Kobe City Subway
Kobe Municipal Subway Logo
Kobe Municipal Subway 5000 trainset on the Kaigan Line
Overview
Native name	神戸市営地下鉄
Locale	Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
Transit type	Rapid transit
Number of lines	3
Number of stations	28
Operation
Began operation	March 13, 1977 (1977-03-13)
Operator(s)	Kobe Municipal Transportation Bureau
Technical
System length	38.1 km (23.67 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	1,500 V DC overhead catenary
Top speed	90 km/h (56 mph) (Seishin-Yamate Line) 70 km/h (43 mph) (Kaigan Line)
System map

The Kobe Municipal Subway (神戸市営地下鉄, Kōbe-shiei chikatetsu) is a rapid transit system in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Like other large Japanese cities, Kobe's subway system is heavily complemented by suburban rail. In addition, two people mover lines also serve the Kobe area: the Port Island Line and the Rokko Island Line.

History

Construction of the first line of the subway system, the Seishin Line, began on November 25, 1971. The line opened on March 13, 1977, running for 5.7 km (3.5 mi) between Myōdani and Shin-Nagata stations. A second line, the Yamate Line, opened on June 17, 1983, running for 4.3 km (2.7 mi) between Shin-Nagata and Ōkurayama stations. On June 18, 1985, the Yamate Line was extended to Shin-Kobe and the Seishin Line was extended to Gakuen-toshi. When the final stage of the Seishin Line, an extension to Seishin-Chuo, opened on March 18, 1987, the Seishin Line and the Yamate Line were merged into the Seishin-Yamate Line.

The Hokushin Kyūkō Electric Railway opened the 7.5 km (4.7 mi) Hokushin Line extension between Shin-Kobe and Tanigami on April 2, 1988; services on the Hokushin Line have through service onto the Seishin-Yamate Line.

On January 17, 1995, the Seishin-Yamate Line was damaged in the Great Hanshin earthquake. The day after the earthquake, limited services resumed between Seishin-Chuo and Itayado; full service was restored to the entire line in March 1995 after repairs were completed.

On July 7, 2001, the 7.9 km (4.9 mi) long Kaigan Line opened between Sannomiya-hanadokeimae and Shin-Nagata.

On June 1, 2020, Hokushin Line was transferred to Kobe Municipal Subway.

Lines

Color & Icon		Mark	Name	First section opened	Last ex- tension	Length km/miles	Stations
brown		S	Hokushin Line	1988	-	7.5/4.7	2[a]
green
			Yamate Line (Seishin-Yamate Line)	1983	1985	7.6/4.7	8[b]
			Seishin Line (Seishin-Yamate Line)	1977	-	5.7/3.5	4[c]
			Seishin-enshin Line (Seishin-Yamate Line)	1985	1987	9.4/5.8	6[d]
blue		K	Kaigan Line (Yumekamome)	2001	-	7.9/4.9	10

Network map