Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway


Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway is a railway operator in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Its sole line, officially named the Namboku Line, operates as an extension of the Midōsuji Line of the Osaka Metro.
Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway Co., Ltd., established in December 11, 1967, is majorly owned by Hankyu. Kitakyu, as it is often abbreviated, also owns various commercial and residential properties along the line.

Stations on the Kitakyu Namboku Line

;Notes:

Former line

The line was opened on February 24, 1970, to connect the then northern terminus of the Midōsuji Line, Esaka Station, with the grounds of the Expo '70. The Expo link was closed on September 14, and the line was redirected to a new underground terminal of Senri-Chūō Station.
Takeo Miki, then Minister of International Trade and Industry, brokered the deal creating the railway as a joint venture between the City of Osaka and Hankyu Railway. Although the line was originally envisioned as a straightforward extension of the Midosuji Line, the city government was unable to independently complete the extension because it went beyond municipal boundaries, thus raising issues of expropriation and financing.
The tracks between Senri-Chuo and the Expo Park were removed following the Expo, and the right-of-way repurposed as part of the Chugoku Expressway.
Since the late 1980s there has been a plan to extend the line 2.5 km northward from Senri-Chuo to a new station in the city of Minoh. 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. As of early 2016, the extension was not yet finalized or funded.
On January 19, 2017, construction began on the extension of the line to, which will have one intermediate station at. The extension is scheduled to open in 2020.