, abbreviated as Nose Railway or , is a Japanese private railway company. Its lines run in the mountainous areas of the Hanshin region, linking the Toyono District of Osaka to Kawanishi, Hyōgo.

Nose Electric Railway is a principal subsidiary of Hankyu Corporation. Through service is provided with the Hankyu Takarazuka Line. A rush-hour special express train, the Nissei Limited Express, operates from Nissei-chuo Station to Umeda Station, the terminal of Hankyu in Osaka, in the morning and back again in the evening for commuters.

Lines and stations

Nose Railway has two lines: Myōken Line (Kawanishi-noseguchi – Myōkenguchi) Nissei Line (Yamashita – Nissei-chuo) The former is the main route; the latter branches off at Yamashita Station.

In addition to the railway, Nose Railway formerly operated a funicular (Myoken Cable) and a chairlift (Myoken Lift) until 2023.

Operations S: Trains stop; |, ↑: Trains pass; ↑: Only one direction trains are operated all day every day trains run from Nissei Chūō to Osaka-umeda in the morning, and vice versa in the evening on weekdays.

No.StationJapaneseDistance (km)LocalLimited ExpressConnectionsLocationMyoken LineThrough sectionOsaka-umeda (Hankyu)NS01Kawanishi-noseguchi川西能勢口0.0SSHankyu Takarazuka LineKawanishiHyōgo PrefectureNS02Kinunobebashi絹延橋1.2S| NS03Takiyama滝山2.1S| NS04Uguisunomori鶯の森2.7S| NS05Tsuzumigataki鼓滝3.5S| NS06Tada多田4.2S| NS07Hirano平野5.2SS NS08Ichinotorii一の鳥居6.4S| NS09Uneno畦野7.1SS NS10Yamashita山下8.2SSNissei LineNS11Sasabe笹部8.6SNissei LineNS12Kōfūdai光風台10.3SToyono, Toyono DistrictOsaka PrefectureNS13Tokiwadaiときわ台11.2SNS14Myōkenguchi妙見口12.2SNissei LineNS21Nissei-chuo日生中央2.6 (from Yamashita)SSInagawa, Kawabe DistrictHyōgo Prefecture

Myoken no Mori Cable and Myoken no Mori Lift Myoken Cable (a funicular/cable car) and Myoken Lift (a chairlift) were formerly located approximately north of Myōkenguchi Station. They provided access to Myoken-do Temple. After 63 years of operation, both closed on December 4, 2023, due to decreasing ridership and ageing equipment. StationJapaneseConnectionsLocationMyoken no Mori Cable (Funicular)Kurokawa黒川Myoken Line (Myōkenguchi Station) via walking or busKawanishi, HyōgoCable Sanjōケーブル山上Myoken no Mori Lift via walkMyōken no Mori Lift (Chairlift)Myōken-no-mizu Hiroba-mae妙見の水広場前Myoken no Mori Cable via walkingKawanishi, HyōgoMyōkensan妙見山 

Rolling stock Nose Railway uses second-hand EMUs from Hankyu. The trains operate on track.

, the fleet operated is as follows.

1700 series 4-car EMU x 1 (former Hankyu 2000 series, transferred 1990-1992. Originally 8 sets, only 1 still in service) 5100 series 4-car EMU x 5 and 2-car EMU x 2 (former Hankyu 5100 series, transferred 2014-2016) 6000 series 8-car EMU x 1 (former Hankyu 6000 series, transferred in August 2014) 7200 series 4-car EMU x 3 and 2-car EMU x 2 (former Hankyu 6000 and Hankyu 7000 series, transferred 2017-2025) The 6000 series EMU is used interchangeably with the Hankyu Takarazuka line fleet, and Takarazuka line 8-car EMU trains are also used for Limited Express services on the Nose Railway.

Former rolling stock 1500 series EMU (former Hankyu 2100 series, 1983-2016) 1000 series EMU (former Hankyu 1010 and 1100 series, 1986-2001) 3100 series 4-car EMU (former Hankyu 3100 series, 1997-2021)

History Nose Electric Railway was founded on 23 May 1908. The Kawanishi-noseguchi to Ichinotorii section opened on 13 April 1913, electrified at 600 V DC. The extension to Myōkenguchi was opened on 3 November 1923.

The line's voltage was increased from 600 V to 1,500 V DC on 26 March 1995.

See also List of railway lines in Japan

References This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.