is a

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

Annaka, Gunma 240px, Edo-period Usui Magistrate’s office in Annaka is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 47,911 in 24,749 households, and a population density of 210 persons per km². The total area of t ...

, 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).

Lines

Yokokawa Station is a

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 ...

for its segment of the

Shinetsu Main Line The Shinetsu Main Line ( ja, 信越本線, ) is a railway line, consisting of three geographically separated sections, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It was originally one continuous line connecting and via . S ...

, and is located 29.7 kilometers from the starting point of the line at .

Station layout

The station has a two opposed

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 ...

s connected to the station building by a footbridge. There is a third track in the middle for through traffic.

Platforms

History

Yokokawa Station opened on October 15, 1885 as the terminus of the governmental railway between and Yokokawa. The station became an intermediate station of the railway connecting Takasaki and (later named the Shinetsu Main Line) when the

Usui Pass The is a mountain pass that lies between Nagano and Gunma prefecture in Japan. It has served as one of the major transportation routes in central Japan since at least the eighth century. Road The pass on the ancient Tōsandō highway was des ...

section of the railway, connecting Yokokawa and , opened on April 1, 1893. The Usui Pass section of the railway closed on October 1, 1997. Yokokawa Station has been the terminus of the line since then. The former Yokokawa locomotive depot for bank engines used on the Usui Pass was transformed into the

Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park The is an open-air railway museum located in Annaka, Gunma, Japan. It is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), and was opened on 18 April 1998 on the site of the former Yokokawa motive power depot alongside the Shinetsu Main Line ...

, which exhibits the bank engines (

JNR Class EF63 The is a class of 1,500 V DC electric locomotives formerly operating in Japan. History A total of 25 Class EF63 locomotives were built between 1962 and 1976 exclusively for use as bankers (U.S. "helpers" or "pushers") on the steeply-graded Usu ...

electric locomotives) and other rolling stock. JR BUS KANTO has been operating a route bus Usui Line which connects

Karuizawa Station is a railway station in the town of Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan, operated jointly by the JR Group company East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the third-sector railway operator Shinano Railway. Lines Karuizawa Station is served by the JR ...

with this station as a

bustitution A rail replacement bus service uses buses to replace a passenger train service on a temporary or permanent basis. The train service that is replaced may be of any type such as light rail, tram, streetcar, commuter rail, regional rail or heavy ...

's closed section since 1997.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2019, the station was used by an average of 208 passengers daily (boarding passengers only).

Bus routes

* JR BUS KANTO Usui Line **For

***This bus route passes through

Megane Bridge or Spectacles Bridge, over the Nakashima River (中島川) was built in Nagasaki in 1634 by the Chinese monk Mokusunyoujo who was in the second generation of Chinese monks living at Kofukuji Temple. It is said to be the oldest stone arch br ...

during autumn.

Surrounding area

* * Yokogawa Post Office

References

External links

*
Station information (JR East)
{{Shin'etsu Main Line Shin'etsu Main Line Railway stations in Gunma Prefecture Railway stations in Japan opened in 1885 Stations of East Japan Railway Company Annaka, Gunma