former line

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Rolling stock

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Kita-Osaka Kyuko 9000 series train (between Momoyamadai Station and Senri-Chūō Station)

All Kita-Osaka Kyuko rolling stock are stored and maintained at Momoyamadai Depot.

Former rolling stock

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History

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Planning for the Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway began on 23 May 1966 as part of preparatory works for the 1970 World's Fair. Although the line was originally envisioned as a straightforward extension of the Midōsuji Line, the city government was unable to independently build and complete the extension because it went beyond municipal boundaries, thus raising issues of expropriation and financing. The Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway Company was established on 11 December 1967 under the Local Railway Act [ja] as a result of the efforts of Takeo Miki, then Minister of International Trade and Industry, who brokered the deal creating said company as a joint venture between the City of Osaka and Hankyu Railway.[2]

The line began construction on 16 July 1968[3] and was opened on 24 February 1970, to connect the then northern terminus of the Midōsuji Line, Esaka, with the grounds of the 1970 World's Fair. The Expo link was closed on 14 September, and the line was redirected to the new underground terminal station of Senri-Chūō. The temporary tracks between Senri-Chūō and the Expo Park were removed following the Expo, and the right-of-way repurposed as part of the Chugoku Expressway.

A plan to extend the line 2.5 km (1.6 mi) northward from Senri-Chuo to the city of Minoh was proposed in 1989. 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.[4]

On 19 January 2017, construction began on the extension of the line to Minō-Kayano, which will have one intermediate station at Minō-Semba-Handaimae. Completion of the extension was originally scheduled for 2020;[5] in May 2019, the extension's scheduled opening date was delayed to 2023 because of construction problems.[6] The scheduled opening of the extension was set for the end of 2023,[7] but was later pushed back further to 23 March 2024.[8]

References

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  1. ^ English name of the Expo Main Gate Station as seen in the picture at 交通文化振興財団事務局 (28 August 2020). "万国博中央口駅" (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  2. ^ 国土交通省鉄道局監修『鉄道要覧』平成18年度版、電気車研究会・鉄道図書刊行会、p.155
  3. ^ 鉄道ピクトリアル18巻9号p82 1968
  4. ^ "北大阪急行線の延伸と関連まちづくり（最新情報はこちらから！）" [Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway Extension Planning and Related Development]. Government of Minoh (in Japanese). 2012.
  5. ^ "Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway extension to cost ¥60 billion, has two new stations". Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 19 January 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "北大阪急行電鉄南北線延伸線の新駅の名称が本日決定しました" [Names of new stations of the Kitakyu line to be finalized] (PDF). Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway (in Japanese). 24 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  7. ^ "北大阪急行，南北線延伸線（千里中央—箕面萱野間）を2023年度末に開業へ" [Kita-Osaka Railway to open Namboku Line extension (between Senri-Chuo and Minoh-Kayano) by the end of 2023]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). 27 August 2022. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  8. ^ "開業日決定！「北大阪急行の延伸」24年3月に 箕面のニュータウンへ電車くるぞ！". trafficnews.jp (in Japanese). 23 August 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
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