While both JR and Nankai operate trains to Wakayama (via the
Hanwa Line and the
Nankai Main Line, respectively) and to Kansai Airport (via the
Kansai Airport Line and the
Nankai Airport Line, respectively), neither route is ideal. For JR, trains must use the
Osaka Loop Line past
Tennoji Station, both creating and being affected by delays on that line, and bypassing
JR Namba Station in the
Namba district, which is Osaka's major commercial centre. Additionally, until February 2023, the “Haruka” and “Kuroshio” trains from and to
Kyoto and Shin-Osaka used the aboveground , bypassing Osaka Station, the busiest station in western Japan, entirely. The connection to the Osaka Loop Line past the new Osaka Station underground platforms involves a
single track shared
trackage with
JR Freight service, as well as a
level junction crossing the Osaka Loop Line right before
Nishikujō Station. For Nankai, all trains go direct to its terminal at
Namba Station, precluding access to points further north, including Umeda, Osaka, and Shin-Osaka stations. The first proposals to alleviate the problems for both companies through the construction of a new underground line date back to 1982, with further proposals in 1989 and 2004. The line is intended to run primarily under the north-south thoroughfare Naniwasuji (hence the name), branching at its south end to connect both the Yamatoji Line (Kansai Main Line) terminal at JR Namba, and a Nankai line, with Shin-Osaka via a new underground route through what was then
JR Freight's
Umeda Freight Terminal. The Umeda portion of this plan was eventually incorporated into Phase II of the Osaka Higashi Line project (extension from Shin-Osaka to the underground platforms of Osaka Station), with provisions in place for eventual construction of the Naniwasuji Line itself. Ridership on the line from the two companies is expected to reach approximately 240,000 people per day.
Hankyu Railway Hankyu Railway has also announced tentative plans to build a new underground line connecting the Naniwasuji Line to
Jūsō Station and another line from Jūsō to a Shin-Osaka Station of its own. The rail link from Osaka to Juso is called the Naniwasuji Link Line , and the rail link from Juso to Shin-Osaka is called the Hankyu Shin-Osaka Link Line . On 27 December 2022, , president of
Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, said in an interview by the
Sankei Shimbun that Hankyu would open both of these
narrow-gauge lines at the same time as the Naniwasuji Line in 2031. == History ==