Ikoma Line

The line did not begin as a Kintetsu route. It was opened by the Shigi-Ikoma Electric Railway (信貴生駒電気鉄道), a private company whose original purpose was to carry pilgrims toward Mount Shigi. On 16 May 1922 the company opened its first section, between Ōji and Yamashita (the present Shigisan-shita), together with a cable car running up from Yamashita to Shigisan, giving access to the temple on the mountain.

The railway then extended north toward Ikoma in stages. The Yamashita–Motoyamaguchi section opened on 21 October 1926, the Motoyamaguchi–temporary Shin-Ikoma section on 28 December 1926, and on 1 April 1927 the final stretch from the temporary station through to Ikoma was completed and Nabatake station opened. Within five years of its first train, the route had reached its present extent between Ōji and Ikoma.

The corporate identity behind the line changed early. On 6 November 1925 the whole network of the Shigi-Ikoma Electric Railway was transferred to a successor company, the Shigi-Ikoma Railway (信貴生駒電鉄). For nearly four decades the line and its associated cable car were operated under that name.

The line passed into Kintetsu on 1 October 1964, when Kinki Nippon Railway merged the Shigi-Ikoma Railway. From that point the route was operated as the Kintetsu Ikoma Line, with the cable car becoming the Higashi-Shigi Cable Line. Kintetsu modernised the line over the following years: the catenary voltage was raised from 600 V to 1,500 V DC on 21 September 1969, and automatic train stop (ATS) was introduced in November of the same year.

Through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s the line was progressively upgraded and partially double-tracked. The Nabatake–Minami-Ikoma section was doubled in 1977 and Hagiodai station opened in 1980. The Higashi-Shigi Cable Line was discontinued on 1 September 1983. In the early 1990s a stretch around Nabatake was elevated, the Motoyamaguchi–Hagiodai section was realigned in January 1993 (shortening the line by 0.2 km and relocating Higashiyama station), and further double-track was added on the Higashiyama–Hagiodai and Nabatake–Ikoma sections in 1993 and 1994.

The Ikoma Line now runs as a self-contained commuter line rather than a through route. One-man (driver-only) operation began on 18 March 2004, and IC fare cards followed in the 2000s. In October 2017 a landslide between Tatsutagawa and Seya-Kitaguchi caused by Typhoon No. 21 closed the whole line, which reopened in stages over the following days. In May 2022 Kintetsu marked the centenary of the Ikoma Line and the former Higashi-Shigi cable line with a ceremony at Ōji and a special express run through to Ōsaka-Uehommachi.

12 stations tracked on the map, listed alphabetically. Select any to read its page.

• Haginodai萩の台
• Heguri平群
• Higashiyama (Nara)東山
• Ichibu (Nara)一分
• Ikoma生駒
• Minami-Ikoma南生駒
• Motosanjoguchi元山上口
• Nabata菜畑
• Oji (Nara)王寺
• Seyakitaguchi勢野北口
• Shigisanshita信貴山下
• Tatsutagawa竜田川

• 192216 May: the Shigi-Ikoma Electric Railway opens its first section, Ōji–Yamashita (now Shigisan-shita), together with the cable car from Yamashita up to Shigisan.
• 19256 November: the entire network of the Shigi-Ikoma Electric Railway is transferred to the successor company, the Shigi-Ikoma Railway.
• 192621 October: the Yamashita–Motoyamaguchi section opens; the Motoyamaguchi–temporary Shin-Ikoma section follows on 28 December.
• 19271 April: the temporary Shin-Ikoma–Ikoma section opens, completing the route through to Ikoma; the temporary station closes and Nabatake station opens.
• 195110 September: Yamashita station is renamed Shigisan-guchi and Takeyama becomes a permanent station renamed Higashiyama; Seya-Kitaguchi station opens on 20 November.
• 19641 October: Kinki Nippon Railway merges the Shigi-Ikoma Railway; the route becomes the Kintetsu Ikoma Line and the cable car the Higashi-Shigi Cable Line.
• 196921 September: the catenary voltage is raised from 600 V to 1,500 V DC; automatic train stop (ATS) enters service on 7 November.
• 197731 July: the Nabatake–Minami-Ikoma section is double-tracked.
• 198023 April: Hagiodai station opens.
• 19831 September: the Higashi-Shigi Cable Line (Shigisan-shita–Shigisan) is discontinued.
• 199329 January: the Motoyamaguchi–Hagiodai section is realigned, shortening the line by 0.2 km and relocating Higashiyama station; the Higashiyama–Hagiodai section is double-tracked on 17 March.
• 199410 February: the Nabatake–Ikoma section is double-tracked.
• 200418 March: one-man (driver-only) operation begins on the line.
• 2017October: a landslide between Tatsutagawa and Seya-Kitaguchi caused by Typhoon No. 21 suspends the whole line; service is restored in stages on 23 and 25 October.
• 2022May: a ceremony at Ōji marks the centenary of the Ikoma Line and former Higashi-Shigi cable line; a special express runs between Ōji and Ōsaka-Uehommachi.