, abbreviated as Kitakyu, is a third-sector railway operator in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Its sole line, the , operates as a through service extension of Osaka Metro's Midōsuji Line.
A majority (54%) of the company is owned by Hankyu Corporation, part of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group; an additional 25% is owned by Osaka Prefecture. The company also owns various commercial and residential properties along the line. It should not be confused with the former , 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 No.StationJapaneseDistance (km)TransfersLocation箕面萱野0.0 Minoh箕面船場阪大前1.1 千里中央2.5Osaka Monorail Main LineToyonaka桃山台4.5 Suita緑地公園6.5 Toyonaka江坂8.4 Osaka Metro Midōsuji Line (through service)Suita ↓ Through services to/from via the Midōsuji Line ↓
Notes
Former line Kaijō Line (Senri-Chūō – )English name of the Expo Main Gate Station as seen in the picture at
Rolling stock
All Kita-Osaka Kyuko rolling stock are stored and maintained at Momoyamadai Depot.
8000 series (since 1987) 9000 series (since 28 April 2014)
Former rolling stock 2000 series (from 1969 until 1993) 7000/8000 series (from 1969 until 1970)
History 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 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.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
The line began construction on 16 July 1968鉄道ピクトリアル18巻9号p82 1968 and was opened on 24 February 1970, to connect the then northern terminus of the Midōsuji Line, , 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 . 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 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.
On 19 January 2017, construction began on the extension of the line to , which will have one intermediate station at . Completion of the extension was originally scheduled for 2020; in May 2019, the extension's scheduled opening date was delayed to 2023 because of construction problems. The scheduled opening of the extension was set for the end of 2023, but was later pushed back further to 23 March 2024.
References
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