is a 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 ...

located in the city of Shimanto,

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and ...

, Japan. It is operated by the third-sector

Tosa Kuroshio Railway The is a third-sector railway company in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. The name comes from the former Tosa Province and the Kuroshio Current. The company was founded in 1986, and operates three lines: a former Japanese National Railways (JNR) line ...

, whose headquarters is located in the station building. The station is numbered "TK-40".

Lines and services

Nakamura Station is the terminus of the 43.0 kilometer Tosa Kuroshio Nakamura Line which starts from . It is also the starting point of the 23.6 kilometer Tosa Kuroshio Sukumo Line which terminates at . The station is also served by two

JR Shikoku The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has it ...

limited express services. The '' Ashizuri'' limited express service starts from and ends here. The ''

Nanpū The is a limited express train service in Japan operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku), which runs from to . Trains are formed of 3-car or 2+3 car sets of 2700 series DMUs, and sometimes are coupled with '' Shimanto'' services betwee ...

'' limited express service starts from and ends here, with one train a day going on to .

Layout

The station comprises a two-story station building with 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 an

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. There is a staffed ticket window with 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 ...

'' which allows passengers to make reservations and buy tickets for JR limited express and ''shinkansen'' services. On the ground floor there is a waiting area, cafe, and shop which sells local specialties. Coin lockers and baggage storage facilities are also provided. Parking and a bike shed are available outside the building. A bus station, car rental, bicycle rental are nearby. The station is wheelchair accessible. From 2009 to 2010, the station underwent a major renovation. This featured the removal of ticket gates, and the remodeling of the waiting area/shop and platform benches in locally sourced Shimanto

hinoki ''Chamaecyparis obtusa'' (Japanese cypress, hinoki cypress or hinoki; ja, 檜 or , ) is a species of cypress native to central Japan in East Asia, and widely cultivated in the temperate northern hemisphere for its high-quality timber and orname ...

wood. The renovation subsequently won multiple design awards including the 2014

Brunel Award The ''Brunel Awards'' are given to railway companies, to encourage outstanding visual design in railway architecture, graphics, industrial design and art, technical infrastructure and environmental integration, and rolling stock. The name is ass ...

and the Japanese Institute of Design Promotion 2010 Good Design Award. File:Nakamura-station-Platform.jpg, View of the station platforms in May 2010 File:日本の売店 2014 (27601503986).jpg, Station interior in 2014. Next to the shop, some design award certificates can be seen on the pillar. The waiting area is to the left. File:Tosa Kuroshio Railway Nakamura Station gate 20100829.jpg, View towards the platforms. Note the absence of ticket gates, which were removed during the 2010 renovation. The train in the background is the ''

'' limited express.

Adjacent stations

History

The station opened on 1 October 1970.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2011, the station was used by an average of 1,050 passengers daily.

Surrounding area

References

External links

* {{Tosa Kuroshio Railway Sukumo Line Stations of Tosa Kuroshio Railway Railway stations in Kōchi Prefecture Railway stations in Japan opened in 1970 Shimanto, Kōchi (city)