Hankyū Imazu Line

The nihongo|Imazu Line|今津線|Imazu-sen is a 9.3 km long commuter rail in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan owned and operated by Hankyu Railway. It is the longest of three branchlines of the Hankyu Kobe Line. The line connects the cities of Nishinomiya and Takarazuka.

Operation

The Imazu Line runs between Imazu Station and Takarazuka Station. However, no train goes directly from one end to the other because the tracks have split since 1984 at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station, where the line crosses the Kobe Line. Typical Imazu Line trains stop every station between Imazu and Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi (south section) or Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi and Takarazuka (north section).

A small number of trains, called Semi-Express ("junkyū"), run from Takarazuka Station to Umeda Station (Hankyu's main terminal in Osaka) on weekdays not via the Takarazuka Line, but via the Imazu Line and the Kobe Line. Semi-Express trains of this route do not stop at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station because of the layout of the track in the station; there is no platform for through trains. The distance between Takarazuka and Umeda stations via the Imazu Line is shorter than the route via the Takarazuka line.

Stations

The Imazu Line has the following 10 stations:;South section:*Imazu Station:*Hanshin-Kokudō Station:*Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station;North section:*Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station:*Mondo-Yakujin Station:*Kōtōen Station:*Nigawa Station:*Obayashi Station:*Sakasegawa Station:*Takarazuka-Minamiguchi Station:*Takarazuka Station

Connections

* Hanshin Main Line at Imazu
* Hankyu Kobe Line at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi
* Hankyu Takarazuka Line at Takarazuka
* JR Fukuchiyama Line at Takarazuka

Attractions along the line

* Hanshin Racecourse near Nigawa Station
* Kwansei Gakuin University near Kotoen Station