Hankyu Railway will revise its timetable on December 17 this year.(We apologize for previously listing the wrong date for the timetable revision.)
One reason is that lifestyles have changed due to the impact of COVID-19, including more people working from home, and in particular there has been a drop in passengers during late-night hours.
This time, Nishi2 has put together what is currently known about the changes that will affect Nishinomiya due to the timetable revision.
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Daytime service intervals will not change
There will be no changes to service intervals during the daytime.
Changes to the Semi-Limited Express
This time, the name will be changed from Rapid Express to Semi-Limited Express.
However, there will be no changes to the stops. So it’s just the name that’s changing.
Evening and late-night timetable
It looks like service intervals for trains departing from Osaka-umeda will change.
| Time period | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| 9 and 10 p.m. hours | Every 10 minutes | Every 12 minutes |
| 11 p.m. hour | Every 10–15 minutes | Every 15 minutes |
The interval between late-night trains heading toward Kobe will be 2 to 5 minutes longer.
The 10-minute intervals during the 9 and 10 p.m. hours were easy to understand, but now it’ll be a little harder to keep track of.
Last train times
The times of last trains related to Nishinomiya will change.
Umeda → Kobe-sannomiya
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Express | Departs at 24:00 | Departs at 23:45 |
Hurry!! It’s 15 minutes earlier.
Osaka-umeda → Nishinomiya-kitaguchi
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Local | Departs at 24:09 | Departs at 24:10 |
It will be 1 minute later.
Kobe-sannomiya → Osaka-umeda
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Rapid Express | Departs at 23:33 | Semi-Limited Express departs at 23:30 |
Hurry!! It’s 3 minutes earlier.
The name will also change to Semi-Limited Express.
Kobe-sannomiya → Nishinomiya-kitaguchi
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Local | Departs at 24:20 | Departs at 24:10 |
Hurry!! It’s 10 minutes earlier.
Nishinomiya-kitaguchi → Takarazuka
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Local | Departs at 24:20 | Departs at 24:10 |
Hurry!! It’s 10 minutes earlier.
Nishinomiya-kitaguchi → Takarazuka
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Local | Departs at 24:08 | Departs at 23:49 |
Hurry!! It’s 19 minutes earlier.
Shukugawa → Koyoen
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Local | Departs at 24:05 | Departs at 23:50 |
Hurry!! It’s 15 minutes earlier.
10-car trains → 8-car trains
Only the Limited Express from Shinkaichi bound for Osaka-umeda will become an 8-car train
The Commuter Limited Express from Kobe-sannomiya bound for Osaka-umeda will continue to be a 10-car train.
Finally
During the busiest part of the morning rush on the Kobe Line, from 7:30 to 8:30, congestion is apparently down 20–30% compared with before COVID-19. That’s a big drop.
Detailed timetable information will be updated on Hankyu Railway’s official website in late November.
