The line is commonly called Kobe Line for short, but in the broader sense 'Kobe Line' refers to the entire network of the trunk Kobe Main Line and connecting branch lines of Itami, Imazu and Kōyō Lines.
Network
At the Kobe end of the line some trains continue through onto the Kobe Rapid Railway, an underground line allowing interchange between the lines of several commuter rail companies operating in Kobe. The Kobe Main Line has interchanges at several of its stations with other lines operated by Hankyu. The Hankyu main lines to Kyoto and Takarazuka share stations at Umeda and Juso with the Kobe Line. The other lines with connections to the Kobe line are smaller lines with only local trains: the Itami Line connects at Tsukaguchi, the Imazu Line at Nishinomiya-kitaguchi and the Koyo Line at Shukugawa.
History
The Umeda - Juso section was opened in 1910 as part of the Hankyu Takarazuka Line. The Juso - Oji-Koen section opened as a 1435mm gauge line electrified at 600 VDC in 1920. In 1926 the line was duplicated, and in 1936 it was extended to Kobe Sannomiya. In 1967 the voltage was increased to 1500 VDC. Until 1936, the line's terminal in Kobe was in Kamitsutsui. As a branch of the main line, the 1 km line between Oji-Koen Station and Kamitsutsui Station continued to provide a connection to the Kobe tram network until 1941.
Train services
Regular train services on the lines come in two kinds: the local trains which stop at all stations, and the limited express trains which stop only at major stations along the line. Other commuter and express services operate only during limited time periods:
Express trains are operated from Umeda to Kobe-sannomiya or Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi in the morning on weekdays and every midnight. There is also the only eastbound express train operated from Kobe-sannomiya to Umeda every early morning and the only westbound express train from Umeda to Shinkaichi in the midnight except weekdays.
Rapid Express trains are operated between Umeda and Kosoku Kobe or Shinkaichi every midnight. There is also the only eastbound rapid express train operated from Shinkaichi for Umeda every early morning.
Commuter Express trains are operated on weekdays, from Kobe-sannomiya to Umeda in the morning, and from Umeda to Kobe-sannomiya in the evening and at night.
Commuter Limited Express trains are operated in both directions on weekday mornings.
Semi-Express trains are operated from Takarazuka to Umeda via the Imazu Line and the Kobe Line on weekday mornings.
