Hankyu Railway’s Newest “Always Open” Crossing Was Closed [Nishinomiya Photo]

As I recall, during the daytime, the Hankyu Imazu South Line (Imazu to Nishinomiya-kitaguchi) normally runs with two train sets shuttling back and forth. (The schedule should have them passing each other at Hanshinkokudo.) However, on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, when there are fewer passengers during certain times of day, the intervals become longer, making it possible to operate the shuttle service with just one train set. The remaining train set returns to the depot, and I’ve heard that in that case the operation goes: Nishinomiya-kitaguchi → in service → Imazu → out of service / passes through the crossing → Nishinomiya Depot. My guess is that the 18:55 departure from Nishinomiya-kitaguchi corresponds to this, and that the photo captured the return movement of that depot-bound non-service train. By the way, early in the morning, when operations go from one train set to two, it’s the reverse: Nishinomiya Depot → out of service / passes through the crossing → Imazu → in service → Nishinomiya-kitaguchi. That may be when the crossing closes.