Tawaramoto Line

Although Shin-Ōji is the official starting point of the line, trains running from Nishi-Tawaramoto towards Shin-Ōji are treated as down services in the timetable, with the reverse direction counted as up. The line has no station that connects directly with another route, leaving it physically isolated from the rest of the Kintetsu network. In practice, however, Shin-Ōji sits beside Ōji Station on the Ikoma Line (and the JR Yamatoji and Wakayama lines), and Nishi-Tawaramoto sits beside Tawaramoto Station on the Kashihara Line, so passengers can change between them on foot. A connecting track to the Kashihara Line just north of Nishi-Tawaramoto links the rails to the wider system and is used to move rolling stock in and out.

The line was opened by the Yamato Railway, which built it as a 1,067 mm gauge steam railway. The first section, between Shin-Ōji and Tawaramoto (today's Nishi-Tawaramoto), opened on 26 April 1918, bringing the stations of Shin-Ōji, Ōwada, Ikebe, Hashio, Kuroda and Tawaramoto into service. The company then pushed eastward beyond Tawaramoto, opening Tawaramoto–Ajima in 1922 and Ajima–Sakurai-machi in 1923, and extending to Sakurai itself on 1 May 1928. Yamato Railway hoped to reach Sakurai and press on towards Nabari, but the Osaka Electric Railway (Daiki), a forerunner of Kintetsu, built its competing Unebi Line (later the Kashihara Line) and Osaka Line nearby; the resulting loss of traffic drove Yamato Railway into Daiki's orbit.

The Second World War reshaped the railway. As a line judged non-essential, the Tawaramoto–Sakurai section — which duplicated nearby Kintetsu routes — was suspended on 11 January 1944, and the dormant stretch was formally abolished on 27 December 1958; its right-of-way was later turned into a road, now Nara Prefectural Route 14. Meanwhile, to bring the surviving Shin-Ōji–Tawaramoto section into line with the rest of the Kintetsu group, the line was regauged from 1,067 mm to 1,435 mm standard gauge and electrified on 15 June 1948 — work carried out ahead of the conversion of Kintetsu's own Nagoya and Suzuka lines.

The line's corporate ownership changed hands twice in the 1960s. In 1961 Yamato Railway was absorbed by the Shigi-Ikoma Electric Railway, then the operator of the present-day Kintetsu Ikoma Line, and the route became that company's Tawaramoto Line. Just three years later, on 1 October 1964, Kintetsu itself absorbed the Shigi-Ikoma Electric Railway, so the route became the Kintetsu Tawaramoto Line; at the same time Tawaramoto Station was renamed Nishi-Tawaramoto to distinguish it from the Kashihara Line's Tawaramoto Station. The original 600 V catenary was later stepped up, the line voltage being raised to 1,500 V DC on 21 September 1969, and automatic train stop (ATS) came into use in 1971.

Through the later twentieth century the line was steadily modernised as the area around it filled with housing and it became a commuter route towards Osaka. Samitagawa Station was added between Ōwada and Ikebe on 30 November 1983. After curves between Shin-Ōji and Ōwada were eased to admit larger cars, full-size rolling stock began running on 1 July 1990. One-man operation started on 19 March 1992, accompanied by the completion of improvements at Nishi-Tawaramoto and the re-staffing of Kuroda, which briefly left all eight stations staffed.

In the twenty-first century the line has adjusted to falling ridership. IC cards PiTaPa and ICOCA came into use across the line on 1 April 2007. On 1 October 2011, as passenger numbers fell with an ageing local population, the six intermediate stations were made unstaffed, leaving only Nishi-Tawaramoto and Shin-Ōji with staff. The line marked its hundredth anniversary in 2018, when commemorative retro liveries were applied to its 8400 series trains. Because it was opened by the Yamato Railway, some long-time elderly residents still call the line by the old nickname Yamatetsu.

• 191826 April: the Yamato Railway opens the first section, Shin-Ōji–Tawaramoto (today's Nishi-Tawaramoto), as a 1,067 mm gauge steam railway; Shin-Ōji, Ōwada, Ikebe, Hashio, Kuroda and Tawaramoto stations open.
• 19223 September: the line is extended east of Tawaramoto, opening Tawaramoto–Ajima.
• 19232 May: the Ajima–Sakurai-machi section opens, taking the line towards Sakurai.
• 19281 May: the Sakurai-machi–Sakurai section opens — the line's final extension, reaching Sakurai on the present Kintetsu Osaka Line.
• 19325 May: Tajima Station opens between Hashio and Kuroda.
• 194411 January: as a wartime non-essential line, the Tawaramoto–Sakurai section, which duplicated nearby Kintetsu routes, is suspended.
• 194815 June: the surviving Shin-Ōji–Tawaramoto section is regauged from 1,067 mm to 1,435 mm standard gauge and electrified — done ahead of Kintetsu's own Nagoya and Suzuka lines. (EN Wikipedia gives the initial voltage as 600 V DC.)
• 195827 December: the dormant Tawaramoto–Sakurai section is formally abolished; its right-of-way later becomes Nara Prefectural Route 14.
• 19611 October: the Shigi-Ikoma Electric Railway absorbs the Yamato Railway, and the route becomes that company's Tawaramoto Line.
• 19641 October: Kintetsu absorbs the Shigi-Ikoma Electric Railway, making the route the Kintetsu Tawaramoto Line; Tawaramoto Station is renamed Nishi-Tawaramoto.
• 196921 September: the catenary voltage is raised from 600 V to 1,500 V DC.
• 19716 September: automatic train stop (ATS) comes into use on the line.
• 198330 November: Samitagawa Station opens between Ōwada and Ikebe.
• 19901 July: after curves between Shin-Ōji and Ōwada are eased, full-size (large) cars begin running on the line.
• 199219 March: one-man operation begins; improvements at Nishi-Tawaramoto are completed and Kuroda is re-staffed, briefly leaving all eight stations staffed.
• 20071 April: the IC cards PiTaPa and ICOCA come into use at all stations on the line.
• 20111 October: with ridership falling amid an ageing population, the six intermediate stations are made unstaffed, leaving only Nishi-Tawaramoto and Shin-Ōji staffed.