is a junction

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

Kamaishi, Iwate is a city located on the Sanriku rias coast in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 32,609, and a population density of 74 persons per km2, in 16,230 households. The total area of the city is Geography Kamaishi i ...

, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the Third-sector

Sanriku Railway The is a railway company in Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan. The company and its lines are also known as . The company was founded in 1981, as the first " third sector" (half public, half private) railway line in the country, excluding specia ...

Lines

Kamaishi Station is a terminal station of the JR East

Kamaishi Line The is a rural railway line in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Hanamaki Station in the city of Hanamaki with Kamaishi Station in the city of Kamaishi. History The precursor to the li ...

and is located 90.2 kilometers from the opposing terminus at . It is an intermediate station for the

Rias Line The is a railway company in Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan. The company and its lines are also known as . The company was founded in 1981, as the first " third sector" (half public, half private) railway line in the country, excluding spec ...

. The station was formerly also a terminal station for the Sanriku Railway's Minami-Rias Line and the JR East Yamada Line; however, rail operations have remained suspended since the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. The Minami-Rias Line between Yoshihama and Kamaishi resumed on 5 April 2014. Yamada line reopened on 23 March 2019 with operations transferred to the

. Then, it joined up with the Kita-Rias Line on one side and the Minami-Rias Line on the other, which together constitutes the entire Rias Line.

Station layout

Kamaishi Station has a

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 two

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 five tracks, connected to the station building by an underground passage. 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.

Platforms

History

Kamaishi Station opened on 17 September 1939. The Kamakishi Line began operations from 11 October 1944. The station also became a terminal station for the Miyako Line on 27 February 1972. This line was privatized on 1 April 1987, becoming the Sanriku Railway South Rias Line. Kamaishi Station was absorbed into the JR East network upon the

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

of 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) on 1 April 1987. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011 destroyed much of the tracks and many stations of the Yamada Line between Miyako and Kamaishi. In February 2012, JR East officially proposed that this section of the Yamada Line be scrapped and the right-of-way used as a

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

(BRT) route but this decision was subsequently overturned and the line restored pending transfer to the Sanriku Railway. On 23 March 2019, the Yamada Line section from Miyako to Kamaishi was reopened and transferred to Sanriku Railway. This joined up with the Kita-Rias Line on one side and the Minami-Rias Line on the other which together constitutes the entire Rias Line. Accordingly, this station became an intermediate station of the Rias Line.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2018, the JR East portion of the station was used by an average of 233 passenger daily (boarding passengers only). The Sanriku Railway portion of the station was used by 113 passengers during the same period.Kamaishi City official statistics（2018）

Surrounding area

* Kamaishi City Office * Kamaishi Post Office

References

External links

* (JR East)
Kamaishi Station information
(Sanriku Railway) {{Rias Line Railway stations in Iwate Prefecture Rias Line Kamaishi Line Railway stations in Japan opened in 1939 Kamaishi, Iwate Stations of East Japan Railway Company