Keishin Line

The line was built to link the centres of Kyoto and Ōtsu by electric streetcar along the route of the old Tōkaidō highway, at a time when the steam-hauled Tōkaidō Main Line took an indirect course between the two cities. The promoter was the Keishin Electric Tramway Company (京津電気軌道), formally founded on 28 March 1910. Its first section opened on 15 August 1912 (built as a double track electrified at 600 V DC), running between Sanjō-Ōhashi and a provisional stop at Kamisekidera and, separately, between Kamisekidera and Fudanotsuji; the roughly 100-metre gap at Kamisekidera was initially bridged on foot because a bridge over the government Tōkaidō Main Line was not yet finished.

On 14 December 1912 the Kamisekidera crossing bridge was completed, the gap was closed, and the whole 10.0-kilometre Sanjō-Ōhashi–Fudanotsuji line was unified and through-running began. In 1916 work started to relocate part of the Misasagi–Yamashina section in connection with the realignment of the government Tōkaidō Main Line between Kyoto and Baba (present Zeze), which was completed in 1921. The line into central Kyoto was also extended, with the Sanjō-Ōhashi–Sanjō section opening as single track in 1919 and being doubled in 1923.

On 1 February 1925 the Keishin Electric Tramway merged into the Keihan Electric Railway and the route became Keihan's Keishin Line; on 5 May that year it was extended from Fudanotsuji to a new Hamaōtsu Station, completing the line. In 1934 Japan's first articulated cars, the Type 60 "Biwako", entered service, and through-running with the Keihan Main Line began, including the "Biwako" limited express between Tenmabashi and Hamaōtsu. During the war the company was absorbed, on 1 October 1943, into Keihanshin Express Electric Railway (the present Hankyu) under the wartime transport consolidation policy, and the route became that company's Keishin Line.

On 1 December 1949 the Keishin Line, together with several other lines, was separated off and a re-established (second) Keihan Electric Railway took it over once more. Through the post-war decades the line remained an interurban with a substantial street-running section in Kyoto, served by rolling stock such as the Type 80, and operating local, express and later semi-express services. In 1981 the through Sanjō–Ishiyama-dera running via Hamaōtsu and the line's express trains were discontinued, and in 1987 the Kyoto terminus Sanjō Station was renamed Keishin-Sanjō when the Keihan Main Line through Kyoto was put underground.

The line's character changed fundamentally in the 1990s as it was rebuilt to feed into the new Kyoto Municipal Subway Tōzai Line. New 1,500-volt-capable rolling stock, the Type 700, entered service in 1992 for the planned through-running, and from 1996 the Keihan 800 series was introduced and the line was prepared for a rise in system voltage from 600 V to 1,500 V DC in conjunction with the project. The aim of the realignment was to move the tracks underground in the Kyoto area and remove the old alignment that ran along public roads.

On 12 October 1997 the busiest section, the 3.9-kilometre stretch between Keishin-Sanjō and Misasagi, was abolished; the Keishin-Sanjō, Higashiyama-Sanjō, Keage, Kujōyama and Hinooka stations closed, Misasagi was relocated and rebuilt underground as a joint station with the subway, the line's voltage was raised to 1,500 V DC, and through services began onto the Tōzai Line to Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae with the new 800 series. In 2008 the Tōzai Line was extended to Uzumasa Tenjingawa and Keishin through-running was extended there, and in 2018 the lakeside terminus Hamaōtsu was renamed Biwako-hamaotsu. The line retains its street-running alignment on the Ōtsu side to this day.

• 191028 March: the Keishin Electric Tramway Company (京津電気軌道) is formally founded to build an electric railway linking central Kyoto and Ōtsu along the old Tōkaidō route.
• 191215 August: the first sections open (built double-track at 600 V DC) — Sanjō-Ōhashi to a provisional Kamisekidera stop, and Kamisekidera to Fudanotsuji — with a ~100 m walking gap at Kamisekidera.
• 191214 December: the Kamisekidera bridge over the Tōkaidō Main Line is completed, closing the gap and unifying the 10.0 km Sanjō-Ōhashi–Fudanotsuji line; through-running begins.
• 191929 May: the Sanjō-Ōhashi–Sanjō section opens as single track (doubled on 20 February 1923).
• 19211 August: relocation of the Misasagi–Yamashina section, tied to the realignment of the government Tōkaidō Main Line between Kyoto and Baba (present Zeze), is completed.
• 19251 February: the Keishin Electric Tramway merges into the Keihan Electric Railway and the route becomes Keihan's Keishin Line.
• 19255 May: the line is extended from Fudanotsuji to the new Hamaōtsu Station, completing the full line.
• 1934Japan's first articulated cars, the Type 60 "Biwako", enter service; through-running to the Keihan Main Line begins, including the "Biwako" limited express between Tenmabashi and Hamaōtsu.
• 19431 October: under the wartime transport consolidation policy, Keihan merges into Keihanshin Express Electric Railway (the present Hankyu); the route becomes that company's Keishin Line.
• 19491 December: the Keishin Line and several other lines are separated off and a re-established (second) Keihan Electric Railway takes them over.
• 1981The through Sanjō–Ishiyama-dera running via Hamaōtsu is ended and the line's express trains are abolished.
• 19871 April: the Kyoto terminus Sanjō Station is renamed Keishin-Sanjō (the Keihan Main Line through Kyoto was put underground on 24 May).
• 19921 May: the 1,500 V-capable Type 700 enters service in preparation for through-running onto the planned Kyoto Municipal Subway Tōzai Line.
• 1996From October the Keihan 800 series is introduced for the Tōzai Line through-running project, ahead of the line's voltage being raised from 600 V to 1,500 V DC.
• 199712 October: the 3.9 km Keishin-Sanjō–Misasagi section is abolished (Keishin-Sanjō, Higashiyama-Sanjō, Keage, Kujōyama and Hinooka close); Misasagi is rebuilt underground as a joint subway station, voltage is raised to 1,500 V DC, and through services to the Tōzai Line (Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae) begin with the 800 series.
• 200816 January: the Tōzai Line is extended to Uzumasa Tenjingawa, and Keishin through-running is extended there.
• 201817 March: the lakeside terminus Hamaōtsu is renamed Biwako-hamaotsu.