The Keihan Electric Railway Company, Ltd. (京阪電気鉄道株式会社), known colloquially as the "Keihan Dentetsu" (京阪電鉄), "Keihan Densha" (京阪電車), or simply "Keihan" (京阪), is a major Japanese private railway operator in Osaka, Kyoto, and Shiga Prefectures. The transit network includes seven lines; four main lines with heavy rolling stock, two interurban lines, and a funicular railway.
It is a subsidiary of Keihan Holdings, Ltd. (tyo: 9045).
History
Keihan started its operation between Osaka and Kyoto in 1910. It was the first electric railway to connect these two cities, and the first line on the left bank of Yodo River. Keihan later purchased the lines in the Ōtsu area (Ōtsu Lines).
In the 1920s, Keihan built another Osaka-Kyoto line through its subsidiary Shinkeihan Railway (新京阪鉄道), which merged into Keihan in 1930. This line is now known as the Hankyu Kyoto Line.
In 1943, with the power given by the Land Transport Business Coordination Act (陸上交通事業調整法) (Act No. 71 of 1938), the wartime government of Japan forced Keihan to merge with Hanshin Kyūkō Railway to form Keihanshin Kyūkō Railway (京阪神急行電鉄). In 1949, the pre-war Keihan operations, except for Shinkeihan lines, were restored to independence under the original corporate name. Keihanshin Kyūkō Railway later changed their name to the present Hankyu Railway.