Nankai Electric Railway


Nankai Electric Railway Co., Ltd. is a private railway in Japan, founded in 1884. The name Nankai comes from the company's routes along the Nankaidō, the old highway that ran south from the old capital, Kyoto, along the sea coast. Nankai predates all the electric railways in the Tokyo region.
The Nankai network branches out in a generally southern direction from Namba Station in Osaka. The Nankai Main Line connects Osaka to Wakayama, with an important spur branching to Kansai International Airport. The rapi:t α express connects Kansai International Airport to Namba in 34 minutes, while the rapi:t β takes 39 minutes with two additional stops. The Koya Line connects Osaka to Mt. Koya, headquarters of the Buddhist Shingon sect and a popular pilgrimage site. IC cards are accepted.
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History

The Nankai Railway Company was founded on June 16, 1884. In 1944 it was one of the companies that merged to form Kinki Nippon Railway Co., Ltd. (Kin-nichi, present Kintetsu Railway). However, Kin-nichi transferred the former Nankai Railway Company's lines to the present Nankai Electric Railway Co., Ltd. on June 1, 1947.
From 1938 to 1988, Nankai Electric Railway owned the Nankai Hawks, a team in Nippon Professional Baseball that was based in Osaka. The team was sold to Daiei after the 1988 season and moved to Fukuoka and rechristened the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. The team was sold again in 2005 to SoftBank, and are now the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
On November 1, 2024, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism approved the merger of Nankai Electric Railway and its subsidiary Semboku Rapid Railway, effective April 1, 2025.

Lines

Defunct lines and transferred lines

  • Nankai Line
  • *Tennoji Branch : Tengachaya – Tennoji
  • *Kitajima Branch : Wakayamashi – Kitajima - Higashi-Matsue
  • *Wakayamako Line : Wakayamako – Suiken
  • Kishigawa Line : Wakayama – Kishi
  • Osaka Tram Line
  • *Hankai Line : Ebisucho – Hamadera-eki-mae
  • *Uemachi Line : Tennoji-eki-mae – Sumiyoshikoen
  • *Hirano Line : Imaike – Hirano
  • *Ohama Branch : Shukuin – Ohama-kaigan
  • Wakayama Tram Line : Wakayamashi-eki, Wakayama-eki – Kainan, Shin-Wakaura

Rolling stock

Limited express trains

  • 50000 series — used on rapi:t service between Namba and Kansai airport
  • 31000 series — used on Kōya service between Namba and Gokurakubashi
  • 30000 series — used on Kōya service between Namba and Gokurakubashi
  • 12000 series — used on Southern service reserved car between Namba and Wakayamakō
  • 11000 series — used on Rinkan service between Namba and Hashimoto
  • 10000 series — used on Southern service reserved car between Namba and Wakayamakō

Nankai Line, Airport Line

  • 9000 series — used on Southern service non-reserved car between Namba and Wakayamakō
  • 8300 series — used on Southern service non-reserved car between Namba and Wakayamakō
  • 8000 series — used on Southern service non-reserved car between Namba and Wakayamakō
  • 7100 series — used on Southern service non-reserved car between Namba and Wakayamakō
  • 3000 series — converted from former Semboku 3000 series
  • 2000 series
  • 1000 series

Kōya Line Commuter car (Namba-Hashimoto)

Kōya Line Zoom car (Namba-Gokurakubashi)

Takashinohama Line, Tanagawa Line, Kada Line, Shiomibashi Line

Semboku Line

The following vehicles once made up the fleet of the Semboku Rapid Railway. They were transferred to Nankai on 1 April 2025.

Cable Line

  • N10 / N20