History
The Kawabe Horsecar Railway (川辺馬車鉄道, Kawabe Bashatetsudō?) started the history of the line in 1891. The railway operated the line between Amagasaki and Itami (about 8 km) by horsecars. In 1893, the horsecar railway was reorganized as Settsu Railway (摂津鉄道, Settsu Tetsudō?), which introduced steam power to the railway and extended the line to Ikeda.
The Settsu Railway was merged by Hankaku Railway (阪鶴鉄道, Hankaku Tetsudō?), which had a plan to build a railway between Osaka and Maizuru. The Hankaku Railway extended the line to Takarazuka in 1897 and to Fukuchiyama in 1899. Also the company connected the line to the Kanzaki Station (present-day Amagasaki Station) of the government line in 1898 making the line to the original Amagasaki terminal a branch. Hankaku Railway was nationalized on August 1, 1907.
The branchline between Amagasakikō Station (former Amagasaki terminal of the horsecar railway) and Tsukaguchi Station ceased passenger operation in 1981 and freight operation in 1984.
Modernization of the route began in the 1980s. Railway signal system changed to CTC, and electrification to Fukuchiyama was completed in 1986.
On April 25, 2005, a seven-car 207 series train on a Rapid service derailed and crashed into a building between Tsukaguchi and Amagasaki on its way for Doshisha-mae via the JR Tōzai Line and the Katamachi Line (see: Amagasaki rail crash). 107 passengers were killed in the accident. Operations on the affected part of the line remained suspended until trial runs began on June 7, 2005. Passenger service resumed on June 19, 2005.
Read more about this topic: Fukuchiyama Line
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