On September 16, 1910, Nara Tramway Co., Ltd. was founded and renamed Osaka Electric Tramway Co., Ltd. a month after. Osaka Electric Tramway completed Ikoma Tunnel and started operating a line between Osaka and Nara on April 30, 1914. The modern Kashihara, Osaka, and Shigi lines were completed in the 1920s, followed by the Kyoto Line. Daiki founded Sangu Electric Railway Co., Ltd. in 1927, which consolidated Ise Electric Railway Co., Ltd. on September 15, 1936. In 1938, Daiki teamed up with its subsidiary Kansai Express Electric Railway Co., Ltd. to operate the first private railway service from Osaka to Nagoya. Another subsidiary Sankyū bought Kansai Express Electric Railway on January 1, 1940 and continued the service on its own. Then, Sankyū consolidated Yoro Railway Co., Ltd. on August 1. Daiki consolidated its largest subsidiary Sankyū on March 15, 1941 and was renamed Kansai Express Railway Co., Ltd.. Kankyū consolidated Osaka Railway Co., Ltd. on February 1, 1943 and moved its headquarters from Uehommachi to Osaka Abenobashi. Kankyū was renamed Kinki Nippon Railway Co., Ltd. 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, Kinki Nippon Tourist Co., Ltd., opening offices in the United States of America and other countries. The first charged limited express train service started between Uehommachi and Nagoya in 1947, and this is the start of the present Kintetsu limited express trains. The current rail network was mostly completed by consolidating Nara Electric Railway Co., Ltd., Shigi-Ikoma Electric Railway Co., Ltd., Mie Electric Railway Co., Ltd. and other companies. Kintetsu moved its headquarters again from Osaka Abenobashi to Osaka Uehommachi on December 5, 1969. On June 28, 2003, Kinki Nippon Railway Co., Ltd. was renamed Kintetsu Corporation. The corporation was split on April 1, 2015. Its railway business division was succeeded by Kintetsu Split Preparatory Company, Ltd., while its real estate business division by Kintetsu Real Estate Co., Ltd., its hotel business division by Kintetsu Hotel Systems, Inc., and its retail business by Kintetsu Retail Service Corporation, respectively. On the same day Kintetsu Corporation was split, it was renamed as Kintetsu Group Holdings Co., Ltd. as a holding company, while Kintetsu Split Preparatory Company, Ltd. was renamed as Kintetsu Railway Co., Ltd.
Abbreviations
;From its founding to present ;Acquired or merged companies
Lines
Owned and operated lines (Type I Railway Business), funiculars, and aerial tramway
Following lines belong to Kintetsu's Type I Railway Business and Cableway Business under the Railway Business Act. This means that Kintetsu is the owner and operator of the lines.
lines
All lines operate with 1,500 V DC overhead catenary except for the Keihanna Line, which operates on 750 V DC third rail.
Operated lines owned by other entities (Type II Railway Business)
Following line belongs to Kintetsu's Type II Railway Business under the Railway Business Act. This means that Kintetsu operates trains on the line, but the owner of the railway trackage is a separate company.
line
*Keihanna Line
Owned lines operated by other entities (Type III Railway Business)
Following lines belong to Kintetsu's Type III Railway Business under the Railway Business Act. This means that Kintetsu is the owner of the railway facility, but the trains are operated by separate companies.
narrow gauge lines
*Iga Line
*Yōrō Line
Until September 30, 2007, those lines were part of the Category 1 railway business.
To separate both former Kankyū lines and Nankai Railway lines, on June 1, 1947, the following lines were transferred to Nankai Electric Railway Co. Ltd. that was renamed from Kōyasan Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
**Shukuin - Ohama-kitaguchi: closed on July 10, 1945, abandoned on
*Uemachi Line
*Hirano Line
Unbuilt lines
Gifu Line , planned by Yoro Electric Railway Co.
Shijonawate Line , planned by Osaka Electric Railway Co.
Rolling stock
, Kintetsu operates a fleet of 1,905 electric multiple unit vehicles, the second largest fleet for a private railway operator in Japan after Tokyo Metro.
A fleet of new EMUs is on order, scheduled to enter revenue service on limited express services between Osaka Namba and Kintetsu Nagoya in spring 2020. The fleet will consist of eight six-car sets and three eight-car sets, 72 vehicles in total. The end cars in each set will be designated "High Grade cars" with 1+2 abreast seating and a seat pitch of. The intermediate "Regular" cars will have 2+2 abreast seating and a seat pitch of. Seating in both types of accommodation will consist of fixed-back shell seats.
Fare cards
Kintetsu accepts five types of pre-paid and post-paid reusable 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 these cards varies by lines as shown in the table below. Legend
"+": Ticket gates of all stations on the line accept the card.
"-": No stations on the line accept the card.
"x": Ticket vending machines of all stations on the line accept the card, but ticket gates do not.
