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 ...
on the
Kagoshima Main Line
The is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) between Mojikō in Kitakyushu, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima City, at the southern end of Kyushu. Until March 13, 2004, it extended 393 km between its two ...
, operated by
JR Kyushu
The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait ...
in
Gyokutō, Kumamoto
is a town located in Tamana District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan on the island of Kyushu.
As of March 2017, the town has an estimated population of 5,363 and the density of 220 persons per km². The total area is 24.40 km². The town is ...
, Japan.
Lines
The station is served by the
Kagoshima Main Line
The is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) between Mojikō in Kitakyushu, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima City, at the southern end of Kyushu. Until March 13, 2004, it extended 393 km between its two ...
and is located 176.7 km (109.79 mi) from the starting point of the line at .
Layout
The station consists of a side and an island platform serving three tracks with a siding. The station building is a wooden structure in traditional Japanese style and serves as a local community interaction space. Access to the island platform is by means of a footbridge. The station is unstaffed by JR Kyushu but some types of tickets are available from a kan'i itaku agent on site who manages the ticket window.
file:Konoha Station 2.JPG, A view of the platforms and tracks.
Adjacent stations
History
The privately run
Kyushu Railway
was a company that built and operated railways in Kyushu, one of four main islands of Japan. Most of its lines came under the control of Japanese Government Railways following nationalization in 1907, and many are now operated by Kyushu Railway C ...
had opened a stretch of track between and the (now closed) Chitosegawa temporary stop on 11 December 1889. After several phases of expansion northwards and southwards, by July 1891, the line stretched from south to . Konoha was opened a few months later, on 1 April 1892, as an additional station on the track between Takase (now and Kumamoto. When the Kyushu Railway was nationalized on 1 July 1907,
Japanese Government Railways
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) took over control of the station. On 12 October 1909, the station became part of the Hitoyoshi Main Line and then on 21 November 1909, part of the Kagoshima Main Line. With the privatization of
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), the successor of JGR, on 1 April 1987, JR Kyushu took over control of the station.
Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2016, the station was used by an average of 375 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), and it ranked 278th among the busiest stations of JR Kyushu.