Hankyū Senri Line

The line's history goes back to the Kita-Osaka Electric Railway, which in 1921 opened the section between Jūsō and Toyotsu, extending it to Senriyama later the same year. The company had always intended to reach the centre of Osaka, but lacked the funds to bridge the Yodogawa, so it acquired the trackbed of a disused stretch of the Tōkaidō Main Line near present-day Sōzenji and linked instead to the Hanshin Kyūkō (Hankyu) station at Jūsō as a stopgap. Because the company developed cemeteries along the route — anticipating demand as Osaka consolidated its burial grounds — the line earned the nickname the "Graveyard Train."

Meanwhile the Keihan Electric Railway, looking for a high-speed bypass of its Keihan Main Line along the right bank of the Yodogawa between Osaka and Kyoto, took an interest in the Tenjinbashi–Awaji licence held by the Kita-Osaka company. Through the mediation of Keita Gotō and others, Keihan acquired most of the Kita-Osaka shares, established the Shin-Keihan Railway, and took over the railway operations in 1923. In 1925 Shin-Keihan opened the Tenjinbashi–Awaji section across the Yodogawa, and in 1928 it boosted the voltage on the whole line from 600 V to 1,500 V; the Tenjinbashi end became part of the Shin-Keihan main line linking Osaka and Kyoto.

In 1930 Shin-Keihan was absorbed by its parent, the Keihan Electric Railway, and the Awaji–Senriyama branch became the Senriyama Line. Wartime transport consolidation under the Land Transport Business Coordination Act then merged Keihan with the Hanshin Kyūkō Railway in 1943, forming the Keihanshin Kyūkō Railway — the forerunner of today's Hankyu — and from 1944 express trains for Kyoto began running through to Umeda over the Takarazuka Main Line. When Keihan was split off again in 1949 the route stayed with Keihanshin Kyūkō; by 1959 the Tenjinbashi–Awaji segment had been folded into the Senriyama Line, and its trains began running through to Umeda.

The line's modern identity was shaped by the Senri New Town. In 1960 Osaka Prefecture asked Keihanshin Kyūkō to extend the Senriyama Line to serve the vast new town being planned on the hills north of Senriyama. A licence for the extension was obtained in 1961; the first stage, from Senriyama to Shin-Senriyama (now Minami-Senri), opened in 1963, and the second stage on to Kita-Senri opened on 1 March 1967, at which point the whole route was renamed the Senri Line and Shin-Senriyama was renamed Minami-Senri. Kita-Senri Station was fitted with Japan's first full-scale automatic ticket gates. A planned further extension toward Sakurai on the Minoo Line was eventually abandoned, its licence lapsing in 1972.

The other defining feature was through-service with the city's subway. After years of negotiation among Keihanshin Kyūkō, Nankai and Osaka City over a bypass for the congested Midōsuji subway — including a dispute over track gauge that was settled in favour of 1,435 mm — Keihanshin Kyūkō committed to running into a new line beneath Sakaisuji. Mutual through-operation with the Osaka Municipal Subway Sakaisuji Line began in December 1969; at the same time the old Tenjinbashi terminal was rebuilt underground and renamed Tenjinbashisuji-rokuchōme. The following year the line served as a principal access route to Expo '70 on the Senri Hills, with a temporary Bankoku-nishiguchi (Expo West Gate) station and special trains run from across the Hankyu network.

In later decades the line settled into its present role as a cross-city commuter artery. Sakaisuji-direct express services were introduced and reorganised over the years, becoming the Sakaisuji Semi-Express by 2007 and gaining weekend daytime runs in 2011, while the temporary Expo station was replaced by Yamada Station in 1973. Station numbering was rolled out across the line in 2013, and in 2021 the Senri Line marked its hundredth year of operation. A large grade-separation project around Awaji, begun in the 2010s and due for completion in the early 2030s, will elevate a 3.8-kilometre stretch of the line and remove its remaining level crossings.

• 19211 April: the Kita-Osaka Electric Railway opens the Jūsō–Toyotsu section; on 26 October it is extended from Toyotsu to Senriyama.
• 19221 May: Daigaku-mae Station opens between Toyotsu and Senriyama.
• 19231 April: the Shin-Keihan Railway, set up by the Keihan Electric Railway, takes over the railway operations of the Kita-Osaka Electric Railway.
• 192515 October: Shin-Keihan opens the Tenjinbashi (now Tenjinbashisuji-rokuchōme)–Awaji section across the Yodogawa; the Awaji–Senriyama segment is double-tracked at the same time.
• 192816 January: the voltage on the whole line is raised from 600 V to 1,500 V.
• 193015 September: the Keihan Electric Railway absorbs the Shin-Keihan Railway; the Awaji–Senriyama branch becomes the Senriyama Line.
• 1943Under the Land Transport Business Coordination Act, the Keihan Electric Railway and the Hanshin Kyūkō Railway merge to form the Keihanshin Kyūkō Railway, the forerunner of Hankyu.
• 19491 December: the Keihan Electric Railway is separated off again, but the Senriyama Line remains part of the Keihanshin Kyūkō Railway.
• 195918 February: the Tenjinbashi–Awaji section is incorporated into the Senriyama Line, and its trains begin running through to Umeda (now Osaka-umeda).
• 196210 August: construction begins on the first stage of the extension, from Senriyama to Shin-Senriyama.
• 196329 August: the Senriyama–Shin-Senriyama (now Minami-Senri) section opens, serving the new Senri New Town.
• 19671 March: the Shin-Senriyama–Kita-Senri section opens; the whole route is renamed the Senri Line and Shin-Senriyama is renamed Minami-Senri. Kita-Senri Station receives Japan's first full-scale automatic ticket gates.
• 196910 November: the temporary Bankoku-nishiguchi (Expo West Gate) Station opens between Minami-Senri and Kita-Senri for Expo '70. 6 December: mutual through-operation begins with the Osaka Municipal Subway Sakaisuji Line; the Tenjinbashi terminal is moved underground and renamed Tenjinbashisuji-rokuchōme.
• 1970The line serves as a principal access route to Expo '70 on the Senri Hills; the temporary Expo West Gate Station closes on 14 September after the fair.
• 197323 November: Yamada Station opens 400 m south of the former Expo West Gate Station site.
• 200717 March: the Sakaisuji Express and Sakaisuji Rapid Express are abolished and replaced by the Sakaisuji Semi-Express.
• 201321 December: station numbering is introduced at all stations on the line (Tenjinbashisuji-rokuchōme continues to use its Sakaisuji Line number).
• 20211 April: the line marks its 100th year of operation.