Nose Electric Railway

Nose Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
Native name
能勢電鉄株式会社
Founded23 May 1908
Headquarters
Kawanishi, Hyogo
,
Japan
ParentHankyu Corporation
Websitenoseden.hankyu.co.jp

Nose Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (能勢電鉄株式会社, Nose Dentetsu; pronounced NO-SAY), abbreviated as Nose Railway or Noseden (能勢電), 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

Hankyu's railway network, with Nose Railway lines in red

Nose Railway has two lines:

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

No. Station Japanese Distance (km) Local Limited Express Connections Location
Myoken Line
Through section Osaka-umeda (Hankyu)
NS01 Kawanishi-noseguchi 川西能勢口 0.0 S S Kawanishi Hyōgo Prefecture
NS02 Kinunobebashi 絹延橋 1.2 S |  
NS03 Takiyama 滝山 2.1 S |  
NS04 Uguisunomori 鶯の森 2.7 S |  
NS05 Tsuzumigataki 鼓滝 3.5 S |  
NS06 Tada 多田 4.2 S |  
NS07 Hirano 平野 5.2 S S  
NS08 Ichinotorii 一の鳥居 6.4 S |  
NS09 Uneno 畦野 7.1 S S  
NS10 Yamashita 山下 8.2 S S
  • Nissei Line
NS11 Sasabe 笹部 8.6 S Nissei Line
NS12 Kōfūdai 光風台 10.3 S Toyono, Toyono District Osaka Prefecture
NS13 Tokiwadai ときわ台 11.2 S
NS14 Myōkenguchi 妙見口 12.2 S
Nissei Line
NS21 Nissei-chuo 日生中央 2.6 (from Yamashita) S S Inagawa, Kawabe District Hyōgo 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 1.4 km (0.87 mi) 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.

Station Japanese Connections Location
Myoken no Mori Cable (Funicular)
Kurokawa 黒川 Kawanishi, Hyōgo
Cable Sanjō ケーブル山上
  • Myoken no Mori Lift via walk
Myōken no Mori Lift (Chairlift)
Myōken-no-mizu Hiroba-mae 妙見の水広場前
  • Myoken no Mori Cable via walking
 Kawanishi, Hyōgo
Myōkensan 妙見山  

Rolling stock

Nose Railway uses second-hand EMUs from Hankyu. The trains operate on 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) track.

As of 29 August 2026, the fleet operated is as follows.

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

Source:

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

References

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

  1. ↑ "Hankyu Corporation -- Company History". www.company-histories.com. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "Nose Electric Railway Co., Ltd". Bloomberg. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "おでかけ・沿線情報｜のせでん【能勢電鉄】". のせでん｜鉄道情報から川西・能勢周辺の観光情報まで【能勢電鉄】 (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  4. 1 2 "のせでん歴代の車両｜のせでん【能勢電鉄】". のせでん｜能勢・川西周辺の観光・モデルコース・ハイキング情報をお届け【能勢電鉄】 (in Japanese). Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Barnirun (3 November 2020). "【能勢電鉄】1700系 車両編成表". NOSE KNITs (in Japanese). Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Barnirun (14 September 2022). "【能勢電鉄】7200系 車両編成表". NOSE KNITs (in Japanese). Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Terada, Hirokazu (19 January 2013). データブック日本の私鉄: 全国私鉄165社局掲載 データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways] (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing. p. 140. ISBN 978-4-7770-1336-4.