JR Kyoto Line

Gauge	1,067 mm
El	1,500 V DC
Speed	outer tracks: 130 km/h / inner tracks: 120 km/h
Caption	321 series EMU on Kyoto Line local service

The is the common name of a portion of the Tōkaidō Main Line, between Kyoto Station and Osaka Station. The line is one of commuter rail lines and services in Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West).

The Kyoto Line operates in combination with the Biwako Line and the JR Kobe Line, and offers through service trains to the Kosei Line and the JR Takarazuka Line.

Trains

Commuter trains are classified in three types:

Special Rapid Service (新快速 Shin-Kaisoku)

*Continuing service from the Biwako Line and the Kosei Line. Trains stop at Kyōto, Takatsuki, Shin-Ōsaka, and Ōsaka. Trains continue from Ōsaka on the JR Kōbe Line to Himeji and beyond. 223 series EMUs are used. Daytime trains depart every 15 minutes and take 28 minutes from Kyōto to Ōsaka and vice versa.

Rapid Service (快速 Kaisoku)

*Continuing service from the Biwako Line and the Kosei Line. Trains stop at Kyōto, Nagaokakyō, Takatsuki, Ibaraki, Shin-Ōsaka, and Ōsaka. After the morning, trains also stop at all other stations between Kyōto and Takatsuki and occasionally called local trains on this section. Trains continue from Osaka on the JR Kōbe Line to Himeji and beyond. 223 series EMUs and 221 series EMUs are used.

Local (普通 Futsū)

*Service from Kyōto to Nishi-Akashi on the JR Kōbe Line, and from Takatsuki to Shin-Sanda on the JR Takarazuka Line. Trains stop at all stations. 321 series EMUs and 207 series EMUs are used.

In addition to the three types of commuter trains, long-distance limited express trains connecting the Kyoto-Osaka region with Kansai International Airport (Haruka services), Hokuriku region (Thunderbird and Raichō services) and other areas also frequently operate on the line. Freight trains also operate on the line except for the section near Ōsaka Station where freight trains use separate freight lines.

Stations

Local trains stop at all stations. Rapid Service trains stop at stations marked "R" (all day) and "r" (except in the morning). Special Rapid Service trains stop at stations marked "S".

{| class=wikitable |- !style="border-bottom:2px solid blue" colspan=2|Station !style="border-bottom:2px solid blue"|km !style="border-bottom:2px solid blue" colspan=2|Stops !style="border-bottom:2px solid blue"|Connections !style="border-bottom:2px solid blue" colspan=2|Location |- |colspan="8" align=center|Continuing service from Biwako Line and Kosei Line |- |Kyoto||京都 |style="text-align:right"|0.0 |style="text-align:center"|R |style="text-align:center"|S |Tōkaidō Shinkansen, Biwako Line, San'in Main Line, Nara Line, Kosei Line
Kintetsu Kyoto Line, Subway Karasuma Line |rowspan=2|Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto |rowspan=7|Kyoto |- |Umekōji||梅小路 |style="text-align:right"|1.8 |colspan=3|(Freight station) |- |Nishiōji||西大路 |style="text-align:right"|2.5 |style="text-align:center"|r |style="text-align:center"|| | |rowspan="2"|Minami-ku, Kyoto |- |Katsuragawa||桂川 |style="text-align:right"|5.3 |style="text-align:center"|r |style="text-align:center"|| | |- |Mukōmachi||向日町 |style="text-align:right"|6.4 |style="text-align:center"|r |style="text-align:center"|| | |Mukō |- |Nagaokakyō||長岡京 |style="text-align:right"|10.1 |style="text-align:center"|R |style="text-align:center"|| | |Nagaokakyō |- |Yamazaki||山崎 |style="text-align:right"|14.1 |style="text-align:center"|r |style="text-align:center"|| | |Ōyamazaki |- |Shimamoto||島本 |style="text-align:right"|16.3 |style="text-align:center"|r |style="text-align:center"|| | |Shimamoto |rowspan=11|Osaka |- |Takatsuki||高槻 |style="text-align:right"|21.6 |style="text-align:center"|R |style="text-align:center"|S | |rowspan="2"|Takatsuki |- |Settsu-Tonda||摂津富田 |style="text-align:right"|24.5 |style="text-align:center"|| |style="text-align:center"|| | |- |Ibaraki||茨木 |style="text-align:right"|28.2 |style="text-align:center"|R |style="text-align:center"|| | |Ibaraki |- |Senrioka||千里丘 |style="text-align:right"|31.1 |style="text-align:center"|| |style="text-align:center"|| | |Settsu |- |Suita (junction)||吹田(信) |style="text-align:right"|32.7 |colspan=3|(Junction (shingōjō) to Ōsaka Kamotsu Terminal Station) |rowspan=3|Suita |- |Kishibe||岸辺 |style="text-align:right"|32.8 |style="text-align:center"|| |style="text-align:center"|| | |- |Suita||吹田 |style="text-align:right"|35.2 |style="text-align:center"|| |style="text-align:center"|| | |- |Higashi-Yodogawa||東淀川 |style="text-align:right"|38.3 |style="text-align:center"|| |style="text-align:center"|| | |rowspan="2"|Yodogawa-ku, Osaka |- |Shin-Ōsaka||新大阪 |style="text-align:right"|39.0 |style="text-align:center"|R |style="text-align:center"|S |Tōkaidō Shinkansen, Sanyō Shinkansen, Subway Midōsuji Line |- |Ōsaka||大阪 |style="text-align:right"|42.8 |style="text-align:center"|R |style="text-align:center"|S |Ōsaka Station: JR Kōbe Line, Osaka Loop Line, Fukuchiyama Line
Kitashinchi Station: JR Tōzai Line
Umeda Station: Subway Midōsuji Line, Hankyu Kōbe, Takarazuka, Kyōto lines, Hanshin Main Line
Higashi-Umeda Station: Subway Tanimachi Line
Nishi-Umeda Station: Subway Yotsubashi Line |Kita-ku, Osaka |- style="text-align: center; " |colspan="8" align=center|Continuing service on JR Kobe Line and JR Takarazuka Line |}

Closed station

From September 5, 1876 to the opening of Kyoto Station on February 6, 1877, was the station for the city of Kyoto. The temporary station was located at 40 chains (0.80 km) west of Kyoto Station construction site, or 3 miles and 47 chains (5.77 km) away from Mukōmachi Station.

History

The line now called the JR Kyoto Line opened in 1876, only four years after the opening of the first railway in Japan. The naming of the JR Kyoto Line was in 1988.

July 26, 1876 – Government railway opens the section between Ōsaka and Mukōmachi with an intermediate station at Takatsuki

August 9, 1876 – Yamazaki Station, Ibaraki Station and Suita Station open

September 5, 1876 – Government railway opens the section between Mukōmachi and Ōmiyadōri temporary station, west of under construction Kyoto Station

February 6, 1877 – Kyoto Station opens and Ōmiyadōri temporary station closes

July 25, 1924 – Settsu-Tonda Station opens

August 1, 1931 – Kōtari Station (present-day Nagaokakyō Station) opens

July 20, 1934 – Electrification of section between Suita and Suma (west of Ōsaka) completes

October 10, 1937 – Electrification of section between Kyoto and Suita completes

September 16, 1938 – Nishiōji Station opens

December 1, 1938 – Senrioka Station opens

April 1, 1940 – Higashi-Yodogawa Station opens

April 11, 1947 – Kishibe Station opens

June 1, 1949 - Japanese National Railways (JNR) becomes the operator of the line

October 1, 1964 – Shin-Ōsaka Station opens with a Tōkaidō Shinkansen connection

October 1, 1970 – Operation of Special Rapid Service starts

April 1, 1987 - JR West becomes the operator of the line following privatization of JNR

March 13, 1988 – JR West starts the use of the line name JR Kyoto Line

March 15, 2008 – Shimamoto Station opens (first opening of new station after the naming in 1988)

October 18, 2008 – Katsuragawa Station opens

Main Entrance of Kyoto station, August 2007. There is one side platform and four island platforms serving eight tracks for the Tōkaidō Line (Biwako Line, JR Kyoto Line) and Kosei Line at ground level, three dead-end platforms serving four tracks for the San'in Line (Sagano Line) to the west of Track 0 at ground level, and two dead-end platforms serving three tracks to the south of Track 7 at ground level.

photo: Creative Commons / Sushiya

Katsuragawa Station (Kyoto)

photo: Creative Commons / Kone

223 Series EMU for the Urban Network. The "Urban Network" is JR West's name for its commuter rail lines in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area. These lines together comprise 610 km of track, have 245 stations and account for about 40% of JR West's passenger revenues.

photo: Creative Commons / Rsa

Kamo Station (Kyoto)

photo: Creative Commons / w0746203-1

JR Osaka Loop Line

photo: Creative Commons / Sushiya

Nishiōji Station

photo: Creative Commons / 天然ガス

Japan has six main regional passenger railway companies, known collectively as Japan Railways Group or simply as JR. Four JR companies operate the "bullet trains" on very fast and frequent Shinkansen lines that link all the larger cities, including Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and many more.

photo: Creative Commons / Mytho88

Inari Station

photo: Creative Commons / 東京特許許可局

Yamashina Station (山科駅, Yamashina-eki?) is a train station in Yamashina-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The station has two separated sections: underground subway section and above-ground JR section.

photo: Creative Commons / Onagadori

West Japan Railway Tōkaidō Main Line（Biwako Line）& Kosei Line Yamashina Station Platform

photo: Creative Commons / Noneotuho

Saga-Arashiyama Station

photo: Creative Commons / 天然ガス

Nara Station

photo: Creative Commons / Terence

Shinkansen tracks There is one side platform and four island platforms serving eight tracks for the Tōkaidō Line (Biwako Line, JR Kyoto Line) and Kosei Line at ground level, three dead-end platforms serving four tracks for the San'in Line (Sagano Line) to the west of Track 0 at ground level, and two dead-end platforms serving three tracks to the south of Track 7 at ground level.

photo: Creative Commons / Mangos

Hankyu Department Store. Hankyu Department Store, Hanshin Department Store (Both are owned by Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores, Inc.

photo: Creative Commons / Mitsuki

Diesel train on the Tsuyama Line express service. JR West's Urban Network competes with a number of private commuter rail operators around Osaka, the "Big 4" being Hankyū Railway/Hanshin Railway (Hankyu bought Hanshin in 2005), Keihan Railway, Kintetsu, and Nankai Railway.

photo: Creative Commons / Mitsuki-

JR West 500 Series Shinkansen Nozomi train. JR West's Urban Network competes with a number of private commuter rail operators around Osaka, the "Big 4" being Hankyū Railway/Hanshin Railway (Hankyu bought Hanshin in 2005), Keihan Railway, Kintetsu, and Nankai Railway.