Eizan Electric Railway

The official abbreviation of this small railway network, Eiden, is derived from the name of its predecessor, the Eizan Electric Railway Division (叡山電鉄部, Eizan Dentetsu-bu) of the Keifuku Electric Railroad. The present company was founded in 1985 as a subsidiary of Keifuku Electric Railroad, one of Japan's major private railways operating in Kyoto, Shiga, and Osaka Prefectures. The purpose of reorganization was to reduce the huge deficit of the Eiden lines, which had been completely isolated from the main Keifuku network since the abandonment of the Kyoto City Tramways in 1978. The split-off was considered to be an urgent matter, awaiting the completion of a rail connection between the two networks of Eiden and Keihan. The Keihan Electric Railway was at that time constructing the Ōtō Line to the Eiden terminal at Demachiyanagi. The opening of the Ōtō Line significantly reduced the deficit of Eiden. Later on, in 2002, all shares of Keifuku were transferred from Keifuku to Keihan, of which Eiden became a wholly owned subsidiary.