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The city of Osaka has a population of almost 3 million inhabitants. It is the centre of a metropolitan region with some 18 million people, including the cities of Kyoto and Kobe.

Osaka opened its first subway line (the first public metro in Japan) on 20 May 1933 between Umeda and Shinsaibashi. Most lines run along main streets and were built by the cut-and-cover method at low depth. In 2007, the eight subway lines reached a total length of 130 km with 123 stations. View complete history chart here.

Apart from the subway lines, which cross the city like a grid network, and the so-called new tram serving the waterfront, there are several suburban rail services operating in the metropolitan area, among them the Osaka Loop Line (21.7 km), which connects all subway lines, and the two Hankai tramway lines. As is common with other Japanese metro systems, some lines have a reciprocal service with suburban rail lines. In 2004, station numbers were added. Although no line numbers are used, lines are generally listed in the following order:

Esaka - Nakamozu
24.5 km, 20 stations, 10-car trains, on the surface north of Nishinakajima (includes Yodo river crossing); through-operation with Kita-Osaka Kyuko (Kitakyu) to Minoh-Kayano.

20 May 1933: Umeda - Shinsaibashi
23 Mar 2024: Kitakyu Senri-Chuo – Minoh-Kayano (2.5 km)

Dainichi - Yaominani
28.1 km, 26 stations, 6-car-trains

Nishi-Umeda - Suminoekoen
11.4 km, 11 stations, 5-car trains

Cosmosquare - Nagata
17.9 km, 14 stations, 6-car trains, elevated between Bentencho and Osakako; reciprocal service with Kintetsu's Keihanna Line.

The section Osakako - Cosmosquare was part of the 3.7 km OTS "Nanko Technoport Line" (Osakako - Nakafuto), including a 2.2 km underwater rail/road tunnel; it opened on 18 December 1997, but was fully integrated into the Subway Chuo Line and the Nanko Port Town Line on 30 June 2005.

Noda-hanshin - Minami-Tatsumi
12.6 km, 14 stations, 4-car trains

Tenjinbashisuji-6-chome - Tengachaya; reciprocal service with Hankyu Railway
8.5 km, 10 stations, 6-car trains

Kadoma-Minami - Taisho
13 km, 16 stations, 4-car trains

Imazato - Itakano
11.9 km, 11 stations, linear-motor trains

24 Dec 2006 Imazato - Itakano

 Nanko Port Town Line (P)

Suminoekoen - Cosmosquare

7.9 km, 10 stations, automatic elevated pneu light metro, also referred to as "new tram"

16 March 1981 - Nanko Port Town Line (New Tram) Nakafuto - Suminoekoen

The section Nakafuto - Cosmosquare was part of the 3.7 km OTS "Nanko Technoport Line" (Osakako - Nakafuto), including a 2.2 km underwater rail/road tunnel; it opened on 18 December 1997, but was fully integrated into the Subway Chuo Line and the Nanko Port Town Line on 30 June 2005. The Nanko Port Town Line is now fully integrated with the Osaka Subway system.

Osaka Airport - Kadoma-shi / Saito-nishi

28 km - 18 stations

01 June 1990: Senri-Chuo - Minami-ibaraki
30 Sept 1994: Senri-Chuo - Shibahara
01 April 1997: Shibahara - Osaka Airport
22 Aug 1997: Minami-ibaraki - Kadoma-shi
01 Oct 1998: Bampaku-kinen-koen - Handai-byoin-mae
19 Mar 2007: Handai-byoin-mae - Saito-nishi

The main line (21.2 km and 14 stations) runs on a tangential semi-circle route along the northern suburbs of Osaka from Osaka Airport to Kadoma-shi. It does not reach the city of Osaka but intersects with the several railway services to Osaka, including Hankyu Takarazuka Line at Hotarugaike, Kita-Osaka Kyuko Line at Senri-Chuo that provides through service with Osaka Subway Midosuji Line, Hankyu Senri Line at Yamada, Hankyu Kyoto Line at Minami-Ibaraki, Osaka Subway Tanimachi Line at Dainichi (eastern terminus), and with Keihan Main Line at Kadoma-shi.
The branch line to Saito diverges from the main line at Bampaku-kinen-koen (EXPO commemoration Park) and with 4 stations it has a length of 6.8 km. On 19 March 2007 it was extended from Handai-byoin-mae to Saito-nishi. During day time the monorail provides a 10-minute interval on the main line and a 20-minute service on the Saito Line.

See the map of Osaka Monorail here

Osaka Metro Official Website

Osaka Monorail (Official site)

Monorails.org - Osaka Page

Osaka Metro at Wikipedia

Osaka Monorail at Wikipedia

Osaka Subway Map at JohoMaps

Osaka-Subway.com

BLOG: Read your webmaster's impressions of Osaka's Subway & Monorail (May 2016)

Andrew Phipps & Robert Schwandl:

METROS & TRAMS in JAPAN - Vol. 3: West & South

Osaka - Kyoto - Kobe - Okayama - Hiroshima - Kitakyushu - Fukuoka - Nagasaki - Kumamoto - Kagoshima

The third volume of our trilogy about urban rail systems in Japan covers all the systems in West and South Japan, from the metros in Osaka, Kyoto and Fukuoka to the different special transit systems like monorails and people movers, and to the numerous tramways, including Japan's largest network in Hiroshima. As usual, the book is illustrated with a large number of recent colour photos and detailed network maps.

Text: German & English; 160 pages, ca. 300 photos; Detailed network maps
Oct 2018 - ISBN 978-3-936573-54-1