EN日本語

Nankai line3 min read

Nankai Koya Line

南海高野線

The Kōya Line is a railway line in Osaka Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by the Nankai Electric Railway, a private railway operator. It connects Osaka and Koyasan, the capital of the Japanese Buddhist sect Shingon, passing through Osaka suburbs such as Sakai, Osakasayama, Tondabayashi and Kawachinagano in Osaka Prefecture and Hashimoto and Kōya in Wakayama Prefecture.

To distinguish it from other Nankai lines, the Kōya Line is indicated with pictograms of coniferous-like trees that evoke Mount Kōya, or with its line colour, green.

For historical reasons the line formally begins at Shiomibashi Station in Naniwa-ku, Osaka, and crosses the Nankai Main Line at Kishinosato-Tamade Station in Nishinari-ku, though operationally it starts at Namba Station together with the Nankai Line, diverges at Kishinosato-Tamade, and runs to Gokurakubashi Station in Kōya, where it connects toward Koyasan via the Nankai Cable Line. The line is 64.5 km long, with a track gauge of 1,067 mm, electrification at 1,500 V DC overhead and a maximum speed of 100 km/h; it is double-track from Shiomibashi to Hashimoto and single-track from Hashimoto to Gokurakubashi. It has 42 stations, and the elevation difference between Hashimoto and Gokurakubashi is 443 m, with a maximum gradient of 50 per mille.

OsakaGojoKinokawaIzumiMinamiYaoHabikino10 km
Route of the Nankai Koya Line · Osaka · Wakayama · Boundaries: MLIT / GSI / Japan Post
An unpainted stainless-steel Nankai 6000 series on a section express, running on the Nankai Kōya Line.
An unpainted stainless-steel Nankai 6000 series on a section express, running on the Nankai Kōya Line. · MaedaAkihiko · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

History

The line serves pilgrims travelling to Koyasan, a major religious centre, and is also a commuter route from the southern Osaka suburbs and the Hashimoto–Ito area of Wakayama into central Osaka. Population growth from suburban housing development along the route, and commuter traffic from Senboku New Town into central Osaka on reciprocal through-services with the Senboku high-speed line (now the Nankai Senboku Line), have helped the Kōya Line grow to carry more passengers than the Nankai Main Line.

Construction unfolded over more than three decades. The Kōya Railway opened its first section, Ōshōji (present-day Sakaihigashi) to Sayama, on 30 January 1898, and extended it south from Sayama to Nagano (present-day Kawachinagano) later the same year. On 3 September 1900 the line was extended north to Dōtonbori (present-day Shiomibashi). The Shiomibashi–Nagano section was electrified at 600 V DC in 1912, and all further extensions were electrified when opened. The Kawachinagano–Mikkaichicho section opened in 1914 and the line was extended to Hashimoto in 1915. In 1922 the line's owning company merged with Nankai. The mountain section beyond Kōyashita was built by a separate company, the Koyasan Electric Railway, and electrified at 1,500 V; its Kōyashita–Kamiya (present-day Kii-Kamiya) section opened in 1928 and its Kamiya–Gokurakubashi section on 21 February 1929, completing the whole line.

The line was progressively upgraded. Double-tracking commenced in 1924, reaching Kawachinagano in 1938. The line voltage was increased to 1,500 V DC on 7 October 1973, and double-tracking reached Mikkaichicho in 1974 and Hashimoto in 1995. On 16 June 1985 the Shiomibashi–Kishinosato (now Kishinosato-Tamade) section, known as the Shiomibashi Line, was severed from the line to the south, leaving it an isolated de facto branch on which trains run only between Shiomibashi and Kishinosato-Tamade.

A Nankai 2000 series express bound for Hashimoto on the Nankai Kōya Line. View full size (opens in a new tab)
A Nankai 2000 series express bound for Hashimoto on the Nankai Kōya Line.MaedaAkihiko · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

The line's service pattern divides between the mainly urban Namba–Hashimoto section and the curved, steep Hashimoto–Gokurakubashi mountain section, where trains use dedicated 17 m-class "Zoomcar" rolling stock capable of fast running on level track and strong tractive effort in the mountains. Limited-express services include the Kōya between Namba and Gokurakubashi and the Rinkan between Namba and Hashimoto; the Kōya began running on 7 July 1951, then styled "Kōya-gō". The section from Hashimoto to Gokurakubashi, together with the cable line, carries the nickname "Koya Flower Railway" and has hosted the sightseeing train "Tenkū", which began running between Hashimoto and Gokurakubashi on 3 July 2009.

The line has seen several serious accidents. On 3 September 1944, on the Kii-Hosokawa–Kami-Kosawa section, a Gokurakubashi-bound train caught fire beneath the floor; while it was stopped, it began to roll down the gradient, then derailed and overturned on a curve, killing 71 people. Excess speed caused a Shiomibashi-to-Hashimoto train to overrun the safety siding at Kimitōge Station on 6 December 1945; it derailed and overturned, killing 27. On 18 January 1968, at Tengachaya, a Namba-bound express on the Nankai Main Line passed a signal at danger and collided head-on with an out-of-service train, injuring 296.

Stations on this line

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

Timeline
  • 189830 January: the Kōya Railway opens Ōshōji (present-day Sakaihigashi)–Sayama.
  • 1898The Kōya Railway extends the line south from Sayama to Nagano (present-day Kawachinagano).
  • 19003 September: the line is extended to Dōtonbori (present-day Shiomibashi), reaching central Osaka.
  • 1912The Shiomibashi–Nagano (Kawachinagano) section is electrified at 600 V DC.
  • 1914The Kawachinagano–Mikkaichicho section opens.
  • 1915The line is extended to Hashimoto.
  • 1922The line's owning company merges with Nankai; the line becomes the Kōya Line.
  • 1924Double-tracking of the line commences.
  • 1928The Koyasan Electric Railway opens Kōyashita–Kamiya (present-day Kii-Kamiya), electrified at 1,500 V.
  • 192921 February: the Koyasan Electric Railway opens Kamiya (present-day Kii-Kamiya)–Gokurakubashi, completing the whole line.
  • 1938Double-tracking reaches Kawachinagano.
  • 19517 July: the 'Kōya' limited express (then 'Kōya-gō') begins operation.
  • 19737 October: the overhead voltage is raised to 1,500 V DC.
  • 1974Double-tracking reaches Mikkaichicho (Kawachinagano–Mikkaichicho).
  • 198516 June: the Shiomibashi–Kishinosato section (Shiomibashi Line) is severed from the section to the south, leaving it an isolated de facto branch.
  • 1995Double-tracking reaches Hashimoto (Miyukitsuji–Hashimoto), completing it through Hashimoto.
  • 20093 July: the sightseeing train 'Tenkū' begins running between Hashimoto and Gokurakubashi.

Sources

Last updated 16 October 2026.

View on the map → ← All lines