is an interchange passenger

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in the city of Chōshi, Chiba, Japan, operated by the

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

(JR East) and also used by the private railway operator Choshi Electric Railway.

Lines

Chōshi Station is the eastern

terminal station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

of the

Sōbu Main Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It connects Tokyo with the east coast of Chiba Prefecture, passing through the cities of Funabashi, Chiba, and Chōshi. Its name derives from the old ...

and serves some through trains on the

Narita Line The Narita Line ( ja, 成田線, ) is the name for a combination of three railway lines located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The main line connects Sakura Station and Matsugishi Station (as ...

to and . It is from the western terminus of the Sōbu Main Line at

Tokyo Station Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is ...

. It also forms the terminus of the privately operated Chōshi Electric Railway Line to .

Station layout

The JR East station facilities consist of one

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...

and one

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

serving three tracks. A

bay platform In the United Kingdom and in Australia, a bay platform is a dead-end railway platform at a railway station that has through lines. It is normal for bay platforms to be shorter than their associated through platforms. Overview Bay and islan ...

is located between the JR platforms 2 and 3 for Choshi Electric Railway trains. The station has a "

Midori no Madoguchi , which stands for ''Multi Access (originally Magnetic-electronic Automatic) seat Reservation System'', is a train ticket reservation system used by the railway companies of former Japanese National Railways, currently Japan Railways Group (JR Grou ...

" staffed ticket office. File:Choshi Station May 2005-1.jpg, Platform 1 in May 2005 File:Choshi Station May 2005 3.jpg, The Dutch-style shelter for the Chōshi Electric Railway Line platform in May 2005 File:Choshi-Station-transit-wicket.jpg, A Suica wicket for passengers transferring between JR East and the Choshi Electric Railway on platforms 2/3 in January 2012 File:Choshi Station-Platform 20120105.jpg, The west end of platforms 2/3 in January 2012

Platforms

History

Chōshi Station opened on 1 June 1897 as a station on the Sōbu Railway. On 1 September 1907, the Sōbu Railway was

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

, becoming part of the

Japanese Government Railway The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the Japanese Ministry of Railways ( ja, 鉄道省, Tetsudō-shō, ) until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Rai ...

(JGR). The Chōshi Electric Railway Line from Choshi to opened on 5 July 1923, using the trackbed and infrastructure of the earlier , which operated between Chōshi and from December 1913 to November 1917. The original station building was replaced by a new two-storey wood-frame-and-mortar building in 1936. An additional platform was added at the same time, and a new underground passage was opened linking the new platform. The 1936 station building lasted only nine years, as it was destroyed in 1945 by fire during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The third-generation station building was completed in January 1948, and a further platform was added at the same time, creating the three-platform arrangement that continues to this day. After World War II, JGR became the

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...

(JNR). Scheduled freight operations were suspended from 31 March 1978. The station was absorbed into the JR East network upon the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987. A roof was added to the entrance to the Choshi Electric Railway platform in December 1974, and this was replaced by the present-day Dutch-style building in November 1990.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2019, the JR portion of the station was used by an average of 3045 passengers daily (boarding passengers only). In fiscal 2018, the Choshi Electric Railway station was used by an average of 384 passengers daily (boarding passengers only). The passenger figures for previous years are as shown below.

Surrounding area

* Chōshi City Office *

Chiba Institute of Science is a private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public stu ...

Yamasa Yamasa Corporation (ヤマサ醤油株式会社 ''Yamasa Shōyu Kabushikigaisha'') is a Japanese corporation founded in 1645 whose primary field of business is the manufacturing of soy sauce and various seasonings. It was incorporated in November ...

head office and soy sauce factory * Higeta soy sauce factory * Choshi Camera MuseumChoshi Camera Museum official website
Retrieved 28 January 2012. * Futaba Elementary School *

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the Kantō ...

* *

Bus terminal

The following long-distance buses operate from Choshi Station.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Choshi Station Sōbu Main Line Chōshi Electric Railway Line Stations of East Japan Railway Company Stations of Chōshi Electric Railway Line Railway stations in Chiba Prefecture Railway stations in Japan opened in 1897 Buildings and structures in Japan destroyed during World War II Chōshi