Mukogawa Line

The line owes its existence to the Second World War. It was built to carry workers and materials to the Naruo plant of Kawanishi Aircraft (now ShinMaywa Industries), a munitions factory on the site in Nishinomiya that is today occupied by the Mukogawa housing estate. Because construction was undertaken at the military's request, Hanshin rushed the work through using its own ordinary staff and mobilised student labour corps. The first section, between Mukogawa and Suzaki, opened on 21 November 1943; a further stretch from Mukogawa-Ōhashi to Mukogawa followed on 17 August 1944, linking the line to Hanshin's Kokudō (national-road) tram line. Land had been secured for double track along the whole route, but the line was built single-tracked, with passing loops provided at Mukogawa-Ōhashi, Mukogawa and Higashi-Naruo.

From the outset the line carried not only Hanshin's own electric trains but also national-railway freight. To allow government-railway goods trains in from Nishinomiya Station on the Tōkaidō Main Line, the Mukogawa-Ōhashi–Suzaki section was laid as dual-gauge three-rail track, and a freight connection opened on 15 November 1944. The Nishinomiya–Mukogawa-Ōhashi portion, over which only national-railway freight ran, was treated as an unbuilt (uncompleted) line in Hanshin terms, and the freight trains were operated throughout under national-railway control. Less than a year after opening, the line and the Kawanishi factory it served were hit by air raids, and it reached the end of the war without ever fully serving its intended purpose.

After the war the whole line's passenger service was suspended, and Suzaki Station, damaged in a raid on 9 June 1945, lay idle along with the rest. Passenger operation was then restored in stages: electric services over Mukogawa-Ōhashi–Suzaki had been stopped on 23 August 1945 and passenger working formally suspended on 6 January 1946, but on 10 October 1948 the 1.1-kilometre stretch from Mukogawa to the present Suzaki was reopened to passengers. Freight, on the other hand, continued for a time at the request of the occupation forces that had taken over the Kawanishi plant; it was wound down through the 1950s and formally suspended in 1958.

A series of administrative and engineering changes reshaped the line over the following decades. The reported operating length was cut from 1.7 to 1.1 kilometres on 20 January 1966, reflecting the loss of the disused northern section; on 12 November 1967 the overhead voltage was raised from 600 V to 1,500 V. The national-railway freight line from Nishinomiya to Suzaki was abolished on 5 November 1970. On 27 December 1978 the entire line was converted from a tramway under the Tramway Act to a railway under the Local Railway Act, regularising its legal status.

The line's modern form dates from the development of the Mukogawa housing estate. Extension work towards the estate began on 31 January 1983, automatic train stop equipment was installed on 18 March 1984, and on 3 April 1984 the Suzaki–Mukogawadanchimae extension opened, restoring the operating length to 1.7 kilometres. The reconstruction brought an intermediate ticket gate at Mukogawa, rebuilt platforms at Higashi-Naruo and Suzaki, a new passing facility at Higashi-Naruo, and a step up from single cars to two-car trains, with the daytime interval shortened from 30 to 20 minutes. The long-disused Mukogawa-Ōhashi–Mukogawa section was formally abolished on 13 April 1985.

In the decades since, the line has settled into its role as a commuter feeder for the Mukogawa estate. It was knocked out of service by the Great Hanshin earthquake on 17 January 1995 but reopened across its whole length on 26 January 1995. Driver-only (one-man) operation began on all trains on 1 October 2000, station numbering was introduced at every station on 1 April 2014, and a timetable revision on 19 March 2016 pushed the last train back by about twenty minutes. On 2 June 2020 the veteran 7861 and 7890 series cars were retired, and the following day the 5500 series — whose four two-car sets carry baseball-themed liveries tied to the Hanshin Tigers and Kōshien Stadium — entered service. English Wikipedia dates the changeover slightly differently, giving 6 June 2020 as the start of 5500 series operation.

• 194321 November: Mukogawa–Suzaki opens, built to serve the Kawanishi Aircraft Naruo plant.
• 194417 August: Mukogawa-Ōhashi–Mukogawa opens, connecting to Hanshin's Kokudō (national-road) tram line.
• 194415 November: a JNR Tōkaidō Main Line freight line, Nishinomiya–Suzaki, opens over dual-gauge three-rail track.
• 19459 June: Suzaki Station is damaged in an air raid; electric service over Mukogawa-Ōhashi–Suzaki is stopped on 23 August.
• 19466 January: passenger operation over Mukogawa-Ōhashi–Suzaki is formally suspended.
• 194810 October: passenger service resumes over the 1.1 km from Mukogawa to the present Suzaki.
• 19581 July: the Nishinomiya–Suzaki freight line is suspended (freight had been wound down through the 1950s).
• 196620 January: the operating length is changed from 1.7 km to 1.1 km.
• 196712 November: the overhead voltage is raised from 600 V to 1,500 V.
• 19705 November: the Nishinomiya–Suzaki freight line is abolished.
• 197827 December: the whole line is converted from a tramway (Tramway Act) to a railway (Local Railway Act).
• 198331 January: extension work towards the Mukogawa housing estate begins.
• 19843 April: the Suzaki–Mukogawadanchimae extension opens; trains go from single cars to two-car sets and the daytime interval is cut from 30 to 20 minutes (ATS had been installed on 18 March).
• 198513 April: the long-disused Mukogawa-Ōhashi–Mukogawa section is formally abolished.
• 199517 January: the line is knocked out by the Great Hanshin earthquake; full service resumes on 26 January.
• 20001 October: driver-only (one-man) operation begins on all trains.
• 20141 April: station numbering is introduced at all stations.
• 201619 March: a timetable revision pushes the last train back by about 20 minutes.
• 20202 June: the 7861 and 7890 series are retired; the 5500 series enters service the next day (English Wikipedia gives 6 June for the changeover).