The 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, via the suburbs of Osaka, 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 which bring to mind Mount Kōya, or with the line colour, green.
For historical reasons, the line formally begins at Shiomibashi Station in Osaka and crosses the Nankai Main Line, the company's other main line, at Kishinosato-Tamade Station, though operationally it starts at Namba Station together with the Nankai Line, diverges at Kishinosato-Tamade Station and goes to Gokurakubashi Station, to connect to Koyasan through Nankai Cable Line.
The section from Shiomibashi to Kishinosato-Tamade, called the , has trains operating only in between those two stations. The section from Hashimoto to Gokurakubashi and the Koyasan Cable is named the by operating a sightseeing train "Tenku".
History The Koya Railway opened the Shiomibashi to Sayama section between 1898 and 1900, and extended the line to Kawachinagano in 1902. That section was electrified at 600 V DC in 1912. All further extensions were electrified when opened.
The Kawachinagano - Mikkaichicho section opened in 1914, and the line was extended to Hashimoto the following year. In 1922, the company merged with Nankai, and the Hashimoto to Gokurakubashi section opened in 1929.
Double-tracking of the line commenced in 1924, reaching Kawachinagano in 1938. The line voltage was increased to 1,500 V DC in 1973, and the following year, double-tracking reached Mikkaichicho, and Hashimoto in 1995. Service patterns
Between Namba and Sakaihigashi, Kitanoda, Kongō, Chiyoda, Kawachinagano, Miikkaichichō, Rinkanden-entoshi or Hashimoto, and between Hashimoto and Kōyashita or Gokurakubashi.
All the southbound trains are operated from Namba to Izumi-Chūō on the Semboku Line. On weekday mornings, northbound trains for Namba are operated from Kawachinagano and Chiyoda in addition to the through trains from the Semboku Line.
Trains are operated between Namba and Kawachinagano, Miikkaichichō, Rinkanden-entoshi or Izumi-Chūō (Semboku Line).
Trains are operated mainly between Namba and Miikkaichichō, Rinkanden-entoshi or Hashimoto. Several trains are operated between Namba and Kōyashita or Gokurakubashi.
All trains are operated between Namba and Gokurakubashi, and use a special "Zoomcar" rolling stock. On weekday evenings, southbound trains for Hashimoto from Namba are operated using other rolling stock.
The operates between Namba and Gokurakubashi, and the between Namba and Hashimoto. From December 5, 2015, services also commenced between Namba and Izumi-Chūō (Semboku Line). All seats on Limited Express trains are reserved.
From July 3, 2009, trains operate between Hashimoto and Gokurakubashi daily except Wednesdays and Thursdays from March until November, and on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays from December until February. They stop at Kamuro and Kudoyama.
For fare calculation, the distance between Tengachaya and Tezukayama is defined as 1.8 km.
Stations Namba - Kishinosato-Tamade - Gokurakubashi Legends:
● : All trains stop. ｜: All trains pass. ◆ : Extra Limited Express trains originating at Hashimoto stop here ▲ - Semboku Liner No Stop
Line nameNo.StationJapaneseDistance (km) Semi-Express Sub-Express Express Rapid ExpressTenkū Limited ExpressTransfers Locationfrom ShiomibashiNankai Main Line NK01 難波(3.9) -●●●●●Osaka Metro:
Midosuji Line (M20) Yotsubashi Line (Y15) Sennichimae Line (S16)
Kintetsu Namba Line (A01: )
(HS41: Osaka Namba)
JR West Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line) (JR-Q17:)Chūō-ku, OsakaOsaka Prefecture NK02 今宮戎(3.0) -｜｜｜｜｜ Naniwa-ku, Osaka NK03 新今宮(2.5) -●●●●●JR West:
Osaka Loop Line (JR-O19) Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line) (JR-Q19)
Osaka Metro ():
Midosuji Line (M22) Sakaisuji Line (K19)
Hankai Tramway Hankai Line (HN52: Shin-Imamiya-Ekimae)Nishinari-ku, Osaka NK04 萩ノ茶屋(1.9) -｜｜｜｜｜ NK05 天下茶屋(0.9) -●●●●●NK06 岸里玉出0.04.6｜｜｜｜｜Kōya Line NK51 帝塚山1.15.7｜｜｜｜｜Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka NK52 住吉東2.06.6｜｜｜｜｜ NK53 沢ノ町2.97.5｜｜｜｜｜ NK54 我孫子前3.58.1｜｜｜｜｜ NK55 浅香山4.89.4｜｜｜｜｜Sakai-ku, Sakai NK56 堺東6.411.0●●●●▲ NK57 三国ヶ丘7.912.5●｜｜｜｜ NK58 百舌鳥八幡8.813.4●｜｜｜｜ NK59 中百舌鳥9.514.1●｜｜｜｜
Osaka Metro Midosuji Line (M30)Kita-ku, Sakai NK60 白鷺10.515.1●｜｜｜｜ NK61 初芝12.016.6●｜｜｜｜Higashi-ku, Sakai NK62 萩原天神12.917.5●｜｜｜｜ NK63 北野田14.719.3●●●●｜ NK64 狭山15.620.2●●｜｜｜Ōsakasayama NK65 大阪狭山市17.221.8●●｜｜｜ NK66 金剛18.322.9●●●●● NK67 滝谷20.024.6●●｜｜｜Tondabayashi NK68 千代田21.325.9●●｜｜｜Kawachinagano NK69 河内長野23.428.0●●●●● NK70 三日市町25.129.7●●●●｜ NK71 美加の台26.731.3 ●●●｜ NK72 千早口28.633.2●●｜｜ NK73 天見30.334.9●●｜｜ NK74 紀見峠34.038.6●●｜｜HashimotoWakayama Prefecture NK75 林間田園都市35.339.9●●●● NK76 御幸辻37.341.9 ●●｜ NK77 橋本40.144.7●●●● NK78 紀伊清水43.247.8●●｜｜ NK79 学文路45.850.4●●●◆ NK80 九度山47.652.2●●●◆Kudoyama, Ito District NK81 高野下49.654.2●●｜｜ NK82 下古沢51.355.9●●｜｜ NK83 上古沢53.057.6●●｜｜ NK84 紀伊細川56.060.6●●｜｜Kōya, Ito District NK85 紀伊神谷58.463.0●●｜｜ NK86 極楽橋59.964.5●●●●
Shiomibashi - Kishinosato-Tamade
The section is known as the .
No.StationJapaneseDistance (km) TransfersLocation NK06-5 汐見橋 0.0 Naniwa-ku, Osaka Osaka Prefecture NK06-4 芦原町 0.9 NK06-3 木津川 1.6 Nishinari-ku, Osaka NK06-2 津守 2.6 NK06-1 西天下茶屋 3.6 NK06 岸里玉出 4.6
Rolling stock As of 1 October 2026, the line uses the following rolling stock.
Limited express
30000 series since 1983 11000 series since 1992 31000 series since 1999 2200 series Tenku since 2009
Mountainous use
2000 series since 1990 2300 series since 2005
General commuter
6000 series since 1962 6200 series since 1974 6300 series since 1996 8300 series since 2019 8000 series since 2024
References