Kintetsu

Urban Liner next (21020 series)

Vista EX (30000 series)

Commuter train (1400 series)

Commuter train (5820 series)

Commuter train (7000 series)

Kintetsu Nara Station, where trains for Namba and Kyoto await departure

Kintetsu Bus (a subsidiary of Keihanna Bus Holdings Co., Ltd.)

Kintetsu Corporation (近畿日本鉄道株式会社, Kinki Nippon Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha^?, TYO: 9041), named Kinki Nippon Railway Co., Ltd. in English (a full translation of its Japanese name) until June 27, 2003, is a Japanese rail transit corporation commonly known as Kintetsu (近鉄^?). It is the largest private railway in Japan. Its complex network of lines connects Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, Tsu and Ise. Kintetsu also operates tourism, real estate, and shipping companies, and has a major rail car-building operation (Kinki Sharyo) that produces trains used in Japan, the United States, Egypt and Hong Kong.

History

On September 16, 1910, Nara Kido Co., Ltd. (奈良軌道株式会社, Nara Kidō^?) was founded, and was renamed Osaka Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (大阪電気軌道株式会社, Ōsaka Denki Kidō^?, Daiki (大軌)) a month after. Daiki completed Ikoma Tunnel and started operating a line between Osaka and Nara (now the Kintetsu Nara Line) on April 30, 1914. The modern Kashihara, Osaka, and Shigi lines were completed in the 1920s, followed by the Kyoto Line (a cooperative venture with Keihan Electric Railway). Daiki founded Sangu Kyuko Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (参宮急行電鉄株式会社, Sangū Kyūkō Dentetsu^?, Sankyu (参急)) in 1927, which consolidated Ise Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (伊勢電気鉄道株式会社, Ise Denki Tetsudō^?, Iseden (伊勢電)) on September 15, 1936.

In 1938, Daiki teamed up with Kansai Kyuko Railway Co., Ltd. (関西急行電鉄株式会社, Kansai Kyūkō Dentetsu^?, Kankyuden (関急電), first) to operate the first private railway service from Osaka to Nagoya. Sankyu bought Kankyuden on January 1, 1940 and continued the service on its own. Then Sankyu consolidated Yoro Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (養老鉄道株式会社, Yōrō Tetsudō^?, not the present "Yoro Railway Co., Ltd.") on August 1. Daiki consolidated Sankyu on March 15, 1941 and was renamed Kansai Kyuko Railway Co., Ltd. (Kankyu (関急),second). Kankyu consolidated Osaka Railway Co., Ltd. (大阪鉄道株式会社, Ōsaka Tetsudō^?, Daitetsu (大鉄), owner of the present Minami-Osaka Line) on February 1, 1943 and moved its headquarters from Uehommachi to Osaka Abenobashi.

Kankyu was renamed Kinki Nippon Railway Co., Ltd. (近畿日本鉄道株式会社, Kinki Nippon Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha^?, Kin-Nichi (近日)) after it consolidated Nankai Railway in June 1944: it maintained the name when Nankai regained its independence in 1947.

After World War II, Kintetsu branched out and became one of the world's largest travel agencies, opening offices in the United States of America and other countries.

The charged limited express train service between Uehommachi and Nagoya in 1947, and this is the start of Kintetsu limites express trains. The current rail network was mostly completed by consolidating Nara Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (奈良電気鉄道株式会社^?, Naraden (奈良電)), Shigi-Ikoma Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (信貴生駒電鉄株式会社^?)、 Mie Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (三重電気鉄道株式会社^?, Mieden (三重電)), etc.

Kintetsu moved its headquarters again from Osaka Abenobashi to Osaka Uehommachi on December 5, 1969. Kinki Nippon Railway Co., Ltd. was renamed Kintetsu Corpotation on June 28, 2003,the company logo of "KINTETSU" and "近鉄" were renewed, and the logo for the official corporate name, "KINTETSU CORPORATION" and "近畿日本鉄道株式会社", appeared when.

Kintetsu segmented many businesses into subsidiary companies; a taxi business to Kintetsu Taxi Co., Ltd. (近鉄タクシー株式会社^?) in 1950, a travel business to Kinki Nippon Air Travel and Sightseeing Company (近畿日本航空観光^?, Now: Kinki Nippon Tourist Co., Ltd.) in 1954, a Department Store business to Kintetsu Department Store Co., Ltd. (株式会社近鉄百貨店^?) in 1972, a bus business to Kintetsu Bus Co., Ltd. (近鉄バス株式会社^?, Now one of the subsidiaries of Keihanna Bus Holdings Co., Ltd.) and Kintetsu Sightseeing Bus Co., Ltd. (近鉄観光バス株式会社^?) in 1999 (Kintetsu Sightseeing Bus Co. was consolidated by Kintetsu Bus Co. on September 1, 2006), and station service to Kintetsu Station Service Company on June 28, 2003, however, Kintetsu consolidated Kintetsu Station Service Company on March 31, 2006.

Abbreviations

from Daiki era to present

• 1910 - April 14, 1941: Daiki (大軌^?)
• April 15, 1941 - May 31, 1944: Kankyu (関急^?)
• June 1, 1944 - 1948: Kinki Nippon (近畿日本^?), Kin-Nichi (近日^?)
• Present: Kintetsu (近鉄^?)

other companies

• Sangu Kyuko Electric Railway Co., Ltd.: Sankyu (参急^?)
• Ise Electric Railway Co., Ltd.: Iseden (伊勢電^?)
• Kansai Kyuko Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (first): Kankyuden (関急電^?)
• Osaka Railway Co., Ltd.: Daitetsu (大鉄^?)
• Nara Electric Railway Co., Ltd.: Naraden (奈良電^?)
• Mie Electric Railway Co., Ltd.: Mieden (三重電^?)

Lines

Current lines (Category-1, ropeway and tramway)

Following lines belong to Kintetsu's Category-1 railway business (第一種鉄道事業, Dai-isshu tetsudō jigyō^?) and ropeway (索道, sakudō^?) business under the Railway Business Act and tramway (軌道, kidō^?) business under the Tram Act. This means that Kintetsu is the owner and operator of the lines.

1,435 mm standard gauge lines

• Osaka-Nagoya Line area
  • Osaka Line (Osaka Uehommachi - Ise-Nakagawa)
    • Shigi Line (Kawachi-Yamamoto - Shigisanguchi)
  • Nagoya Line (Kintetsu Nagoya - Ise-Nakagawa)
    • Yunoyama Line (Kintetsu Yokkaichi - Yunoyama-Onsen)
    • Suzuka Line (Ise-Wakamatsu - Hiratacho)
  • Yamada Line (Ise-Nakagawa - Ujiyamada)
  • Toba Line (Ujiyamada - Toba)
  • Shima Line (Toba - Kashikojima)
• Nara-Kyoto Line area
  • Namba Line (Osaka Namba - Osaka Uehommachi)
  • Nara Line (Fuse - Kintetsu-Nara)
    • Keihanna Line (Nagata - Ikoma)
    • Ikoma Line (Ikoma - Oji)
  • Kyoto Line (Kyoto - Yamato-Saidaiji)
  • Kashihara Line (Yamato-Saidaiji - Kashiharajingu-mae)
    • Tenri Line (Hirahata - Tenri)
    • Tawaramoto Line (Shin-Oji - Nishi-Tawaramoto)

1,067 mm narrow gauge lines

• Minami-Osaka Line area
  • Minami-Osaka Line (Osaka Abenobashi - Kashiharajingu-mae)
    • Domyoji Line (Domyoji - Kashiwara)
    • Nagano Line (Furuichi - Kawachi-Nagano)
    • Gose Line (Shakudo - Kintetsu Gose)
  • Yoshino Line (Kashiharajingu-mae - Yoshino)

762 mm narrow gauge lines

• Utsube Line (Kintetsu Yokkaichi - Utsube)
• Hachioji Line (Hinaga - Nishi-Hino)

Funicular lines

• Ikoma Cable Line (Toriimae - Ikoma-Sanjo)
• Nishi-Shigi Cable Line (Shigisanguchi - Takayasuyama)

Ropeway

• Katsuragi Ropeway (Katsuragi-tozanguchi - Katsuragi-sanjo)

Current lines (Category-2)

Following line belongs to Kintetsu's Category-2 railway business (第二種鉄道事業, Dai-nishu tetsudō jigyō^?) under the Railway Business Act. This means that Kintetsu operates trains on the line, but the owner of the railway facility is a separate company.

• 1,435 mm standard gauge line
  • Keihanna Line (Ikoma - Gakken-Nara-Tomigaoka, trackage owned by Nara Ikoma Rapid Transit Railway Co., Ltd.)

Current lines (Category-3)

Following lines belong to Kintetsu's Category-3 railway business (第三種鉄道事業, Dai-sanshu tetsudō jigyō^?) under the Railway Business Act. This means that Kintetsu is the owner of the railway facility, but the trains are operated by separate companies.

• 1,067 mm narrow gauge lines
  • Iga Line (Iga-Ueno - Iga-Kambe, trains operated by Iga Railway Co., Ltd.)
  • Yōrō Line (Kuwana - Ogaki - Ibi, trains operated by Yōrō Railway Co., Ltd.)

Until September 30, 2007, those lines were part of the Category-1 railway business.

Through-train services

Kintetsu trains also run on the Osaka Municipal Subway Chūō Line, the Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line, and the Hanshin Railway Hanshin Namba Line, but such lines are not Kintetsu lines.

Abandoned lines and transferred lines

• Hase Line (長谷線) (Sakurai - Hase, abandoned in 1938)
• Sanjo Line (山上線) (Takayasuyama - Shigizammon, closed in 1944 and abandoned in 1957)
• Horyuji Line (法隆寺線) (Shin-Horyuji - Hirahata, closed in 1945 and abandoned in 1952)
• Obusa Line (小房線) (Unebi - Kashiharajingu-eki, closed in 1950 and abandoned in 1952)
• Ise Line (伊勢線) (Edobashi - Shin-Matsusaka - Daijingu-mae)
  • Shin-Matsusaka - Daijingu-mae: abandoned in 1942
  • Edobashi - Shin-Matsusaka: abandoned in 1961
• Iga Line (伊賀線) (Nishi-Nabari - Iga-Kambe, abandoned in 1964)
• Shima Line (志摩線) (Kashikojima - Shinjuko, abandoned in 1969)
• Hachioji Line (八王子線) (Nishihino - Ise-Hachioji, closed in 1974 and abandoned in 1976)
• Higashi-Shigi Cable Line (東信貴鋼索線) (Shigisanshita - Shigisan, abandoned in 1983)
• Hokusei Line (北勢線) (Nishi-Kuwana - Ageki, transferred to Sangi Railway Co. in 2003)

Rail lines transferred to Nankai Electric Railway Co.

• Nankai Main Line (南海本線) (Namba - Wakayamashi)
  • Tennoji Branch Line (天王寺支線) (Tengachaya - Tennoji, Tengachaya - Imaikecho: abandoned in 1984, Imaikecho - Tennoji: abandoned in 1993)
  • Takashinohama Line (高師浜線) (Hagoromo - Takashinohama)
  • Tanagawa Line (多奈川線) (Misakikoen - Tanagawa)
  • Kada Line (加太線) (Kinokawa - Kada)
  • Kitajima Branch Line (北島支線) (Wakayamashi - Higashi-Matsue, abandoned in 1966)
• Koya Line (高野線) (Shiomibashi - Koyashita)
• Hankai Line (阪堺線) (Ebisucho - Hamadera-eki-mae) (transferred to Hankai Tramway Co., Ltd. in 1980)
  • Ohama Branch Line (大浜支線) (Shukuin - Ohama-kitaguchi - Ohamakaigan) (closed in 1945, abandoned in 1980)
  • Uemachi Line (上町線) (Tennoji-eki-mae - Sumiyoshikoen) (transferred to Hankai Tramway Co., Ltd. in 1980)
  • Hirano Line (平野線) (Imaike - Hirano) (abandoned in 1980)

Unbuilt lines

• Gifu Line (岐阜線) (Ogaki - Gifu or Hashima), planned by Yoro Electric Railway Co.
• Shijonawate Line (四条畷線) (Sakuranomiya - Nukata), planned by Osaka Electric Railway Co.

Fare cards

Kintetsu accepts five types of pre-paid and post-pay fare cards: Pearl Card, Surutto Kansai, J-Thru Card, PiTaPa and ICOCA. Pearl Card is used for purchase of tickets and others are used in lieu of tickets. Validity of the cards varies by lines as shown in the table below.

Legend

• "+": Ticket gates of all stations on the line accept the card (some exceptions may exist).
• "-": No stations on the line accept the card (some exceptions may exist).
• "x": Ticket vending machines of all stations on the line accept the card, but ticket gates do not.

Note

1. The sales of Pearl Card and J-Through Card ended on September 15, 2008.
2. The five major stations on the Shima Line that accept IC Cards are Toba, Nakanogō, Shima-Isobe, Ugata and Kashikojima.

Other major businesses

• Kinki Nippon Rent-A-Car
• Kinki Nippon Tourist Travel Agency
• Kinki Sharyo
• Kintetsu Beppu Ropeway
• Keihanna Bus Holdings Co., Ltd.
  • Kintetsu Bus Co., Ltd.
  • Narakanko Co., Ltd.
  • Nara Kotsu Bus Line Co., Ltd.
• Kintetsu Department Store
• Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium
• Kintetsu World Express (Air Freight)
• Miyako Hotels and Resorts
• Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes (baseball team, present: Orix Buffaloes)
• Kintetsu Liners (rugby team)
• Shima Spain Village theme park

See also

• Yamato Bunkakan

References

• about Kintetsu
• Corporate web site of Kintetsu Corporation (English)
• Railway and tourist guide website of Kintetsu (English)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kintetsu

• Railway and tourist guide website of Kintetsu (Japanese)
• Travel agency web site (English)
• Canada Travel agency web site (English)