History
The company's earliest predecessor was the Nippon Electric Railway (日本電気鉄道?) founded in 1905. In 1906 the company was reorganized as the Musashi Electric Railway (武蔵電気鉄道?), and in 1910 was renamed yet again to Keio Electric Tramway (京王電気軌道?). It began operating its first stretch of railway between Sasazuka and Chōfu in 1913. By 1923, Keiō had completed its main railway line (now the Keiō Line) between Shinjuku and Hachiōji. Track along the Fuchū – Hachiōji section was originally laid in 1,067 mm gauge by the Gyokunan Electric Railway (玉南電気鉄道?); it was later changed to match the rest of the line's 1,372 mm gauge.
The Inokashira Line began operating in 1933 as a completely separate company, Teito Electric Railway (帝都電鉄?). This company had also planned to link Ōimachi with Suzaki (now Kōtō ward), though this never materialized. In 1940, Teito merged with the Odakyu Electric Railway, and in 1942 the combined companies were merged by government order into Tōkyō Kyūkō Dentetsu｜東京急行電鉄 (now Tokyu Corporation).
In 1947, the shareholders of Tokyu voted to spin off the Keo and Inokashira lines into a new company, Keiō Teito Electric Railway (京王帝都電鉄?). The Teito name was dropped in 1998 in favor of Keio Electric Railway (京王電鉄, Keiō Dentetsu?), though "KTR" placards and insignia can still be seen occasionally. The company's English name was changed to Keio Corporation on June 29, 2005.
Read more about this topic: Keio Corporation
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