vtePort Island Line
West Japan Railway CompanyJR Kobe Line Hankyū Kobe Main LineHanshin Main Line Tōzai Line (Kobe) Kaigan Line Seishin-Yamate Line km km P01 Sannomiya 0.0 P02 Bōeki Center 0.8 P03 Port Terminal 1.8 P04 Naka Kōen 2.82.6 P05 Minatojima 3.3 1.7 Kita Futō PL09 P06 Shimin Hiroba 3.80.0 1.2 Naka Futō PL08 0.6 Minami Kōen PL07 P07 Iryō Center 4.6 P08 KeisanKagaku Center 5.4 P09 Kobe Airport Kobe Airport 8.2 km km
West Japan Railway CompanyJR Kobe Line Hankyū Kobe Main LineHanshin Main Line Tōzai Line (Kobe) Kaigan Line Seishin-Yamate Linekmkm
West Japan Railway CompanyJR Kobe Line Hankyū Kobe Main LineHanshin Main Line Tōzai Line (Kobe) Kaigan Line Seishin-Yamate Line
P01Sannomiya0.0
0.0
P02Bōeki Center0.8
0.8
P03Port Terminal1.8
1.8
P04Naka Kōen2.82.6
2.8
2.6
P05Minatojima3.31.7Kita FutōPL09
3.3
1.7
P06Shimin Hiroba3.80.01.2Naka FutōPL08
3.8
0.0
1.2
0.6Minami KōenPL07
0.6
P07Iryō Center4.6
4.6
P08KeisanKagaku Center5.4
Keisan
Kagaku Center
5.4
P09Kobe Airport Kobe Airport8.2
8.2
kmkm

The Port Island Line(ポートアイランド線, Pōtoairando-sen), commonly known as Port Liner(ポートライナー, Pōtorainā) is an urban automated guideway transit (AGT) system in Kobe, Japan, operated by Kobe New Transit.

The initial system linked Sannomiya Station, Kobe's main transit hub, to the man-made Port Island, covering a distance of 6.4 km (4.0 mi) with 9 stations.

Route

As the map indicates, the present system consists of one straight line, originating at Sannomiya Station and terminating at Kobe Airport Station, and a loop attached to the middle of the straight line. The stations on the former are numbered with prefix "P" and on the latter (except those shared with the former) are with prefix "PL".

The main section between Sannomiya and the airport is entirely double track, but the remaining of the loop has not been rebuilt so that the three stations with PL prefix still serve only one way.

Stations

All stations are located in Chūō-ku, Kobe.

StationkmTransfers
Double track section
P01Sannomiya三宮0.0Hankyu Kōbe Main Line/Kobe Kosoku Line (Kobe-Sannomiya Station, HK16) Hanshin Electric Railway Main Line (Kobe-Sannomiya, HS32) Kobe Municipal Subway Seishin-Yamate Line (Sannomiya, S03) Kobe Municipal Subway Kaigan Line (Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae Station, K01) JR West JR Kobe Line (Sannomiya, JR-A61)
P02Bōeki Center貿易センター0.8
P03Port Terminalポートターミナル1.8
P04Naka Kōen中公園2.8for Naka-Futo
P05Minatojimaみなとじま3.3
P06Shimin Hiroba市民広場3.8for Naka-Futo (through service to Sannomiya)
P07Iryō Center医療センター4.6
P08Keisan Kagaku Center計算科学センター5.4
P09Kobe Airport神戸空港8.2
Single Track Section
P06Shimin-Hiroba市民広場0.0for Kobe Airport/Sannomiya
PL07Minami Kōen南公園0.6
PL08Naka Futō中埠頭1.2
PL09Kita Futō北埠頭1.7
P04Naka-Kōen中公園2.6for Kobe Airport/Sannomiya (through service)

History

Opened in 1981, the Port Liner was the world's first driverless urban transit system, more than two years ahead of the VAL system used on the Lille Metro, which opened in 1983.

Originally, before the 2006 extension to the airport, the loop section was single track and operated only counter-clockwise trains.

On 2 February 2006, the line was extended by 4.3 km (2.7 mi) to the new Kobe Airport, built on an artificial island near Port Island.

In an announcement in 2018, a proposal was made to extend the Port Island Line to 8-car operation following an increase in ridership.

Minatojima Station, Iryō Center Station and K Computer Mae Stations were renamed on July 1, 2011, from Shimin Byōin Mae Station, Sentan Iryō Center Mae Station and Port Island Minami Station respectively. Following the decommissioning of K computer, K Computer Mae station was again renamed as Keisan Kagaku Center station in June 2021.

Rolling stock

See also

External links

  • (in Japanese)
  • (in English)