Kaifu Station

Kaifu Station (海部駅, Kaifu-eki) is a railway station in Kaiyō, Kaifu District, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. As the southern terminus of the Mugi Line, it is operated by JR Shikoku and bears the station number "M28". As the northern terminus of the Asatō Line, it is operated by the Asa Kaigan Railway and bears the station number "TK28".[1][2]

Kaifu Station 海部駅
Kaifu Station in May 2010
Location	Okuura, Kaiyō-cho, Kaifu-gun, Tokushima-ken 775-0302 Japan
Coordinates	33°35′36″N 134°21′7″E
Operated by	JR Shikoku ■ Asa Kaigan Railway
Line(s)	■ Mugi Line ■ Asatō Line
Distance	79.3 km from Tokushima (start of the Mugi Line)
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Bicycle facilities	Bike shed
Other information
Status	Unstaffed
Station code	M28, AK28
Website	Official website (Asa Kaigan Railway)
History
Opened	1 October 1973 (1973-10-01)
Location
Kaifu Station Location within Japan

Lines

The station is the southern terminus of the Mugi Line and is located 79.3 km from the beginning of the line at Tokushima.[3] In addition the station is the start point of the 8.5 km long Asatō Line and is 6.5 km from the next station at Shishikui.[4] Only local trains of both lines stop at the station.[5]

Layout

The station, which is unstaffed, consists of two side platforms serving two tracks on an elevated structure. There is no station building and the station is unstaffed by both JR Shikoku and the Asa Kaigan Railway. There are no ticket gates for both platform 1 (Mugi Line) and platform 2 (Asatō Line). Access to the platforms is by means of a flight of steps and the two platforms are linked by a level crossing across the tracks. A bike shed is provided at the base of the elevated structure.[2][3][6]

Just to the north of the station, trains pass through the Chōnai Tunnel (町内トンネル, Chōnai ton'neru), a short 44 meters (144 ft) tunnel original driven through a hill. Land development had led to the entire hill being removed but the tunnel structure was left intact.[7]

• 
  Station entrance. Note steps leading up to the platform. The black plaque commemorates the opening of the Asatō Line. The sign above the roller shutters says "Kaifu Town Tourism Information Centre" - now replaced by a community interaction centre.
• 
  A view of the station tracks looking in the direction of Tokushima. Note the Chōnai Tunnel. The hill it used to punch through has now been removed for land development

Adjacent stations

«		Service	»
JR Shikoku
Mugi Line
Awa-Kainan		Local		Terminus
Asa Kaigan Railway
Asatō Line
Terminus		Local		Shishikui

History

Japanese National Railways (JNR) opened the station on 1 October 1973 as an intermediate station when the track of the Mugi Line was extended from Mugi to Kaifu. On 1 April 1987, with the privatization of JNR, control of the station passed to JR Shikoku.[8][9] On 26 March 1992, the third sector Asa Kaigan Railway completing the extension of the track southwards to Kannoura and the Asatō Line began operations with Kaifu as the northern terminus.[4]

On 23 December 2015, a local community group in Kaiyō opened a community interaction centre underneath the elevated structure of the station to promote interaction between senior citizens and children in the town. It was located in the premises of a former town tourism information centre which had been built there in 1995.[10]

See also

• List of railway stations in Japan

References

1. "Shikoku Railway Route Map" (PDF). JR Shikoku. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
2. "海部" [Kaifu Station]. hacchi-no-he.net. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
3. 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1巻 四国東部エリア [Japan Railways Illustrated. Shikoku and Kyushu. All lines, all stations, all track layouts. Volume 1 Eastern Shikoku] (in Japanese). Kodansha. pp. 43, 74. ISBN 9784062951609.
4. Terada, Hirokazu (19 January 2013). データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways] (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing. pp. 172, 302. ISBN 978-4-7770-1336-4.
5. "Kaifu Timetable" (PDF). JR Shikoku. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
6. "海部駅" [Kaifu Station]. shikoku.org.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
7. "四国土木紀行No.5 町内トンネル" [Shikoku Civil Engineering Proceedings No. 5 Chōnai Tunnel] (PDF). Japan Society of Civil Engineers Shikoku Branch. 10 July 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2018. Contains pictures of the tunnel before and after the hill around it was cut away.
8. 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). II. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 662. ISBN 4533029809.
9. 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). I. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 217. ISBN 4533029809.
10. "海部駅に交流施設　住民団体、高齢者と子どもつなぐ" [Interaction facility are Kaifu Station. Residents group connects children with senior citizens]. Tokushim Shimbun web. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2018.

External links

• Asa Kaigan Railway official website (in Japanese)