Formerly operated by the third-sector Hokushin Kyuko Electric Railway (ja:北神急行電鉄; a subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group), in 2020 the company was absorbed into the Kobe Municipal Transportation Bureau, and the Hokushin Line became part of the subway network.

[1] The line was built by Hokushin Kyuko Railway Co., Ltd. (北神急行電鉄株式会社, Hokushin Kyūkō Dentetsu Kabushiki-gaisha), a private railway company in Kobe, Japan.

Investors in the company included Hankyu Railway and Kobe Electric Railway, and it was a subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings.

On 4 March 2020, the Kobe Municipal Transportation Bureau announced that it would acquire Hokushin Kyuko Railway Co., Ltd. due to the heavy debt burden that had been incurred by Hokushin Kyuko;[2] the transaction was completed on 31 May, after which operation of the Hokushin Line was transferred to the transportation bureau.

[2] This article about a Japanese railway corporation or company-related topic is a stub.