Sōtarō Station

Sōtarō Station

宗太郎駅
Kyushu Railway Company
Sōtarō Station in 2023
General information
LocationUme Oaza Shigeoka, Saiki-shi, Ōita-ken 879-3204
Japan
Coordinates32°47′11″N 131°42′24″E / 32.78639°N 131.70667°E / 32.78639; 131.70667
Operated by JR Kyushu
Line(s) Nippō Main Line
Distance231.0 km from Kokura
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2 + 1 siding
Construction
Structure typeSide hill cutting
AccessibleNo - platform accessed by footbridge
Other information
StatusUnstaffed
WebsiteOfficial website
History
Opened15 December 1923 (1923-12-15)
Passengers
FY2015144 per year
Services
Preceding station Logo of the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). JR Kyushu Following station
Ichitana
towards Kagoshima
Nippō Main Line Shigeoka
towards Kokura
Location
Sōtarō Station is located in Oita Prefecture
Sōtarō Station
Sōtarō Station
Location within Oita Prefecture
Sōtarō Station is located in Japan
Sōtarō Station
Sōtarō Station
Sōtarō Station (Japan)
Map

Sōtarō Station (宗太郎駅, Sōtarō-eki) is a passenger railway station located in the city of Saiki, Ōita, Japan. It is operated by JR Kyushu.[1][2]

Lines

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The station is served by the Nippō Main Line and is located 231.0 km from the starting point of the line at Kokura.[3]

Layout

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The station consists of two side platforms serving two track with a siding set on a side hill cutting in a remote mountainous area. The station is not staffed and there is no station building. A small shed and a public telephone call box are provided as a passenger shelter near the station entrance and another shelter is provided on the opposite side platform. The platforms are linked by a footbridge.[2][3][4]

Platforms

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1   Nippō Main Line for Saiki
2   Nippō Main Line for Nobeoka

History

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The private Kyushu Railway had, by 1909, through acquisition and its own expansion, established a track from Kokura to Yanagigaura down the east coast of Kyushu. The Kyushu Railway was nationalised on 1 July 1907. Japanese Government Railways (JGR), designated the track as the Hōshū Main Line on 12 October 1909 and expanded it southwards in phases over the next 13 years, establishing Shigeoka as its southern terminus on 26 March 1922. At the same time, JGR had been expanding its Miyazaki Main Line north from Miyazaki, reaching Ichitana, just 9 km south of Shigeoka by July 1923. The link up between the two lines was achieved on 15 December 1923, establishing through traffic from Kokura in the north to Miyakonojō. The entire stretch of track was then renamed the Nippō Main Line. On the same day, Sōtarō was opened as a signal box on the linking track. On 1 March 1947, Sōtarō was upgraded to a full station. The station has been unattended since 1972. With the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR), the successor of JGR, on 1 April 1987, the station came under the control of JR Kyushu.[5][6]

Passenger statistics

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In fiscal 2015, there were a total of 144 boarding passengers, giving a daily average of less than 1 passenger.[7]

Surrounding area

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "JR Kyushu Route Map" (PDF). JR Kyushu. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b "宗太郎" [Sōtarō]. hacchi-no-he.net. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b Kawashima, Ryōzō (2013). 図説: 日本の鉄道 四国・九州ライン 全線・全駅・全配線・第6巻 熊本 大分 エリア [Japan Railways Illustrated. Shikoku and Kyushu. All lines, all stations, all track layouts. Volume 6 Kumamoto Ōita Area] (in Japanese). Kodansha. pp. 49, 84. ISBN 9784062951654.
  4. ^ "宗太郎駅散策" [Walking around Sōtarō Station]. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018. Blog entry with good photographic coverage of station facilities.
  5. ^ Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory – JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. I. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. pp. 228–9. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
  6. ^ Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory – JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. II. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 756. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
  7. ^ "平成28年版 大分県統計年鑑 11 運輸および通信" [Oita Prefecture Statistics Yearbook 2016 Edition Section 11 Transportation and Communications]. Oita Prefectural Government website. Retrieved 8 April 2018. See table 128 Transport situation by individual railway stations (JR Kyushu JR Freight).
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Media related to Sotaro Station at Wikimedia Commons