Shintetsu Kobe Kosoku Line

The line was built by the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway to connect Minatogawa, the Arima Line terminus, with the Hanshin, Hankyū and Sanyo lines, for which a direct link had been planned. That company had been set up to link the four private railways that each had its own terminal in central Kobe — Keihanshin Express Electric Railway (now Hankyū), Hanshin, Sanyo, and Kobe Electric Railway. The idea grew out of Kobe's 1946 post-war reconstruction plan, which sought to speed up and expand the city-centre transport then carried by the Kobe city trams by harnessing the four railways. After a 1948 agreement between Kobe City and the four companies, the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway was established in 1958 as a third-sector firm jointly funded by the city, the four railways, and local business interests.

From the outset the company took an unusual form for a railway operator of its day: it built and managed the track, electrical equipment and stations but supplied no rolling stock or train crews of its own, borrowing both from the connecting railways. That arrangement, together with a route that ran almost entirely underground, led to its sometimes being called the “tunnel company”. For its part, Kobe Electric Railway had obtained a licence in 1949 for a line between Kobe and Minatogawa. The original plan was for an elevated route reaching the national railway's Kobe Station, but because an elevated line would have cut through the city centre and an underground line could not easily be carried through to Kobe Station, the scheme was reworked to connect the railways at Shinkaichi instead, and in 1965 Shintetsu's licence was transferred to the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway.

On 7 April 1968 the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway opened both of its lines — the East–West Line and the Namboku (North–South) Line — and Kobe Electric Railway began through-running over the new Namboku Line between Shinkaichi and Minatogawa. The 0.4-kilometre Namboku Line also served as a replacement for the Kobe city tram between Shinkaichi and Minatogawa-Koen, and to make through services possible Shintetsu's Minatogawa terminus was shifted from its former position to a new underground station. The opening gave the previously isolated Arima Line terminus at Minatogawa a direct connection to the other railways gathering at Shinkaichi.

When the Local Railway Act was replaced by the Railway Business Act in the late 1980s, the operating relationship was formally restructured. On 1 April 1988 Kobe Electric Railway obtained a Category-2 railway licence under the new law and the section became that company's “Kōbe Kōsoku Line”, with the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway holding it as a Category-3 operator. In practice little changed at first. Shintetsu entrusted facility maintenance, train-operation management and station duties to the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway, the fare system was left unchanged, and under the contract the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway received an amount equivalent to the line's fares, so day-to-day operation continued much as it had under the old law.

The line was damaged in the Great Hanshin earthquake of 17 January 1995. Repairs took several months, and the line was fully restored to service on 22 June 1995.

Until 30 September 2010 the route was operated under the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway's own line name, the Namboku Line. On 1 October 2010 the operating structure was changed again: Kobe Electric Railway took over the management of the stations and facilities that had until then been entrusted to the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway, and the route has since been presented to passengers as the Shintetsu Kōbe Kōsoku Line. Station numbering, with Shinkaichi as KB01 and Minatogawa as KB02, was introduced on 1 April 2014.

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

• Minatogawa湊川
• Shinkaichi新開地

• 1949Kobe Electric Railway obtains a licence for a line between Kobe and Minatogawa.
• 19582 October: the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway is established as a third-sector company funded by Kobe City, the four connecting railways, and local business interests.
• 1965Kobe Electric Railway's licence for the section is transferred to the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway.
• 19687 April: the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway Namboku Line opens between Shinkaichi and Minatogawa; Kobe Electric Railway begins through-running. The line also serves as a replacement for the Kobe city tram between Shinkaichi and Minatogawa-Koen, and Shintetsu's Minatogawa station is moved to a new underground station to allow through-running.
• 19881 April: Kobe Electric Railway obtains a Category-2 railway licence under the Railway Business Act and the section becomes the company's 'Kobe Kosoku Line'; the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway holds it as a Category-3 operator.
• 199517 January: the line is damaged in the Great Hanshin earthquake.
• 199522 June: the line is fully restored to service.
• 20101 October: the operating structure is changed; Kobe Electric Railway takes over management of the stations and facilities formerly entrusted to the Kobe Rapid Transit Railway, and the route is presented as the Shintetsu Kobe Kosoku Line (the name Namboku Line had been used until 30 September 2010).
• 20141 April: station numbering is introduced, with Shinkaichi as KB01 and Minatogawa as KB02.