Tenri Line

The line began not as part of Kintetsu but as a light railway. On 7 February 1915 the Tenri Light Railway opened a 762 mm narrow-gauge, steam-worked line between Shin-Hōryūji Station (later Kintetsu-Hōryūji) and Tenri. Shin-Hōryūji stood near Hōryūji Station on the national railways' Kansai Main Line, and the connection there linked Tenri with the Osaka area. A further station, Andō, was added on 10 March 1916.

On 1 January 1921 the Osaka Electric Railway acquired the railway and designated the whole route the Tenri Line. That same period saw Osaka Electric Railway open its Kashihara Line (then called the Unebi Line), and on 1 April 1922 the operator opened a new junction station, Hirahata, splitting the original route in two: the Shin-Hōryūji–Hirahata portion became the Hōryūji Line, while Hirahata–Tenri remained the Tenri Line and was connected to the Unebi Line at Hirahata. The Hirahata–Tenri section was at the same time regauged from 762 mm to standard gauge and electrified at 600 V DC.

In 1944 the railway became part of the Kinki Nippon Railway (Kintetsu). The terminus of the Hōryūji Line, opened as Shin-Hōryūji, was renamed Daiki Hōryūji in 1928 and Kankyū Hōryūji in 1941, and became Kintetsu-Hōryūji on 1 June 1944. The Hōryūji Line (Kintetsu-Hōryūji–Hirahata), still 762 mm gauge, was suspended on 11 February 1945. It never reopened and was formally abolished on 1 April 1952, leaving only the standard-gauge Hirahata–Tenri line in service.

Tenri Station was relocated on 30 October 1964, shortening the line by 0.2 km, and automatic train stop (ATS) entered service on 10 October 1968. On 21 September 1969 the overhead voltage was raised from 600 V to 1,500 V DC. A clearance-enlargement project was completed in 1973, after which the Tenri Line and Kashihara Line platforms at Hirahata were separated, and on 27 June 1988 the entire line was double-tracked.

Both local and express trains stop at every station on the line, and through services run to Kyoto via the Kashihara and Kyoto lines. The KOSMOS train-operation management system began operating on 20 December 1992, and the stations began accepting Surutto KANSAI cards in 2001 and the PiTaPa and ICOCA IC cards on 1 April 2007.

On Tenrikyo festival days (the 26th of each month) and on days of events at its headquarters, extra limited expresses run to and from Kyoto, and extra expresses to and from Ōsaka-Namba, Kyoto and other stations. On 16 March 2026 Kintetsu introduced a single weekday-morning limited express from Tenri to Ōsaka-Namba, the first limited express to run on the Tenri Line as a regular service.

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

• Hirahata平端
• Nikaido二階堂
• Senzai前栽
• Tenri天理

• 19157 February: the Tenri Light Railway opens a 762 mm narrow-gauge, steam-worked line from Shin-Hōryūji (later Kintetsu-Hōryūji) to Tenri.
• 191610 March: Andō Station opens on the line.
• 19211 January: the Osaka Electric Railway acquires the railway and designates the whole route the Tenri Line.
• 19221 April: Hirahata Station opens; the route is split into the Hōryūji Line (Shin-Hōryūji–Hirahata) and the Tenri Line (Hirahata–Tenri), the latter connected to the Unebi (now Kashihara) Line; Hirahata–Tenri is regauged to 1,435 mm and electrified at 600 V DC.
• 19441 June: the Hōryūji-line terminus is renamed Kintetsu-Hōryūji. The railway becomes part of the Kinki Nippon Railway (Kintetsu) the same year.
• 194511 February: the Hōryūji Line (Kintetsu-Hōryūji–Hirahata) is suspended.
• 19521 April: the suspended Hōryūji Line is formally abolished, leaving only the standard-gauge Hirahata–Tenri line.
• 196430 October: Tenri Station is relocated, shortening the line by 0.2 km.
• 196810 October: automatic train stop (ATS) enters service.
• 196921 September: the overhead voltage is raised from 600 V to 1,500 V DC.
• 1973A clearance-enlargement project is completed; the Tenri Line and Kashihara Line platforms at Hirahata are subsequently separated.
• 198827 June: the entire line is double-tracked.
• 199220 December: the KOSMOS train-operation management system begins operating.
• 20071 April: PiTaPa and ICOCA IC cards begin to be accepted at all stations (Surutto KANSAI cards had been accepted since 2001).
• 202616 March: Kintetsu introduces a single weekday-morning limited express from Tenri to Ōsaka-Namba, the first limited express to run on the line as a regular service.