Keifuku Kitano Line

The line was built by the Kyoto Electric Light Company (Kyoto Dentō), the same electricity-and-tramway concern that already controlled the Arashiyama tramway. It opened in two stages. On 3 November 1925 Kyoto Dentō opened the first segment from Kitano Station — a terminus then sited on the south side of the Kitano Tenmangū shrine — to Takaoguchi (the present Utano). On 10 March 1926 the line was extended from Takaoguchi to Katabiranotsuji, where it joined the existing Arashiyama Main Line and completed the route.

The early years brought both expansion and incident. On 16 April 1929 a head-on collision between Omuro and Myōshinji killed one driver. Around 1930 the Narutaki–Tokiwa section was double-tracked; a plan to double the entire line was begun but ultimately abandoned, and to this day only that stretch carries two tracks. The decisive change of ownership came on 2 March 1942, when, as part of the wartime consolidation of Kyoto's railways, the line was transferred to the newly formed Keifuku Electric Railroad — the operator it has retained ever since.

The Kitano end of the line was progressively cut back. On 1 October 1943 a new Hakubaichō Station opened and the intermediate Komatsubara Station was suspended; Komatsubara was formally abolished on 4 June 1945. The original Kitano terminus itself was the next casualty: with the widening of Imadegawa-dōri making the short Kitano–Hakubaichō stub untenable, that section was suspended in July 1958 and abolished on 16 September 1958, at which point Hakubaichō was renamed Kitano-Hakubaichō and became the line's permanent northern terminus.

In the post-war decades the line settled into the compact single-car shuttle operation seen today, working back and forth within its own length. One-man operation began on 9 January 1982. On 1 July 2002 a flat fare of ¥200 for adults (¥100 for children) was introduced together with the Surutto KANSAI stored-fare card. Daytime trains run every ten minutes; a handful of early-morning services run through from the Arashiyama Main Line's Saiin depot to Kitano-Hakubaichō, and at the busiest tourist seasons single cars are doubled up into two-car formations.

From the 2006 financial year Keifuku pursued a "Randen Brush-Up Project" to sharpen the line's identity. On 19 March 2007 the Arashiyama Main Line and Kitano Line were unified under the "Randen" name; several Kitano Line stations were renamed after the temples beside them — Ryūanji-michi became Ryōan-ji, Omuro became Omuro-Ninnaji, and Takaoguchi became Utano — and the station numbering and line colours trialled on the Kitano Line were formally adopted. Departure melodies were introduced at Katabiranotsuji and Kitano-Hakubaichō on 1 April 2008; the PiTaPa card and the company's own "Randen Card" followed on 1 April 2011; and nationwide IC-card interoperability began, jointly with the Arashiyama Main Line, on 23 March 2013. A new intermediate station, Satsueijo-mae, opened between Tokiwa and Katabiranotsuji on 1 April 2016, and on 20 March 2020 Tōjiin Station was renamed Tōjiin–Ritsumeikan University.

Today the Kitano Line is, with its Arashiyama Main Line partner, one of Kyoto's signature tourist rides. From Katabiranotsuji it carries sightseers up to the World Heritage temples of the city's north-west — Ryōan-ji with its rock garden and Ninna-ji among them — while serving the residents of the quiet streets along its course. Its spring cherry-blossom tunnel near Narutaki has become an attraction in its own right, and the modest 3.8-kilometre "Randen" branch endures both as everyday local transport and as a nostalgic approach to some of Kyoto's most famous sights.

• 19253 November: the Kyoto Electric Light Company (Kyoto Dentō) opens the first segment, Kitano Station to Takaoguchi (now Utano).
• 192610 March: the line is extended from Takaoguchi to Katabiranotsuji, joining the Arashiyama Main Line and completing the route.
• 192916 April: a head-on collision between Omuro and Myōshinji kills one driver.
• 1930Around this year the Narutaki–Tokiwa section is double-tracked; a plan to double the whole line is begun but later abandoned.
• 19422 March: the line is transferred to the Keifuku Electric Railroad, its operator ever since.
• 19431 October: Hakubaichō Station opens and the intermediate Komatsubara Station is suspended.
• 19454 June: Komatsubara Station, between Hakubaichō and Tōjiin, is abolished.
• 195816 September: the Kitano–Hakubaichō section (suspended that July) is abolished and Hakubaichō is renamed Kitano-Hakubaichō, becoming the line's northern terminus.
• 19829 January: one-man operation begins.
• 20021 July: a flat fare (adult ¥200, child ¥100) is introduced, together with the Surutto KANSAI card.
• 200719 March: the Arashiyama Main Line and Kitano Line are unified as "Randen"; Ryūanji-michi, Omuro and Takaoguchi are renamed Ryōan-ji, Omuro-Ninnaji and Utano, and station numbering and line colours are formally introduced.
• 20081 April: departure melodies are introduced at Katabiranotsuji and Kitano-Hakubaichō.
• 20111 April: the PiTaPa card and the company's own "Randen Card" are introduced.
• 201323 March: nationwide IC-card interoperability begins, jointly with the Arashiyama Main Line.
• 20161 April: Satsueijo-mae Station opens between Tokiwa and Katabiranotsuji.
• 202020 March: Tōjiin Station is renamed Tōjiin–Ritsumeikan University.