The Keihanna Line (けいはんな線, Keihanna-sen) is a railway line operated by Kintetsu Railway. There are through trains to the Chūō Line of Osaka Municipal Subway. The line name derives from a kanji acronym formed from Kyoto (京都), Osaka (大阪), and Nara (奈良), but the name is written in hiragana.[2]
The line is the sole Kintetsu line with a third rail electrification system. Before 2015, it was the only Kintetsu line that had station numbers (the station numbers coming from the Chūō Line).
History
16 September 1977 - Higashi-Osaka Ikoma Railway Co. (東大阪生駒鉄道, Higashiōsaka-Ikoma Tetsudō) was founded.
1 April 1986 - Kintetsu merged with Higashi-Osaka Ikoma Railway Co.
1 October 1986 - The Higashi-Osaka Line (東大阪線, Higashiōsaka-sen) from Nagata to Ikoma was opened and through operation to Osakako on the Chūō Line was started.[3]
18 December 1997 - The through operation was extended to Cosmosquare.
28 July 1998 - Nara Ikoma Rapid Transit Railway Co., Ltd. (奈良生駒高速鉄道株式会社, Nara-Ikoma Kōsoku Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha) was founded.
October 2000 - The construction of the Keihanna New Line (京阪奈新線, Keihanna Shinsen) started.
31 January 2005 - The Keihanna New Line extension was officially named the "Keihanna Line (けいはんな線, Keihanna-sen)".[4]
27 March 2006 - The line from Ikoma to Gakken Nara-Tomigaoka was opened and the Higashi-Osaka Line was renamed the Keihanna Line.[5]
^"地下鉄中央線・近鉄東大阪線・近鉄けいはんな線統一愛称が決定しました" [Subway Chuo Line, Kintetsu Higashi-Osaka Line, and Kintetsu Keihanna Line Unified Nicknames Decided] (PDF). kintetsu.jp (in Japanese). 26 October 2005. Archived from the original(PDF) on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
^"近鉄けいはんな線の一部編成に20周年記念ステッカー" [20th anniversary stickers for some trains on the Kintetsu Keihanna Line]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). 22 September 2016. Archived from the original on 26 September 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
^"京阪奈新線の正式名称が「けいはんな線」に決まりました" [The official name of the Keihanna New Line has been decided as "Keihanna Line"] (PDF). kintetsu.jp (in Japanese). 1 January 2005. Archived from the original(PDF) on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
^"「けいはんな線」の開業日を来年3月27日に決定しました" [The opening date of the "Keihanna Line" has been set for March 27 next year.] (PDF). kintetsu.jp (in Japanese). 4 August 2005. Archived(PDF) from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.