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 prep ...

on the Uchiko branch of the

Yosan Line The is the principal railway line on the island of Shikoku in Japan, connecting the major cities of Shikoku, and via the Honshi-Bisan Line, with Honshu. It is operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku), and is aligned approximately p ...

located in the town of Uchiko, Kita District,

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tok ...

, Japan. It is operated by

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 ...

and has the station number "U10".

Lines

Although Uchiko Station is officially on the

Uchiko Line The is the name of a short section of railway line that was originally a branch line before a section of it was upgraded and became part of the Yosan Line. It connects in Uchiko, Kita District to in Ōzu, entirely in Ehime Prefecture on the ...

, JR Shikoku runs it operationally as part of

and as such it only carries the "U" prefix common to other Yosan line stations. It is located 232.0 km from the beginning of the Yosan line at . Eastbound local trains which serve the station terminate at . Connections with other services are needed to travel further east of Matsuyama on the line. In addition, the

Uwakai The is a limited express train service in Japan operated by JR Shikoku which runs from to . The ''Uwakai'' service was introduced on 21 November 1990. Route The main stations served by this service are as follows. - - Rolling stock * 2000 ...

limited express also stops at the station.

Layout

The station consists of 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 ...

and 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 platform ...

serving three elevated tracks. A station building of tradition Japanese design with a tiled roof is located underneath the elevated structure and houses a waiting room and a JR ticket window (with a ''Midori no Madoguchi'' facility) on level 1. Stairs lead to a landing at level 2 which also has seats for waiting passengers. From there separate flights of stairs lead to level 3 where platforms 1 and 2 (island) and platform 3 (side platform) are located. An elevator is provided after the ticket gate on level 1 which leads directly to platforms 1 and 2 only. A bike shed is provided and parking is available under the elevated structure.

Adjacent stations

History

The station was opened on 1 February 1920 as a terminus of the private , a light railway line starting from , near Nagahama-machi (the present Iyo-Nagahama). On October 1, 1933, the line was nationalised and

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 Ra ...

(JGR) operated the station as part of the . On October 6, 1935, after the track had been re-gauged to 1,067 mm, the station became part of the Uchiko Line. Subsequently,

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 to JGR, undertook the construction of the Uchiko branch of the Yosan Line which involved building a new stretch of track from to Uchiko. The track at Uchiko was re-aligned and elevated and the station location moved. The new station reopened on 3 March 1986. It was still designated as a station on the Uchiko Line but was now operated as part of the Yosan Line. With the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, control of the station passed to JR Shikoku.

Surrounding area

*Uchiko Town Hall Main Building *Ikazaki Kite Museum

References

External links

Uchiko Station (JR Shikoku)
{{Uchiko Line Railway stations in Ehime Prefecture Railway stations in Japan opened in 1920 Uchiko, Ehime