is a passenger

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

located in the town of

Ōzu, Kumamoto is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Kikuchi District, Kumamoto, Kikuchi District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 36,053 in 16240 households, and a population density of 520 persons per km2. The tot ...

, Japan. It Is 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. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

Lines

The station is served by the

Hōhi Main Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, southern Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects the west and east coasts of the island. The line originates at Kumamoto Station in Kumamoto and ends at terminal of Ōita Station ...

and is located 22.6 km from the starting point of the line at .

Layout

The station consists of 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 (American English) or centre platform (British English)) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway inte ...

serving three tracks at grade. The station building is located on the north side and is a traditional Japanese style wooden structure which houses a staffed ticket window and a waiting room. Another, more modern building, built in 2011 is located at the south entrance. This houses the Ōzu town visitor centre. The bus stop for the Kumamoto Airport Liner shuttle is also situated in front of this building. Access to the platforms and between the station building and the visitor centre is by means of a level crossing. Management of the station has been outsourced to the JR Kyushu Tetsudou Eigyou Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of JR Kyushu specialising in station services. It staffs the ticket window which is equipped with a ''Midori no Madoguchi'' facility.

Platforms

file:Higo-Ozu Station 20171002.jpg, The south entrance of the station. The bus in front is the Kumamoto Airport Liner. file:View from platform of Higo-Ozu Station.jpg, Rear of station building, with level crossing leading to Platform 1. file:Platform of Higo-Ozu Station 2.jpg, View from Platform 3, The island platform is to the left, with the station building beyond.

History

Japanese Government Railways The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national rail transport, railway system directly operated by the until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Railways Group. Name The English name "Japanese ...

(JGR) opened the station on 21 June 1914 as the eastern terminus of the (later the Miyagi Line) from . Higo-Ōzu became a through-station on 11 November 1916 when the track was extended to . By 1928, the track had been extended further eastward and had linked up with the which had been built westward from . On 2 December 1928, the entire track from Kumamoto to Ōita was designated as the

. 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 pre ...

(JNR), the successor of JGR, on 1 April 1987, the station came under the control of JR Kyushu. The track from to was heavily damaged in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes and as a result, service between the two stations was suspended. JR Kyushu commenced repairs on this section in April 2017, starting from Higo-Ōzu to Tateno; services resumed on the entire section on August 8, 2020. On 4 March 2017, Higo-Ōzu was given the nickname "Aso Kumamoto Airport Station" as it is the nearest railway station to Kumamoto Airport.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2020, the station was used by an average of 2049 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), and it ranked 68th among the busiest stations of JR Kyushu.

Surrounding area

* Ōzu Town Hall

References

External links

Higo-Ōzu (JR Kyushu)
Railway stations in Kumamoto Prefecture Railway stations in Japan opened in 1914 {{Kumamoto-railstation-stub