The is a 9.3 km long commuter rail in Hyōgo Prefecture

Hyogo Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 owned and operated by Hankyu Railway

Hankyu Railway

is a Japanese private railway that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region and is one of major businesses operated by Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc. The railway's main terminal is at Umeda Station in Osaka...

. It is the longest of three branchlines of the Hankyu Kobe Line

Hankyu Kobe Line

The of Hankyu Railway is one of the three major commuter heavy rail line in the Keihanshin conurbation of Japan. It links the urban centres of Osaka and Kobe by connecting the major stations of Umeda in Osaka and Sannomiya in Kobe....

. The line connects the cities

Cities of Japan

||A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of...

 of Nishinomiya

Nishinomiya, Hyogo

is a city located in Hyōgo, Japan, between the cities of Ōsaka and Kōbe. On April 1, 2005, the city of Nishinomiya celebrated its 80th anniversary. It is best known as the home of Kōshien Stadium, where the Hanshin Tigers baseball team plays home games and where Japan's annual high school baseball...

 and Takarazuka

Takarazuka, Hyogo

is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.- Geography :Takarazuka is nestled between the Rokko Range to the west and Nagao Range to the north with the Muko River running through the center of the city....

.

Operation

The Imazu Line runs between Imazu Station

Imazu Station (Hyogo)

is a train station in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Lines:*Hanshin Electric Railway**Main Line*Hankyu Railway**Imazu Line -Hanshin:...

 and Takarazuka Station

Hankyu Takarazuka Station

Takarazuka Station is a railway station in Takarazuka, Japan, operated by Hankyu Railway. It opened on March 10, 1910.The station is the northern terminus of the Hankyu Takarazuka Line and Hankyu Imazu Line.-Layout:...

. However, no train goes directly from one end to the other because the tracks have split since 1984 at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station

Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station

is a railway station of Hankyu Railway in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.It is one of the main stations in Nishinomiya City, with Hanshin Nishinomiya Station and JR Nishinomiya Station.-Lines:*Hankyu Kobe Line*Hankyu Imazu Line...

, where the line crosses the Kobe Line. Typical Imazu Line trains stop every station between Imazu and Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi (south section) or Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi and Takarazuka (north section).

A small number of trains, called Semi-Express (junkyū), run from Takarazuka Station to Umeda Station

Umeda Station

is a railway station located in Kita-ku in the northern commercial center of Osaka, Japan. It is the busiest station in Western Japan, serving 2,343,727 passengers daily in 2005.Umeda Station is served by the following railways:...

 (Hankyu's main terminal in Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

) on weekdays not via the Takarazuka Line, but via the Imazu Line and the Kobe Line. Semi-Express trains of this route do not stop at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station because of the layout of the track in the station; there is no platform for through trains. The distance between Takarazuka and Umeda stations via the Imazu Line is shorter than the route via the Takarazuka line.

Stations

The Imazu Line has the following 10 stations:
South section

• Imazu Station
  Imazu Station (Hyogo)
  is a train station in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Lines:*Hanshin Electric Railway**Main Line*Hankyu Railway**Imazu Line -Hanshin:...
  
  
• Hanshin-Kokudō Station
  Hanshin-Kokudo Station
  is a railway station in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, on the Hankyu Imazu Line operated by the Hankyu Railway. Trains connect from this station to Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station or Imazu Station every 10 minutes....
  
  
• Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station
  Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station
  is a railway station of Hankyu Railway in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.It is one of the main stations in Nishinomiya City, with Hanshin Nishinomiya Station and JR Nishinomiya Station.-Lines:*Hankyu Kobe Line*Hankyu Imazu Line...
  
  

North section

• Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station
• Mondo-Yakujin Station
  Mondo-Yakujin Station
  is a railway station in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, on the Hankyu Imazu Line operated by the Hankyu Railway. It is located near Mondo-Yakujin, a famous tailsman temple and the station name is after the temple. In addition, Kobe College and Seiwa College are near the station...
  
  
• Kōtōen Station
  Kotoen Station
  is a railway station in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, on the Hankyu Imazu Line operated by the Hankyu Railway. It is located near Kwansei Gakuin University and highschools so many students use this station...
  
  
• Nigawa Station
  Nigawa Station
  is a railway station in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, on the Hankyu Imazu Line operated by the Hankyu Railway. It is located near JRA Hanshin Racecourse and Kwansei Gakuin University. It is also an entrance station to Mount Kabutoyama, the east end of the Rokko Mountains...
  
  
• Obayashi Station
  Obayashi Station
  is a railway station in Obayashi Nichome, Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, on the Hankyu Imazu Line operated by the Hankyu Railway. Trains connect from this station to Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station or Takarazuka Station every 10 minutes.-Layout:...
  
  
• Sakasegawa Station
  Sakasegawa Station
  is a railway station in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, on the Hankyu Imazu Line operated by the Hankyu Railway. Trains connect from this station to Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station or Takarazuka Station every 10 minutes.-Layout:...
  
  
• Takarazuka-Minamiguchi Station
  Takarazuka-Minamiguchi Station
  is a railway station in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, on the Hankyu Imazu Line operated by the Hankyu Railway. It is located near , Takarazuka Music School and The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum...
  
  
• Takarazuka Station

Connections

• Hanshin Main Line at Imazu
• Hankyu Kobe Line at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi
• Hankyu Takarazuka Line at Takarazuka
• JR
  West Japan Railway Company
  , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group companies and operates in western Honshū. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka.-History:...
  
   Fukuchiyama Line
  Fukuchiyama Line
  The is a railway line of West Japan Railway between Osaka and Fukuchiyama, Japan. Within JR West's "Urban Network" covering the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan region, the line from Osaka to Sasayamaguchi is also called the JR Takarazuka Line...
  
   at Takarazuka

Attractions along the line

• Hanshin Racecourse
  Hanshin Racecourse
  is located in Takarazuka, Hyogo, Japan. It is used for horse racing. The land was originally owned by Kawanishi Aircraft Company, which manufactured combat planes during World War II. After the WWII, GHQ ordered the company to stop manufacturing combat planes, which ended in closing the factory. In...
  
   near Nigawa Station
• Kwansei Gakuin University
  Kwansei Gakuin University
  , colloquially abbreviated to , is a non-denominational Christian private and coeducational university located in Nishinomiya, Sanda, Osaka City, and Tokyo, Japan....
  
  near Kotoen Station