Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (阪神電気鉄道株式会社 Hanshin Denki-tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese private railway company of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links Osaka and Kobe. It also owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.
The second character for Osaka (大阪) and the first character for Kobe (神戸) combine to form the company name, 阪神, which can be read Han-shin.
IC cards (PiTaPa and ICOCA) are accepted when taking trains.
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or fuel cell. Electric locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas turbines, are classed as diesel-electric or gas turbine-electric locomotives because the electric generator/motor combination serves only as a power transmission system. Electricity is used to eliminate smoke and take advantage of the high efficiency of electric motors, but the cost of electrification means that usually only heavily used lines can be electrified.
One advantage of electrification is the lack of pollution from the locomotives. Electrification results in higher performance, lower maintenance costs and lower energy costs.
Power plants, even if they burn fossil fuels, are far cleaner than mobile sources such as locomotive engines. The power can come from clean or renewable sources, including geothermal power, hydroelectric power, nuclear power, solar power and wind turbines. Electric locomotives are quiet compared to diesel locomotives since there is no engine and exhaust noise and less mechanical noise. The lack of reciprocating parts means electric locomotives are easier on the track, reducing track maintenance.