Editing Hankyu (section)

==History==
===Etymology===
The name {{transliteration|ja|Hankyu}} is an abbreviation of {{nihongo||京阪神急行|Keihanshin Kyūko}}.

{{nihongo||京阪神|[[Keihanshin]]}} refers to the area served by Hankyu trains, comprising the cities of {{nihongo|[[Kyoto]]|京都}}, {{nihongo|[[Osaka]]|大阪}} and {{nihongo|[[Kobe]]|神戸}}, along with the suburbs that connect them to each other.

{{nihongo||急行|Kyūko}} means "express train(s)".

===Foundation===
[[Image:Hankyu Umeda inauguration.jpg|thumb|left|Umeda Station on the day of inauguration]]
[[File:Mino-Arima.png|thumb|150px|Seal of the Minoo Arima Electric Tramway]]
In 1907, the {{nihongo|Minoo Arima Electric Tramway Company|箕面有馬電気軌道株式会社|Minoo Arima Denki Kidō Kabushiki-gaisha}}, a forerunner of [[Hankyu Hanshin Holdings]], Inc., was established by [[Ichizō Kobayashi]] (precisely, he was one of the "promoters" of the tramway).
On 10 March 1910, Minoo Arima Tramway opened the rail lines from Umeda to Takarazuka (the [[Hankyu Takarazuka Main Line|Takarazuka Main Line]]) and from Ishibashi to Minoo (the [[Hankyu Minoo Line|Minoo Line]]). The tramway was popular due to Kobayashi's pioneering act to develop housing around stations along the line (a first in Japan), a forerunner to [[transit-oriented development]]s.

=== Expansion to Kobe ===
On February 4, 1918, Minoo Arima Tramway was renamed {{nihongo|Hanshin Kyūkō Railway Company|阪神急行電鉄株式会社|Hanshin Kyūkō Dentetsu Kabushiki-gaisha|referred to as "Hankyū", {{lang|ja|阪急}}}}.

On July 16, 1920, the [[Hankyū Kōbe Main Line|Kobe Main Line]] from Jūsō to Kobe (later, renamed Kamitsutsui) and the Itami Line from Tsukaguchi to Itami were opened.

On April 1, 1936, the Kobe Main Line was extended from Nishi-Nada (present-day Ōji-kōen) to the new terminal in Kobe (present-day [[Sannomiya Station|Kobe-Sannomiya Station]]), and the Kobe Main Line from Nishi-Nada to Kamitsutsui was named the Kamitsutsui Line, which was abandoned on May 20, 1940.

In 1936, Hankyu established a [[professional baseball]] team and in 1937 the [[Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium|Nishinomiya Stadium]] as the team's home field was completed near [[Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station]]. The Hankyu Braves (named in 1947) played until the 1988 season and became the predecessors of the present-day [[Orix Buffaloes]].

=== Merger and separation with Keihan ===
On October 1, 1943, under the order of the government, Hanshin Kyūkō and [[Keihan Electric Railway]] were merged, and renamed {{nihongo|Keihanshin Kyūkō Railway Company|京阪神急行電鉄株式会社|Keihanshin Kyūkō Dentetsu Kabushiki-gaisha|referred to as "Keihanshin", {{lang|ja|京阪神}}}}. The merged lines included the [[Keihan Main Line]], the [[Keihan Uji Line|Uji Line]], the [[Hankyū Kyoto Main Line|Shinkeihan Line]] (present-day Kyoto Main Line), the [[Hankyū Senri Line|Senriyama Line]] (present-day Senri Line), the Jūsō Line (part of Kyoto Main Line), the [[Hankyū Arashiyama Line|Arashiyama Line]], the [[Keishin Line]] and the [[Ishiyama Sakamoto Line]]. The [[Keihan Katano Line|Katano Line]] was also added in 1945.

On December 1, 1949, the Keihan Main Line, the Katano Line, the Uji Line, the Keishin Line, and the Ishiyama-Sakamoto Line were split off to become part of the newly established [[Keihan Electric Railway]] Co., Ltd. Although this revived the former Keihan Electric Railway, Keihan was now smaller than before the 1943 merger, because the Shinkeihan Line and its branches were not given up by Keihanshin. The present structure of the Hankyu network with the three main lines was fixed by this transaction. The abbreviation of Keihanshin Kyūkō Railway was changed from "Keihanshin" to "Hankyū".

=== Postwar development ===
[[Image:Hankyu662.jpg|thumb|610 Series car, built 1953-56]]
On April 7, 1968, the Kobe Main Line started through service to the [[Kobe Rapid Transit Railway]] [[Tozai Line (Kobe)|Tozai Line]] and the [[Sanyo Electric Railway]] [[Sanyo Railway Main Line|Main Line]].

On December 6, 1969, the Kyoto Main Line and the Senri Line started through service to the [[Osaka Municipal Subway]] [[Sakaisuji Line]]. In 1970, the Senri Line was one of access routes to the [[Expo '70]] held in Senri area.

On April 1, 1973, Keihanshin Kyūkō Railway Company assumed its current name.

[[File:Keihanshin.rogo.png|thumb|150px|Former Hankyu logo used between 1943 and 1992. The 6-point ring stands for [[Kyoto]], and the symbols for [[Osaka|Osaka City]] and [[Kobe]] are incorporated.]]

On April 1, 2005, former Hankyu Corporation became a holding company and was renamed {{nihongo|'''Hankyu Holdings, Inc.'''|阪急ホールディングス株式会社|Hankyū Hōrudhingusu Kabushiki-gaisha}}. The railway business was ceded to a subsidiary, now named '''Hankyu Corporation''' (before the restructuring, the new company which reused a dormant company founded on December 7, 1989, was called {{nihongo|"Act Systems"|株式会社アクトシステムズ}} until March 28, 2004, then {{nihongo|"Hankyū Dentetsu Bunkatsu Junbi K.K."|阪急電鉄分割準備株式会社}} from the next day).

On October 1, 2006, Hankyu Holdings became the wholly owning parent company of [[Hanshin Electric Railway|Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd.]] and the holdings were renamed '''[[Hankyu Hanshin Holdings]], Inc.'''.  Hankyu's stock purchase of Hanshin shares was completed on June 20, 2006.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://today.reuters.com/investing/FinanceArticle.aspx?type=mergersNews&storyID=2006-06-20T045411Z_01_T334035_RTRIDST_0_TRANSPORT-JAPAN-HANKYU-UPDATE-2.XML| title=UPDATE 2-Hankyu takes over fellow railway operator Hanshin| work=Reuters| date=2006-06-20| access-date=2006-06-20}}</ref>