Kokubu Station (Kagoshima)

Kokubu Station (国分駅, Kokubu-eki) is a railway station in Kirishima, Kagoshima, Japan. It is operated by of JR Kyushu and is on the Nippō Main Line.[1][2]

Kokubu Station 国分駅
Kokubu Station in 2010
Location	Kokubuchūō, Kirishima, Kagoshima （鹿児島県霧島市国分中央） Japan
Coordinates	31.7436°N 130.7634°E / 31.7436; 130.7634
Operated by	JR Kyushu
Line(s)	■ Nippō Main Line
Distance	432.1 km from Kokura
Platforms	1 side + 1 island platforms
Tracks	3 + 2 sidings
Construction
Structure type	At grade
Parking	Available
Bicycle facilities	Bike shed
Other information
Status	Staffed ticket window (Midori no Madoguchi) (outsourced)
Website	Official website
History
Opened	24 November 1929 (1929-11-24)
Location
Kokubu Station Location within Japan

Lines

The station is served by the Nippō Main Line and is located 432.1 km from the starting point of the line at Kokura.[3]

Layout

The station consists of a side and an island platform serving three tracks at grade. Two sidings branch off track 3 with one ending in a vehicle shed. The station building, located on the east side of the tracks, is a modern concrete structure that houses a waiting area, an automatic ticket vending machine and staffed ticket window. Bike sheds and parking are available at the station forecourt. Access to the island platform is by means of a footbridge. Separate from this, another bridge, served by elevators and known as the Kokubu Station East-West Free Passage allows pedestrians to access the streets on both sides of the tracks. Parking is also available at the station forecourt on the west side of tracks.[3][2][4]

Management of the passenger facilities at the station has been outsourced to the JR Kyushu Tetsudou Eigyou Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of JR Kyushu specialising in station services. It staffs the ticket booth which is equipped with a Midori no Madoguchi facility.[5][6]

• 
  A view of platform 1. The East West Free Passage is ahead, the footbridge to the island platform is to the right.
• 
  A view of platforms 2 (right) and 3. Further to the left are the sidings and the west exit of the East-West Free Passage.
• 
  A high-angle view looking south. The bike sheds at the eastern station forecourt are clearly seen.

Platforms

JR

1・2	■Nippō Main Line	For Kajiki and Chōsa and Kagoshima-Chūō
	■Nippō Main Line	for Kirishima-Jingū and Miyakonojō and Miyazaki
	■Limited express Kirishima	for Kajiki and Kagoshima and Kagoshima-Chūō
	■Limited express Kirishima	for Kirishima-Jingū and Miyakonojō and Miyazaki
3	■Nippō Main Line	for Kajiki and Chōsa and Kagoshima-Chūō
	■Limited express Kirishima	for Kajiki and Kagoshima and Kagoshima-Chūō

Adjacent stations

←		Service		→
Nippō Main Line
Kirishima-Jingū		Local	Hayato

History

The station was opened on 24 November 1929 by Japanese Government Railways (JGR) as the eastern terminus of the then Kokuto-West Line (国都西線) which it had laid from Nishi-Kokubu (now Hayato). It became a through-station on 10 July 1930 when the track was extended further east to Kirishima-Jingū. Subsequently. the Kokuto-West Line was expanded to the east and north, linking up with the Kokuto-East Line at Ōsumi-Ōkawara and other networks so that by the end of 1932, through-traffic had been established between Kokura and Kagoshima. On 6 December 1932, the entire stretch of track from Kokura through Kokubu to Kagoshima was redesignated as the Nippō 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.[7][8][9]

Nearby places

• Kokubu-Chūō High School
• Kirishima City Hall
• Kokubu Onsen

See also

• List of railway stations in Japan

References

1. "JR Kyushu Route Map" (PDF). JR Kyushu. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
2. "国分" [Kokubu]. hacchi-no-he.net. Retrieved 15 June 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7巻 宮崎・鹿児島・沖縄エリア [Japan Railways Illustrated. Shikoku and Kyushu. All lines, all stations, all track layouts. Volume 7 Miyazaki Kagoshima Okinawa Area] (in Japanese). Kodansha. pp. 62, 92. ISBN 9784062951661.
4. "国分駅 [日豊本線]" [Kokubu Station (Nippō Main Line)]. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2018. Blog entry with good photographic coverage of station facilities.
5. "鹿児島支店内各駅" [Stations within the Kagoshima Branch]. JRTE website. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
6. "国分駅" [Kokubu Station]. jr-mars.dyndns.org. Retrieved 15 June 2018. See images of tickets sold.
7. 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. 229. ISBN 4533029809.
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. 761. ISBN 4533029809.
9. Imao, Keisuke (2009). 日本鉄道旅行地図帳 12号 九州 沖縄―全線・全駅・全廃線 [Japan Rail Travel Atlas No. 12 Kyushu Okinawa - all lines, all stations and disused lines] (in Japanese). Mook. p. 49. ISBN 9784107900302.

External links

• Kokubu (JR Kyushu)(in Japanese)