Hankyu Railway has announced that it will revise its timetable on Saturday, February 22, 2025. Since what people are probably most curious about is how this will affect Nishinomiya, we’ll summarize the changes to the Kobe Line timetable as clearly as possible based on Hankyu Railway’s official materials〜
(Information provided by Takuma and Kagayaki 509-go @ Nishitsu SP)
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Daytime train intervals will stay the same
First, for the daytime hours, there will be no change to train intervals. That’s good news for people who mainly travel around noon.
Changes during the morning rush hour
Commuter Express trains will have their service type changed to “Rapid”!
The big point with this change is that these trains will no longer stop at Tsukaguchi. So some people may be hoping, “Maybe I’ll be able to get to Osaka-umeda a little faster?” There’s still no clear data yet on “how many minutes earlier you’ll actually arrive at Umeda” or “how much travel time will be reduced”〜
We received information that additional “Commuter Limited Express” trains stopping at Tsukaguchi will be added for the same number of “Rapid” trains, and the number of effective first-arrival trains to Osaka-umeda will not change. We apologize for the incorrect information.
Also, Commuter Limited Express trains will no longer have 10-car formations, and will be abolished in favor of a unified 8-car formation.
(According to Kagayaki 509-go @ Nishitsu SP, the current platform door improvement and height-raising work has only been done for 8 cars, so apparently this had been rumored among railway fans)
At first glance, you might worry, “Will fewer people be able to ride?” But since Hankyu is increasing the number of trains, the idea seems to be to prevent each individual train from becoming packed.
Changes during the evening rush hour
Limited Express trains will be changed to “Semi-Limited Express”, and will now also stop at Tsukaguchi and Rokko! As a result, for example, when traveling from Osaka-umeda to Rokko, the travel time will apparently be reduced by about 5 minutes(currently 30 minutes → 25 minutes after the revision).
Meanwhile, the travel time between Osaka-umeda and Kobe-sannomiya will remain unchanged at 30 minutes. The convenience of being able to travel without transferring is being maintained! Apparently, the reason they can pull off this impressive trick is that local trains will temporarily stop at Sonoda Station and be overtaken, allowing the Semi-Limited Express to continue without slowing down
Two more weekday late-night trains from Sannomiya
Good news for those who ride late at night: two additional local trains from Kobe-sannomiya to Nishinomiya-kitaguchi will be added on weekday late nights.
- A new 23:31 departure will be added
- A new 24:00 departure will be added
For people heading home after drinks or overtime, this is the kind of welcome point that makes you think, “More last trains? That’s awesome!”
Specific travel time comparison
Here’s another look at the speed after the timetable revision.
- Osaka-umeda → Rokko
Currently 30 minutes → 25 minutes after the revision (about 5 minutes shorter!) - Osaka-umeda → Kobe-sannomiya
No change in travel time: 30 minutes
The impressive point is that some travel times are being shortened while the convenience of longer-distance travel remains unchanged.
Finally
Overall, morning and evening train congestion may become a little easier, and travel times look likely to get shorter, so we’re looking forward to next February’s timetable change.
※Takuma and Kagayaki 509-go @ Nishitsu SP, thank you for the information!!
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