Tram systems in Kyoto
Kyoto is one of Japan’s foremost historic and cultural cities, occupying a basin surrounded by mountains on three sides. Established as the imperial capital in 794, it retains a distinctive street pattern and a rich collection of temples, shrines, gardens and traditional neighbourhoods. Alongside this heritage, Kyoto is a modern city with important educational, research and commercial activities.
The city’s attractions extend from the historic streets of Higashiyama and the central shopping districts to the temples and wooded hills around its outskirts. In western Kyoto, Arashiyama and Sagano are particularly popular destinations, combining riverside scenery, temples and bamboo groves. Rail services, including the Randen tramway, provide access to this part of the city.
Kyoto’s public transport combines buses, a two-line subway and several railway networks. The Karasuma Line provides a north–south subway route through Kyoto Station and the city centre, while the Tōzai Line runs broadly east–west. Buses extend coverage into neighbourhoods and sightseeing areas beyond the rail corridors.
JR and the private railways provide both local journeys and connections with the wider region. Randen serves western Kyoto, while the Eizan Railway serves the northeastern districts and routes towards the northern hills. Connections between these networks, the subway and buses allow passengers to combine different modes when travelling across the city.
Kyoto’s tram network is branded Randen and serves the western and northwestern parts of the city. It comprises the Arashiyama Main Line, linking Shijō-Ōmiya with Arashiyama, and the Kitano Line, branching at Katabiranotsuji and running to Kitano-Hakubaichō. The two lines provide local transport through residential districts as well as access to some of Kyoto’s best-known sightseeing areas.
The Arashiyama Main Line runs through Sai and Uzumasa towards Sagano and Arashiyama. The Kitano Line serves the temple districts around Ninna-ji, Ryōan-ji and Myōshin-ji. Katabiranotsuji is the principal interchange between the two routes.
Randen connects with the Tōzai subway at Randen-Tenjingawa, beside Uzumasa-Tenjingawa station, and with Hankyu services at Shijō-Ōmiya and Sai. Nearby JR stations also provide connections at Randen-Saga and Satsueisho-mae, linking the tramway with the wider rail network.
Kyoto currently has 2 tram lines. Further information is available in the Lines tab.
The Randen tramways are operated by Keifuku Electric Railroad Co., Ltd., which provides official route, timetable and passenger information.
- Keifuku Electric Railroad — Randen — the operator’s official website, including service announcements and passenger information.
- Randen route map and timetables — official information for both tram lines.
- Kyoto City Transportation Bureau — information about the municipal buses and subway that connect with the tram network.
Kyoto holds an important place in Japanese transport history as the city where the country’s first commercial electric tramway opened on 1 February 1895. Operated by the private Kyoto Electric Railway, the initial route linked the area around Kyoto’s railway station with Fushimi, south of the city centre. Further routes followed, establishing electric trams as an important part of Kyoto’s urban transport.
The city introduced its own municipal tram services on 11 June 1912, initially operating alongside the private company. On 1 July 1918, Kyoto purchased the Kyoto Electric Railway, bringing the two networks under municipal control. The combined system subsequently expanded into an extensive network serving the city’s principal streets and residential districts.
The tramways now known as Randen developed separately from the municipal network. The Arashiyama Electric Tramway opened between Shijō-Ōmiya and Arashiyama on 25 March 1910, establishing the route that remains the backbone of today’s system. It provided a connection between the urban area and the scenic western districts around Arashiyama. The undertaking was absorbed by Kyoto Electric Light in 1918.
A second route followed with the opening of the first section of the Kitano Line on 3 November 1925, between Kitano and Takao-guchi, now Utano. Completion of the remaining section to Katabiranotsuji on 10 March 1926 connected it with the Arashiyama route. The new line served residential neighbourhoods and the temple districts of northwestern Kyoto.
Keifuku Electric Railroad was established on 2 March 1942, taking over railway operations previously belonging to Kyoto Electric Light, including the Arashiyama and Kitano lines. This established the operator that continues to run the Randen network today.
In July 1958, the Kitano Line was shortened from its original Kitano terminus to Kitano-Hakubaichō, in connection with construction of the municipal tramway along Imadegawa-dōri. This gave the line its present eastern terminus and established the basic two-line layout familiar today.
Kyoto’s municipal tram network reached its heyday during the 1950s, but increasing road traffic, changing travel patterns and declining passenger numbers subsequently placed it under growing pressure. Congestion affected services, while worsening finances encouraged a move towards buses and, later, underground rail transport.
The final programme of closures began with the Fushimi and Inari lines in 1970. Other routes followed throughout the decade, and the remaining municipal trams made their final journeys on 30 September 1978. The independently operated Arashiyama and Kitano lines survived, preserving tram operation in western Kyoto after the municipal system had disappeared.
More recent development has focused on improving Randen’s connections with other public transport. Randen-Tenjingawa opened on 28 March 2008, providing an interchange with the extended Tōzai subway at Uzumasa-Tenjingawa. Satsueisho-mae opened in April 2016, improving access to the nearby JR Uzumasa station, while changes at Sai in March 2017 made interchange with Hankyu services more convenient.
A new phase of fleet renewal began on 28 February 2025, when the first Mobo 1 series KYOTRAM entered passenger service. Two further vehicles followed on 10 March 2026, coinciding with the centenary of the completed Kitano Line. These additions continued the modernisation of a network whose two principal routes have now served Kyoto for more than a century.
Kyoto currently has 2 tram lines, which are listed below.
| Line | Description |
|---|---|
| A | The Arashiyama Main Line runs between Shijō-Ōmiya and Arashiyama via Sai, Randen-Tenjingawa and Katabiranotsuji. |
| B | The Kitano Line runs between Katabiranotsuji and Kitano-Hakubaichō via Utano, Omuro-Ninnaji and Ryōanji. |
Kyoto’s Randen network uses 1,435 mm standard-gauge track and 600 V DC overhead electrification. The two connected lines have a combined route length of 11 kilometres, comprising the 7.2-kilometre Arashiyama Main Line and the 3.8-kilometre Kitano Line.
The Arashiyama Main Line is double-track, while the Kitano Line is predominantly single-track, with passing facilities and a short double-track section. The routes meet at Katabiranotsuji, which provides both the physical connection between them and the principal passenger interchange.
The network combines segregated railway alignments with street-running sections on the Arashiyama Main Line. These include the corridor along Sanjō-dōri, where Randen-Tenjingawa has platforms within the street and provides an interchange with the Tōzai subway. Depot and maintenance facilities are located at Sai, close to the eastern end of the main line.
Randen operates compact bogie tramcars, with services running as single vehicles or coupled two-car formations according to demand. Two-car workings provide additional capacity during busier periods, and the published timetables identify scheduled coupled services.
The fleet combines older vehicles with the new Mobo 1 series, branded KYOTRAM. The first KYOTRAM entered service in February 2025, followed by two further vehicles in March 2026. The new cars retain driving cabs at both ends and a single-car layout suitable for the existing network.
Built by Hanshin Rolling Stock Maintenance, each KYOTRAM accommodates 77 passengers, including 24 seated, and has a maximum operating speed of 40 km/h. Equipment includes automatic announcements, passenger emergency communication facilities and interior surveillance cameras.
The new vehicles use VVVF inverter control and regenerative braking. Toyo Denki supplies the traction motors, control equipment and several other electrical systems. These improvements reduce energy consumption while the rounded cab ends and predominantly Kyoto-purple livery maintain a visual connection with Randen’s established identity.
Keifuku Electric Railroad is progressively introducing seven Mobo 1 series KYOTRAM vehicles, with the programme scheduled for completion by the end of financial year 2028, in March 2029. Three entered service during 2025 and 2026, leaving four further vehicles to complete the announced programme.
The new trams are replacing older vehicles, with the original programme covering six Mobo 101 series cars and one Mobo 301 series car. They provide updated passenger facilities and more efficient traction equipment, including regenerative braking. Keifuku expects electricity consumption during operation to be approximately half that of its older resistance-controlled vehicles.
Kyoto City has announced that its 2026 financial-year investigations into future urban transport will consider new public transport systems, including light rail. The work is intended to examine options for improving local travel, supporting neighbourhoods and addressing congestion. It remains an exploratory process, with no confirmed tram route or opening timetable identified as of November 2026.
An earlier proposal examined a tram connection along Imadegawa-dōri, linking Randen at Kitano-Hakubaichō with the Eizan Railway at Demachiyanagi. In its 2026 response on the subject, the city reiterated the substantial construction costs and effects on road traffic identified by earlier studies. This corridor therefore remains a previously studied possibility rather than an approved extension of the Randen network.