Uchinomaki Station (内牧駅, Uchinomaki-eki) is a railway station on the Hohi Main Line operated by JR Kyushu in Aso, Kumamoto, Japan.[1][2]

Uchinomaki Station

内牧駅
Uchinomaki Station in 2009. The building has since been demolished.
General information
LocationJapan
Coordinates32°56′32″N 131°02′37″E / 32.94222°N 131.04361°E / 32.94222; 131.04361
Operated by JR Kyushu
Line(s) Hōhi Main Line
Distance46.4 km from Kumamoto
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2 + 1 siding
Construction
Structure typeAt grade
Other information
StatusUnstaffed, service suspended
WebsiteOfficial website
History
Opened25 January 1918 (1918-01-25)
Location
Uchinomaki Station is located in Japan
Uchinomaki Station
Uchinomaki Station
Location within Japan

Lines edit

The station is served by the Hōhi Main Line and is located 46.4 km from the starting point of the line at Kumamoto.[3]

Layout edit

The station consists of an island platform serving two tracks at grade with a siding. The platform is accessed by a level crossing. The station building was a wooden structure of traditional Japanese design with a red tiled roof and housed a ticket window and a waiting room. This was damaged by earthquakes in 2016 and has since been demolished.[2][3]

Adjacent stations edit

« Service »
Hōhi Main Line
Ichinokawa Local Aso

History edit

On 21 June 1914, Japanese Government Railways (JGR) opened the Miyaji Light Rail Line (宮地軽便線) (later the Miyagi Line) from Kumamoto eastwards to Higo-Ōzu. The line was extended eastward in phases and Miyaji was established as the eastern terminal on 25 January 1918. On the same day, Uchinomaki was opened as an intermediate station on the new track. On 2 December 1928, Miyaji was linked up with Tamarai, the western terminus of the Inukai Line (犬飼線), which had been extended westwards in phases from Ōita since 1914. Through-traffic was established between Kumamoto and Ōita. The two lines were merged and the entire stretch redesignated as the Hōhi Main Line. 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.[4][5]

The track from Higo-Ōzu to Aso was heavily damaged in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes and service between the stations, including to Uchinomaki has been suspended. JR Kyushu has commenced repair work, starting first with the sector from Higo-Ōzu to Tateno but has not announced a targeted completion date. The station building at Uchinomaki was heavily damaged. JR Kyushu declared that the structure was old and unsafe and had to be demolished. Demolition work began on 24 October 2016.[6][7][8]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "JR Kyushu Route Map" (PDF). JR Kyushu. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b "内牧" [Uchinomaki]. hacchi-no-he.net. Retrieved 24 April 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. 36, 78. ISBN 9784062951654.
  4. ^ 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. p. 228. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
  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. II. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 745. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
  6. ^ "JR九州、平成28年熊本地震で被害を受けた豊肥本線の復旧工事に4月着手" [JR Kyushu Restoration work commences in April on Hōhi Main Line track damaged in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake]. Travel Watch. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  7. ^ "内牧・赤水駅舎取り壊し、熊本地震で損傷" [Uchinomaki, Akamizu station buildings to be demolished, damaged by Kumamoto earthquake]. Yomiuri Shimbun. 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  8. ^ "豊肥線不通区間の内牧駅と赤水駅を建て替えへ" [Uchinomaki and Akamizu stations to be rebuilt]. Kumamoto Prefecture Television Company website. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2018. See also for images of damaged suffered by the station.


External links edit